UCLA and USC roll as Stanford flounders

The Best of the West offers fans a candid assessment of the top teams in the western third of the country — a collection that includes the Mountain West and the former Pac-12 schools now scattered across the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and West Coast Conference.

The rankings will be published on the Hotline weekly throughout the regular season.

Results through Tuesday

1. UCLA (16-0/5-0 Big Ten)

Last week: 1
Results: beat Michigan 86-70, Indiana 73-62 and Purdue 83-49
Up next: vs. Northwestern (Sunday)
Comment: The No. 1-ranked Bruins are off to their best start since the 2019-20 season (also 16-0). They had one of their closer games at Indiana but still led wire-to-wire thanks largely to Lauren Betts’ 25 points and 12 rebounds. Betts is the Naismith National Player of the Week and scored a team-high 17 against Purdue on Tuesday.

2. USC (14-1/4-0 Big Ten)

Last week: 2
Results: beat Nebraska 75-55 and Rutgers 92-42
Up next: at Maryland (Wednesday)
Comment: The fourth-ranked Trojans carry their best start since 1993-94 into a significant test at No. 8 Maryland. Freshman Kennedy Smith scored a season-high 19 points in a blowout of Rutgers while JuJu Watkins had a career-high 14 rebounds along with 23 points. Watkins is the Big Ten Player of the Week for the third time.

3. Utah (12-2/3-0 Big 12)

Last week: 4
Results: beat Arizona 69-48 and Iowa State 75-67
Up next: vs. Kansas State (Wednesday)
Comment: The Utes shot 50 percent (13-of-26) from 3-point range to get past Iowa State on the road for their seventh consecutive win. Maya Toure scored a season-high 24 points. On New Year’s Eve, Utah never trailed during its first  victory in Tucson since 2018. The Utes broke into the AP rankings this week at No. 22.

4. California (14-2/2-1 ACC)

Last week: 3
Results: lost to Clemson 69-58, beat SMU 81-66
Up next: vs. North Carolina State (Thursday)
Comment: The Bears regrouped from a stumble at Clemson to handle SMU for an ACC road split. Marta Suarez returned after missing two games, scoring a combined 31 points. Cal remains nationally ranked at No. 24, down four spots.

5. Grand Canyon (14-2/1-0 WAC)

Last week: 8
Results: beat Southern Utah 75-57
Up next: vs. Utah Valley (Thursday)
Comment: The Antelopes won their 12th in a row to open WAC play with Alyssa Durazo-Frescas scoring 21 points, all in the second half. GCU played on the road for the first time since Dec. 5 and is back home again this week.

6. UNLV (11-4/3-0 Mountain West)

Last week: 9
Results: beat San Jose State 90-70 and Boise State 61-57
Up next: vs. Colorado State (Wednesday)
Comment: The Rebels collected their 20th consecutive Mountain West road win with the squeaker at Boise State, setting up an early conference showdown against surging Colorado State. They overcame a seven-point deficit going into the fourth quarter as Kiara Jackson scored 10 of her 18 points.

7. Oregon (11-4/2-2 Big Ten)

Last week: 10
Results: beat Northwestern 85-65 and Wisconsin 68-52
Up next: at Penn State (Thursday)
Comment: Shaking off a loss at Illinois, the Ducks won twice to even their early Big Ten record. They limited Wisconsin’s 6-foot-4 Serah Williams to three points, 16 below her average. Guard Sofia Bell returned after missing four games due to injury.

8. Washington (12-4/3-1 Big Ten)

Last week: 11
Results: beat Illinois 84-75 and Wisconsin 79-58
Up next: at Michigan State (Sunday)
Comment: Guard Sayvia Sellers scored 24 points while playing all 40 minutes against Illinois. The Huskies followed up with their fifth straight win Tuesday in Madison, ahead of a trip to No. 20 Michigan State, with four players scoring in double figures led by Elle Ladine with 23.

9. Colorado (10-4/1-2 Big 12)

Last week: 5
Results: lost to TCU 63-50 and Baylor 76-62
Up next: vs. UCF (Wednesday)
Comment: The Buffaloes came back to reality on their first Big 12 road trip, losing to No. 11 TCU and Baylor — teams with a combined 27-4 record. Aaronette Vonleh, who started for Colorado in the previous two seasons, scored 15 for Baylor.

10. Portland (15-2/4-2 West Coast Conference)

Last week: 7
Results: lost to Gonzaga 76-71, beat LMU 80-61
Up next: at Pepperdine (Thursday)
Comment: After their first two losses of the season, the Pilots built a 22-point lead on their way to a comfortable win over LMU. Portland, though, is now looking up at USF, Saint Mary’s and Washington State in the WCC standings.