PAC-12
CONFERENCE
T-Mobile Arena
Paradise, Nevada
March 13-16
WASHINGTON
Record: 24-7, 15-3
The Huskies were dominant at times when they won their first 10 Conference Games, but that was more than a month ago and they also don’t have a non-Conference win against a likely NCAA Tournament team. Even worse, they’ve looked somewhat bad to close the season, losing to Cal and Oregon, but also barely getting past both Stanford and Oregon State. They have the best record, but instill no confidence in bettors. Beating USC or Arizona in the quarters is far from a given, especially with how the Trojans can shoot, which helps against the zone. Oregon State or Colorado doesn’t appear like huge competition in the semis, but UW needed overtime at home to beat the Beavers a week ago. Washington has been the best team in the Pac-12 this season, but that’s not saying much and it may make more sense to gamble on an underdog.
ARIZONA STATE
Record: 21-9, 12-6
The Sun Devils are sitting firmly on the bubble and have a mostly favorable path to make the Championship, having won five of their last six Games, three of those on the road. They split against Stanford, but that loss looks more like a fluke given how the Cardinal have closed the season. There’s also little reason to think UCLA will be able to win back-to-back Games. The semis could get interesting since Oregon beat ASU by 28 points a few weeks ago. The Sun Devils would probably prefer to play Utah, who they recently beat by 11 points on the road. They maybe aren’t the most consistent team, but they have some of the best talent in the Conference and are a reasonable team to back to win it all, especially having already beaten UW.
UTAH
Record: 17-13, 11-7
The Utes are the 3-seed, but there’s little reason to think they can win this Tournament. They beat ASU back on Jan. 3, but otherwise haven’t beaten any other quality team in the conference. Sweeping both USC and UCLA is nice, but that doesn’t mean much this season. Considering they already lost at home to the Ducks, they may not even make it past the quarterfinals.
OREGON STATE
Record: 18-12, 10-8
COLORADO
Record: 19-11, 10-8
OREGON
Record: 19-12, 10-8
These teams are grouped together because they’re all a mystery. They can beat anyone in the Conference on a given night, but have shown no consistency. The Beavers are an intriguing bet since they have high-end talent, but they were swept by Washington and Colorado might be playing its best basketball of the season. The Buffs have won eight of their last 10 and have been competitive in almost every Game this season. Washington is the 1-seed, but either of those teams could upset its way to the Championship, though the quarterfinal matchup is a toss up. The Ducks probably have the best route since Utah is a bad 3-seed, ranked outside of the KenPom top 100. The problem is that they have to play on Wednesday, so they’d have to beat Arizona State in their third Game in three days.
This Tournament could be a mess, which is exactly how the season has gone in the Pac-12. The Huskies are the favorite, but aren’t playing well and any of these other teams could easily make a run. The Sun Devils may be the best bet with hopes to make the NCAA Tournament, while Colorado or Oregon State could be good upset picks in the top half of the bracket.