Pac-12 Basketball Notes: This week, we’ll find out if Arizona can contend for the title.
Let’s wait a week more before declaring the Wildcats the winners once Arizona finishes its perilous road trip this week, which includes games against Utah on Thursday and Colorado on Saturday.
Yes, the Wildcats handily defeated both teams in Tucson earlier in the season, winning by a combined score of 47 points against Colorado and 19 points against Utah. However, with a combined 1-10 record in conference away games, Utah and Colorado have both performed horribly on the road this season. However, with a combined 24-0 record at home, they are unbeatable.
In Salt Lake City, the Utes defeated UCLA by 46 points and second-place Washington State by 22 points. In the Buffs’ last two home games, Colorado defeated Oregon by 33 points and Oregon State by 16 points.
In addition, Arizona’s conference road record is just 3-3, so this road trip will test whether the Wildcats are indeed the Pac-12’s best team, as the rest of the nation appears to believe.
Arizona State and UCLA are who we believed them to be.
The media, who had projected the opposite, shook their heads and admitted, “I guess we were wrong about those teams,” when Arizona State opened Pac-12 play with a 4-0 record, including sweeps of Utah and Colorado, while UCLA started 1-4 in the league, including a 46-point loss to Utah.
However, a month later, Dennis Green’s puzzling 2006 outburst, “They are who we thought they were,” comes back to us.
The Sun Devils have dropped their last four games in a row and six of their previous seven games by an average of 14 points. The concerns with shooting during nonconference games, which hinted at issues in Pac-12 play, have materialized. During its current four-game losing run, ASU has shot less than 39% from the field in each of its previous three games and has made just 23.2% of its three-point attempts. During the Sun Devils’ four-game losing streak, point guard Frankie Collins—who was instrumental in the team’s 4-0 start—had more turnovers (13) than assists (9).
With five wins in a row and only one setback—a six-point loss at Arizona when the Bruins had a 17-point lead—the Sun Devils (5-6) are currently in eighth place, one game behind UCLA. The sophomore Dylan Andrews, who was merely averaging 5.8 points per game during the first ten Pac-12 games, appears to be the difference-maker at point guard. During the Bruins’ current three-game winning streak, he has scored 21, 18, and 20 points, grabbed 14 assists, committed just four turnovers, and made 8 of 12 three-pointers.
Five Pac-12 teams might make it to the Big Dance. or perhaps just one
Since it’s February, we ought to start keeping an eye on the NCAA tournament predictions that are floating around the internet. Recent forecasts indicate that as many as five Pac-12 teams may qualify for the NCAA Tournament. They also imply that the Pac-12 may only receive one.Arizona is in the top four NET rankings after defeating Duke on the road, but the Wildcats are the only Pac-12 team that is safe.
According to all the estimates, Utah will also be among the 68 teams, but the Utes are getting closer to the brink as their seeding keeps declining. Utah’s dismal road record of 0–5 in conference games puts the Utes in danger going into their remaining away games against UCLA, Colorado, and Oregon.
Then there are the teams that are just about to make the NCAA field: Colorado, Oregon, and Washington State. Every internet forecast has a distinct assessment of its existing state. While several teams have Oregon, Colorado, and Washington State in the field, none of them have all three, and they are all on the verge of falling into the risky category of being the “last team in” or the “first four out.” With a great February, all three can qualify for the NCAA tournament, but they can also fade from view.
The two considerations are as follows: Arizona has demonstrated that it is a competitive team. Initially, the Pac-12 tournament winner will automatically qualify for the NCAA tournament. Second, unexpected winners in different conference tournaments across the country routinely eliminate a few at-large slots. Upon completion of the tournament, a team that is among the “last four in” will most likely advance to the NIT.
Standings for the Pac-12 Player of the Year
1. Arizona’s Caleb Love: 18.9 points per contest. He is the best player on the best squad, despite being cliche to say so.
2. KJ Simpson of Colorado: 19.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists, shooting 50.3% from the field, and shooting 46.0% from three.
3. Washington State’s Isaac Jones: Over the previous seven games, the Cougars went 6-1 while Jones averaged 19.6 points and 9.1 rebounds.
4. Stanford’s Maxime Raynaud: 14.6 points, 10.0 rebounds. After shooting 5-for-6 on three-pointers on Sunday, this 7-for-1 center was awarded a berth.
5. Jaylon Tyson, California: 20 points and 7.3 rebounds. Since Cal leads Washington in the standings, Tyson defeats Keion Brooks Jr. for the last position.
The Top Five Pac-12 Teams
1. Arizona (17-5, 8-3 Pac-12): No other Pac-12 team is even close to being ranked, and the Wildcats are back up to No. 8 in the AP rankings.
2. The Cougars (16-6, 7-4).Thanks to their overtime victory over Washington, the Cougars have won six of their last seven games.
3. UCLA (11-11, 6-5 Pac-12): Although the squad’s record isn’t great overall, no Pac-12 team is currently performing better than UCLA.
4. Oregon (11–7–7) The Ducks have dropped four of their last six games, but their opponents have been tough lately.
5. Colorado/Utah (15-7, 6-5): We occasionally get the impression that Colorado and Utah are the same squad. same record overall. identical conference transcript. similar supremacy at home. The same issues while driving.