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Isn't it nice to know that every game - for the rest of time - is going to be on TV? I'm ok with getting a little bit away from the traditional Thursday-Saturday schedule of the Pac as this allows us that much more access to the games.
Week 2 in conference play is far from make-or-break for any of these teams but 0-3 sure ain't a place anyone wants to find themselves (Colorado, Stanford) and neither is 0-2 with a pair of home losses (Oregon State). Alas, the first half of games for Week 2:
Wednesday
Washington State @ Stanford, 7pm, P12N - DRUM ROLL PLEASE! The only game featuring two defeated squads. Yes, this is the battle to stay out of the cellar and amongst that wreckage I'm excited to see Brock Motum v. Dwight Powell. Also interested to see a little more spark, a touch of fight, from the Cardinal. High expectations out of Palo Alto and here's their first shot to get back on track.
Washington @ Cal, 8pm, ESPN2 - This is actually one of the more fascinating games of the week and, if it weren't my buddy's birthday, I'd be there. Could UW turn the tide of a forgettable non-conference? What direction is Cal's season about to get going? Those, my friends, are remarkably premature questions but who doesn't like to jump the gun to those kinda conjectures, eh? I actually think these two teams sort of resemble one another as each has really intriguing - good - guard/wing play with formidable bigs. This should be an interesting one.
Thursday
Arizona @ Oregon, 6pm, ESPN2 - The ball game that the people demand! Here's KenPom/Fanmatch's most intriguing game of the week and, I'd have to agree. Then, according to Vegas, this is the first game Arizona will lose (read some bookie's tweet, true story), so there's a lot building up to this game. It's Arizona's first trip to Oregon since this whole Pac-12 thing happened and I'm really interested to see how the Wildcats respond to whatever tongue lashing Miller dropped on them after last weekend. The Ducks are tough and this one - CLICHÉ TIME - is going to be about as heavy weight bout as the Pac can get.
UCLA @ Utah, 6:30pm, P12N - I don't love discussing moral victories but I walked away from last weekend impressed with the Utes. They battled across Arizona and it'll be interesting (I'm going to use that word a lot) to see HOW UCLA PLAYS IN THEIR FIRST TRUE ROAD GAME!!! Anywho, I don't believe there's much to see here but maybe...just maybe...
USC @ Colorado, 7pm, ESPNU - Did you know that the Buffs have lost just four games at the Keg under Tad Boyle? That's really damn impressive and gives full legitimacy #YouCantWinAtAltitude. USC has, perhaps, underachieved but that doesn't change the fact that they could be a thorn this year. But following last weekend, I expect CU to play with a Buffalo-size chip on their shoulder.
ASU @ Oregon State, 8:30pm, P12N - Oh, the late one. Not the sexiest matchup and these are two teams likely won't be winning the pack. But I'd be lying if I said these two teams weren't going to piss some people off; or at least Arizona Sate. The Beavers had their first shot to be that pain but dropped that ball at home. ASU, while they haven't played much of a difficult schedule, has continued to do my favorite thing: WIN. Thursday night will arguably be their biggest test as OSU comes in at 113 on KenPom (as opposed to DePaul's 111). Beavers and Devils.