Pac-12 tourney has meaning
The Pac-12 men’s college basketball tournament can’t be overlooked. While some of the major conferences aren’t giving us much intrigue in this upcoming week, with teams already either completely in or out of March Madness already, the Pac-12 is loaded with teams on the bubble that neither at least a win and perhaps two.
Here’s a look at the conference standings, with a breakdown of what to watch for:
- Oregon Ducks – 25-6 (14-4)
- Utah Utes – 24-7 (13-5)
- Arizona Wildcats – 24-7 (12-6)
- California Golden Bears – 22-9 (12-6)
- Colorado Buffaloes – 21-10 (10-8)
- USC Trojans – 20-11 (9-9)
- Oregon State Beavers – 18-11 (9-9)
- Washington Huskies – 17-13 (9-9)
The team that are not listed have absolutely no hope of getting to the NCAA Tournament, barring a Cinderella run to the Pac-12 title. Those squads include the Stanford Cardinals, UCLA Bruins, Washington State Cougars and Arizona State Sun Devils.
As for the teams that could lose in their first games and still be in the tourney are Oregon, Utah, Arizona and California. Those schools have already punched their tickets, but could improve their overall seeding with a nice showing in the conference tournament.
Of course, that leaves us with Colorado, USC, Oregon State and Washington as needing to make a run to ensure a berth in March Madness. The team with the best case to date is Colorado, having both a 20-win season in the bag and a winning record within the Pac-12. The Buffaloes might be able to get in without winning a game in the tourney, but one victory should make them a lock for the field of 68.
USC is squarely on the bubble. The Trojans will play the Bruins on Wednesday in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament, and a loss would sink them. USC has some quality wins on the campaign against Monmouth, Wichita State, Arizona, Washington, Colorado and Oregon State, but there are also bad losses to Arizona State and Stanford in recent weeks. A couple of wins in the Pac-12 tourney would likely get USC a bid.
Beyond the Trojans, the Beavers and Huskies have to put forth a really good showing to get into the NCAA Tournament. Both are just 9-9 in conference and neither has a 20-win season, something that will really hurt should either win only one game this week. Oregon State begins the week with a must-win against the Sun Devils while Washington takes on Stanford, another team playing for nothing.
Smart money is on the top six teams in the Pac-12 getting tickets to the Big Dance, while Oregon State and Washington are left to watch from the couch unless they can rattle off at least two wins, and likely three. Both schools also need to hope that all the favorites in the mid-major conferences take care of business, or else see some pivotal bubbles get burst.
This is the best time of the year for college basketball, giving us drama and intrigue. The Pac-12 tournament won’t be short on either.
