March Madness Update: Will Arizona or Washington State Reign in Pac-12?
Get ready to shed a tear or two as the days are numbered in the Pac-12 with the regular season ending on Saturday.
Arizona and Washington State are in a position to secure bids in the NCAA Tournament regardless of what happens in the Pac-12 tournament. After that, it is a little harder to predict when it comes to the March Madness odds.
Oregon and Colorado join the Wildcats and the Cougars as teams with winning records in Pac-12 play with one week left in the regular season. Have the Ducks and Buffaloes done enough to earn at-large bids into the NCAA Tournament if they don’t win the Pac-12 tournament? Neither team should be too comfortable right now when it comes to securing a spot in the March Madness bracket.
This is the final season of the Pac-12 as a Power-5 conference. Next season, Cal and Stanford are headed to the ACC, Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah will join the Big 12 while Oregon, Southern California, UCLA, and Washington leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten. That leaves Oregon State and Washington State as the two teams without a seat in the conference realignment table.
When looking at the college basketball futures odds, Arizona is tied for fourth with +1200 odds of winning the national championship. Washington State is priced at +8000 while Utah, Colorado and Oregon have +15000 odds to win March Madness.
Here’s a look at the NCAA Tournament hopes for the Pac-12 teams.
Big Dance-Bound: Arizona, Washington State Setting the Pace
Arizona is still fighting for a No. 1 seed in the March Madness bracket but there isn’t much margin for error with the Wildcats falling to fourth in the NCAA NET rankings.
The Wildcats are 8-3 in Quad 1 games. However, two Quad 2 losses and a Quad 3 loss could prove costly when the NCAA Tournament selection committee looks at the Wildcats’ body of work.
Washington State is 39th in the NCAA NET rankings. The Cougars have two wins over Arizona but the lack of strength in the Pac-12 could hurt when it comes to the March Madness seeding.
There’s not much in Washington State’s non-conference schedule that will wow the selection committee so it remains to be seen how that will impact the tournament seed for the Cougars.
On the Bubble
Colorado is ahead of Washington State in the NCAA NET rankings. Sweeping the two Oregon schools would be very helpful for the Buffaloes.
Colorado was blown out twice by Arizona, and a non-conference win over Miami in the NABC Brooklyn Showcase has lost much of its luster as the underachieving Hurricanes sink in the ACC standings.
The Buffaloes are 55th in RPI and 60th in strength of schedule. Losing to Arizona by 47 and 20 points won’t aid the Buffaloes’ cause.
Utah has moved from 53rd to 46th in the NCAA NET rankings. The Utes are only 3-7 in Quad 1 games. A 9-9 record in Pac-12 play is another concerning number for the Utes, and the NCAAB odds for Utah earning an at-large bid are not promising.
Oregon is 19-10 and 11-7 in the Pac-12. However, a 2-5 record in Quad 1 games and a losing mark in Quad 2 games has the Ducks just 64th in the NCAA NET rankings.
Wait ‘Til Next Year
Washington might be 71st in the NCAA NET rankings, but the Huskies are 8-11 in conference play and 16-14 record overall despite the play of Keion Brooks.
21 PPG
6.8 RPG
49.6 FG%Keion Brooks Jr. has been a leader for the Huskies this year. Should he be the Pac-12 Player of the Year, presented by @Nextiva?
📰 https://t.co/sJtxWUgtKW pic.twitter.com/TlBPd7z9RJ
— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) March 5, 2024
No. 96 Southern California (0-6 in Quad 1 games), and No. 115 UCLA (1-8 in Quad 1 games) have been bitter disappointments. Both teams will likely need to win the Pac-12 tournament to secure a spot in the March Madness bracket.
No. 118 California, No. 119 Stanford, No. 125 Arizona State, and No. 160 Oregon State are bringing up the rear in the Pac-12. It will take a run in the conference tournament for them to take spots away from bubble teams by earning the Pac-12’s automatic bid.
Questions Of The Day
Which Pac-12 team has the best record against the spread this season?
Arizona is 19-10 against the Las Vegas NCAAB odds. No other Pac-12 team is more than three games over .500 against the spread this season.
Who has the best odds of winning March Madness among Pac-12 teams?
Arizona was tied for second with +1000 championship odds when the season began and those odds have moved to +1200. That is still the best mark among Pac-12 teams.
