Next up: Utes and Buffs visit Maples

The Pac-12 devised an unusual schedule this season. Stanford plays its second round against the Rocky Mountain teams at Maples this weekend, but hasn't yet played the Arizona, Oregon or Washington teams.

The game vs Utah is on Friday night at 7:00. It will be live-streamed by the Pac-12 Networks and broadcast by KZSU.

The game vs Colorado is on Sunday afternoon at 4:00. It will be televised by the Pac-12 Networks and broadcast by KZSU.

The Cardinal can expect two tough games, although one of the opponents is tied for second place in the Pac-12, and the other is tied for tenth. As Tara said after the USC game, “It has never been easy. We get teams’ absolute A games.”

  Utah Utes

Sara led the way in Salt Lake City

Conference play started badly for the Utes. They lost to Cal and Stanford, twice to Colorado, then to Arizona before pulling out a 20-point win over Arizona State last week.

The Utes are now tied for tenth place in the Pac-12, but Tara doesn't under-estimate them "They're 1-5, but they're an unbelievably great 1-5 team," she said.

The Utes are led on both offense and defense by junior forwards Michelle Plouffe and Taryn Wicijowski. They rank fifth and sixth in the Pac-12 in scoring (Plouffe 16.1 ppg, Wicijowski 15.6 ppg) and tenth and eleventh in rebounding (Plouffe 7.3 rpg, Wicijowski 7.2 rpg). Wicijowski makes 53.8 of her field goal attempts, good for 26th in the country and third in the Pac-12.

Senior guard Iwalani Rodrigues, still recovering from last season's shoulder injury, has increased her productivity since the conference season began. She's making 34.5% of her 3-point attempts and scoring 12 points per game.

The Utes know how to take care of the ball. They average just 13.4 turnovers per game — ninth in the country and second in the Pac-12. Their assist/turnover ratio is also second-best in the Pac-12.

In anticipation of the trip to the Bay Area, head coach Anthony Levrets said, "We feel like if we play well on any given night that we are going to have a chance to win. That's what our kids believe and had believed for a long time. It's good to get a win to get that feeling back. We're going to go out there and compete as hard as we can and see what happens."

Utah's win-loss record (10-7 overall, 1-5 conference) places them tied for 10th in the Pac-12, their RPI (118) places them 9th, and their strength of schedule rank (82) places them 7th.

Here are Utah's 2012-13 statistics and roster

  Colorado Buffs

Cardinal denied Chucky in Boulder

The Buffs are riding a four-game win streak into Maples. They won over Utah twice, then Arizona State, the blew out Arizona 79-36 last week. Senior guard Chucky Jeffery made history in that game, becoming the first player in team history with 1,400 points, 800 rebounds and 400 assists.

Jeffery and freshman forward Arielle Roberson continue to lead the Buffs in scoring and rebounding.

Jeffery continues the improvement in her ball-handling. Her assist/turnover ratio is now 1.48, second-best in the Pac-12.

The Buffs defense succeeds in denying their opponents. They allow the fewest points (52.4) and rebounds (31.6) in the Pac-12.

The Buffs have worked their way up in the national polls. They're currently No. 20/23, their highest ranking of the season.

Colorado's win-loss record (15-2 overall, 4-2 conference) places them in a 4-way tie for 2nd in the Pac-12, their RPI (29) places them 4th, and their strength of schedule rank (56) places them 6th.

Here are Colorado's 2012-13 statistics and roster.