Washington, ASU basketball, Utah and Oregon State secured the top four seeds for this week’s Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas.
Like a gambler betting on the house, Pac-12 schools will put everything on the line during this week’s conference tournament in Sin City.
The next four days will decide the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, an achievement all 12 schools feel is feasible. As nationally underwhelming as the conference has been, this erraticism should indicate entertaining twists and turns.
Arizona State will tip off tournament play tomorrow at 6 p.m., facing the winner of No. 10 Stanford and No. 7 UCLA. The Sun Devils have won five of their last six and are trending toward a competitive weekend, according to coach Bobby Hurley.
“I think we have a clear mind going into this tournament,” he said. “Just trying to focus on winning that and not having the pressure or stress of wondering whether we’re going to make the NCAA Tournament. I think we’re in solid position.”
If the Sun Devils advance, they will face either No. 3 Utah, No. 6 Oregon or No. 11 Washington State in the semifinals. Oddly enough, ASU is 2-3 against such opponents, but does have experience of beating the Utes and Ducks by double digits.
The opposing side of the bracket features No. 1 Washington, who finished with the league’s best record (15-3) but stumbled down the stretch. The Huskies lost two of their last four games – No. 12 Cal included – and have underperfomed on both ends.
Still, UW will be the tournament favorite due to its defensive execution – a trait that pays off in March.
Today’s Pac-12 Tournament matchups feature No. 9 Arizona vs. No. 8 USC, No. 12 Cal vs. No. 5 Colorado, No. 11 Washington State vs. No. 6 Oregon and No. 10 Stanford vs. No. 7 UCLA. Ahead of those, let’s take a look at the Conference Power Rankings.