Culver City Observer -

Pac-12 basketball swings into high gear this weekend when UCLA and USC men’s and women’s basketball teams play important games. All four teams are competing for an opportunity to either win a regular season league championship, get a top seed in the Pac-12 Tournament and an invitation to the NCAA Tournament.

UCLA men are currently in first place in the Pac-12 with a record of 3-1 and an overall record of 12-4. On Saturday, January 13, they play Colorado at home at 7:30 p.m. Next Thursday they travel to Oregon State to face the Beavers at 8 p.m.

The UCLA men’s team is surprising a lot of people because three freshmen from last years’ 31-5 team went to the NBA and three of their top freshmen this season were suspended for the season because of the shoplifting incident in China. If the Bruins continue to win this will be one of Steve Alford’s best coaching jobs in 27 years as a head coach.

The UCLA women are in fifth place in the Pac-12 with a record 2-2 and an overall record of 11-4. The 14th ranked Bruins are on the road this weekend when they battle Utah on Friday and Colorado on Sunday.

The USC men’s team is currently in seventh place in the Pac-12 at 2-2 and 11-6 overall. They face Utah at home on Sunday at 5 p.m. and they travel to Oregon next Thursday. The USC women are in ninth place in the Pac-12 with a record of 1-3 and they are 11-4 overall. They are on the road this weekend when they take on Colorado on Friday and Utah on Sunday.

Once again both of the Pac-12 leagues are very competitive. Ten out of 12 teams in the men’s league have winning records and nine out of the 12 women’s teams have winning records. Also five teams in the women’s league are ranked in the top 25 nationally.