Pac-12 mini-reunion leads to the question: Which programs are better off?

Stanford won the opener against the Ducks 64-53, giving the Cardinal a 3-0 record against their run of former conference foes in the past week in Cal, Washington and Oregon.

In the second game, Cal and USC exchanged counterpunches throughout, before No. 19 USC rode a fourth-quarter surge to a 61-57 win, narrowly avoiding getting upset by a Golden Bears team looking for its first win against a ranked opponent.

“I do miss the Pac-12,” Oregon coach Kelly Graves said. “But I don’t want to take this time to relive all that. You know how I feel about that whole Pac-12 thing and always will.”

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Stanford coach Kate Paye was also feeling the familiar vibes. “It was fun to have a Pac-12 reunion out there, even with the old Pac-12 officials,” Paye said.

Charmin Smith talked about the importance of keeping these matchups alive for the benefit of West Coast basketball.

“Coaching against Lindsay and seeing Stanford and Oregon going at it, it’s fun. We miss the Pac,” Smith said. “It was a great group of student athletes and a great group of coaches. So I hope we can continue to do things like this. I just want to come out on top when we do.”

Between diminished television exposure, cross-country travel and the pressures of roster consistency that impact almost every team in the country, the once mighty “Conference of Champions” has dispersed into a group of teams still trying to find their identities in their new leagues and within the wider world of collegiate women’s basketball.

It’s clear for most of the former Pac-12 teams that the transition is going to take some time and that rebuilding the stature they had in the Pac is not a given.

Which gets us to the fundamental question: Is anyone other than UCLA better off than they were in the Pac-12?

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Arizona: Unclear

Adia Barnes’ departure to SMU paved the way for a reset for the Wildcats in the Big 12. Arizona, under first-year head coach Becky Burke, is 9-3 after a light non-conference schedule. Senior guard Mickayla Perdue has been the offensive standout so far, averaging 17.9 points a game, but there are too many unknowns in Tucson to truly assess how the Wildcats are going to fare in the Big 12 this season and over the longer haul.

Arizona State: Yes

The Sun Devils, playing under first-year head coach Molly Miller, completed a 13-0 nonconference slate before Sunday’s Big 12 opener against Colorado, a game they won 79-63 to push their record to 14-0. It is the best start in school history and includes wins over Santa Clara, UNLV, Penn State, Oregon State and Gonzaga. Miller’s success at Grand Canyon is translating in Tempe, where the program had struggled after the retirement of Charlie Turner Thorne in 2022. With an NCAA Net of 42, the NCAA Tournament isn’t out of reach at this point.

Cal: Unclear

After a strong season that included two wins over Stanford and a trip to the NCAA Tournament, the Bears have regressed a bit this season, and it’s an open question whether Charmin Smith can maintain recruitment momentum from year to year, the kind that will be needed to stick near the top of the ACC. Junior guard Lulu Twidale is now the focus of opposing defenses, and she needs more scoring help.

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Colorado: No

The Buffaloes had built themselves into a Pac-12 power over the conference’s final few seasons and haven’t yet established themselves at that level in the Big 12. JR Payne’s team was picked to finish ninth in the conference race and currently holds a 9-4 record.

Oregon: No

Oregon is seemingly doing worse, but that reality might have occurred even in a world where the Pac-12 still existed. The ability to secure big-name recruits has eluded the Ducks in the past few years. Still, Graves’ team is 12-2 after Sunday’s game against Stanford. Its only other loss is to UCLA in a Big Ten matchup. The Ducks were not picked to finish in the top five in the Big Ten preseason poll.

Oregon State and Washington State: A resounding no

With one more season (the current one) in the West Coast Conference, both the Beavers (6-5) and Cougars (1-12) will be moving back to the revamped Pac-12, which is now effectively a mid-major conference. Making the convincing recruits to come to Corvallis and Pullman will be even more difficult for financial, geographic and competitive reasons. The Cougars spent a lot of time in the Pac-12 climbing out of the bottom of the conference. A 1-12 start in their second season post-Pac-12 is disheartening.

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Stanford: No, at least not yet

Stanford’s absence from the NCAA Tournament last season for the first time since 1987 would seem to be an obvious “no” for the Cardinal. But now that the transition to Kate Paye’s leadership has solidified after Tara VanDerveer’s retirement, and with a strong freshman class and marked improvement on the floor, this may be more of a long-term question and answer for Stanford. Graves, for one, thinks Stanford will get its elite groove back.

“Listen, it’s tough for a first-year coach, I get it,” Graves said. “They struggled a little bit. But I think she’s got the back. They have that great freshman class, and they are executing well, and they play hard, and it’s the same old Stanford. And my guess is, starting this year, they are going to have the same old results.”

UCLA: Unquestionably

UCLA has clearly benefited the most from the transition. Head coach Cori Close has spent the last few years stockpiling some of the Pac-12’s former top talents, including Charlisse Leger-Walker (Washington State), Timea Gardiner (Oregon State) and Lauren Betts (Stanford), while creating a culture and a standard that got the Bruins to their first Final Four a season ago. UCLA is seeking its second-straight Big Ten title, and the Bruins have their sights set on a return visit to the Final Four this season.

USC: In theory, yes

If Juju Watkins was on the floor this season, the Trojans would be considered national title contenders. But Watkins’ devastating ACL injury from last March has put head coach Lindsay Gottlieb behind on her program’s title ambitions and certainly made their brutal early-season schedule – which includes losses to South Carolina, Notre Dame and Connecticut – more difficult to navigate. Freshman guard Jazzy Davidson, the No. 1 recruit in her class, has immediately been thrust into a starting and starring role, and that’s a lot to ask of a college rookie.

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Utah: No

When head coach Lynne Roberts departed early in the 2024-25 season to take the job with the Los Angeles Sparks, the Utes looked like they might be in position for a total reset. But under Gavin Petersen, the Utes are 10-3 with a seven-game win streak heading into conference play with notable wins over Colorado State, Northwestern and Boise State. Utah, which defeated Arizona Monday in its conference opener, was picked to finish eighth in the conference.

Washington: Maybe

Tina Langley had the Huskies’ program headed in the right direction before the Pac-12 disbanded, and a spot in the national rankings early this season points to progress. But although it’s 10-2 overall, Washington is 2-2 away from Seattle, and it will quickly become clear whether or not the Huskies are able to hang in the top half of the Big Ten.