We are now halfway through the season and the Pac 12 has zero ranked teams. The people on the West Coast love to complain about East Coast bias when it comes to getting national recognition but I’m not hearing much of that chatter this year as the conference continues to lay egg after egg. The mediocrity has continued in league play as road teams are only 2-14 (this counts Oregon’s win over Washington State in Spokane). With the way the league has performed in the non-conference portion of the schedule, it is going to most likely take a minimum of 20 wins to get into The Big Dance. As of today, I have no clue which teams are going to make a run but let’s target some games that could decide who gets an invitation.
Saturday, Jan. 21, Arizona at Colorado
Raise your hand if after two weeks you would have predicted the Buffaloes (2-0) to be the only undefeated team in conference action. The Buffaloes hammered Washington last night and now have won five straight. Things figure to get much tougher next week when they travel to the Bay Area to take on Cal and Stanford. The Wildcats young players stunk up the joint last night in a loss to UCLA and are going to have to improve quickly if they are going to make a run at the league title. There is a decent chance the Wildcats will win their next four before this contest in Boulder. The schedule gets ugly (well, as ugly as it can get in the Pac 12) so this figures to be a must-win if they are going to approach 20 victories. The key to this game will be Arizona’s smallish frontline keeping Buffaloes swingman Andre Roberson (12.0 rebounds) off the glass.
Saturday, Jan. 21, Stanford at Washington
This game should present a classic contrast in styles matchup. The Cardinal are thriving on the defensive end of the court (57.9 points allowed) while the Huskies (79.8 points) want to get out in transition and run. While superstar freshman Tony Wroten is making a case for the Player of the Year award in the conference, he still can get careless with the ball (4.1 turnovers). Stanford will look to pressure him and slow the tempo. How the Huskies react to a halfcourt contest will determine whether or not they can get the victory. The loser of this game could be looking at finishing in fifth place and needing to make a deep run in the conference tournament to hear their name called on Selection Sunday. This game will become even more important for the Huskies if they can’t find a way to get past Cal on Jan. 18.
Saturday, Jan. 28, Washington at Arizona
It will be hard for this matchup to live up to last season’s thriller, which was the game of the year in the Pac 10. The Huskies (8-6) are off to a slow start but they still have an outside shot at 20 wins. Traveling away from Seattle continues to be the program’s Achilles heel as the Huskies are 0-3 on the road and 0-2 in neutral site games. They should be able to post a road win with contests at Utah and Arizona State prior to this game, but neither of those games will provide much help to the teams resume. This team needs a big road win and this will be their next opportunity to get one. Arizona will head to the Bay Area to face Cal and Stanford following this game so it’s equally important for both squads.
Sunday, Feb. 26, Oregon at Oregon State
The hatred runs deep on the gridiron and I’m sure if this game means something that it will spew over to the hardwood. Both teams have identical 11-4 records and could be fighting to get the Selection committee’s attention down the stretch. The schedules set up nicely for both schools as they only face Arizona and UCLA once during the season. The Ducks are 7-2 since transfer Devoe Joseph (15.2 points) became eligible and are starting to look like a team that could win 11-12 conference games. The Beavers were 10-2 heading into conference play but got swept by the Washington schools. A win over Cal last night gave them their 11th win of the season, matching last year’s total. The Beavers improved ability to put the ball in the basket has fueled the turnaround. They are averaging 83.3 points (6th in country), which is up 14 points from last season. Guard Jared Cunningham (league’s leading scorer at 17.5 points) leads the attack and could challenge for Player of the Year honors if the Beavers can finish in the top tier of the league.
Sunday, Mar. 4, Cal at Stanford
This is another rivalry game that could have serious significance down the stretch. This game will be the last conference game played before the Pac 12 Tournament in Los Angeles. The stakes could be high as the winner of this game could potentially be playing for the conference title and a number 1 seed in the Pac 12 Tournament. Cal is 11-0 at home, but has yet to win a road game in three tries. The Bears finish up with five of their last seven games on the road so they better improve quickly away from Berkeley. The Cardinal (12-3) are a lock to surpass last season’s win total of 15 thanks to improved depth and defensive intensity. The league could use a marquee game of national importance so let’s hope this game features two ranked teams battling for a league crown.