For five teams sitting on the NCAA Tournament bubble and playing well, the Pac-12 Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament will decide their fate. If any lose their opening game in Las Vegas, they could be watching March Madness from on TV, and filling in their brackets without their team as an option.
Arizona State, UCLA, Utah, Washington, and Oregon are all programs that will need to impress the selection committee with strong showings in the conference event, which begins on Wednesday and concludes Saturday in Las Vegas.
Arizona is the only team certain to make March Madness. The Wildcats are No. 15 in the AP Top 25 Poll and winners of the conference’s regular season. They have had far more to worry about off the court then on it. Coach Sean Miller had been reported heard on a wiretap conversation discussing a $100,000 payment to secure a top player.
Miller’s job was thought in jeopardy, but he has so far survived the controversy and has been allowed to focus on preparing his team for this week. The Wildcats are a 2/1 pick to win the tournament. USC is next at 4/1, followed by Arizona State at 6/1 and UCLA at 9/2.
Trojans Gambling
USC is hoping that the memory of Sin City is better than the last time the team was associated with the desert city. In October the institution learned one of its assistant coaches, Tony Bland, was arrested on corruption charges for a meeting he had on July 29 at a hotel room on the Strip. He was recorded by the FBI taking $13,000 in a meeting with a sports agent and an undercover lawman to steer players towards that agent.
The school has since fired Bland and tried to shed itself from the scandal that has implicated several programs and rocked college basketball. USC finished the regular season with 21 wins, but if they lose in their first game against the winner of the Oregon State-Washington contest, they could be on the outside looking in.
Four Trying for One
It is hard to imagine the Pac 12 might only send two teams to the NCAA’s, but it’s a distinct possibility. The conference has been known for being a basketball powerhouse. Last year four teams made the tournament and Oregon reached the Final Four.
If USC stumbles and gets denied Arizona State, Utah, UCLA, Washington, and Oregon will be competing for one, possibly two spots. Utah could be one that surprises some teams. They will probably play Oregon in the quarterfinals and whoever wins that game may punch their ticket to the Big Dance.
Oregon will be a formidable opponent, however. In their one meeting in December the Ducks lost to the Utes by 10, but they are a stronger unit than they were three months ago.
UCLA has some solid conference victories, defeating both Arizona and USC, but losing two of its last three games to Utah and Colorado put an invitation at risk. They need to defeat the winner of the Cal-Stanford game and then if they end up facing Arizona in the semifinals will have to have a close game.
ASU and Washington have tougher roads. If they get past their first-round games they will face the No. 1 or No. 2 seed. ASU will have to upset rival Arizona and the Huskies will have to knock off the Trojans to have any valid argument to be included in the NCAA Tournament.