Pac-12 men’s basketball could get only two NCAA Tournament bids

The last Pac-12 football season was spectacular. Washington made the College Football Playoff National Championship Game after beating Texas in a playoff semifinal. Oregon made a New Year’s Six bowl and had a strong season, basically the same season USC football had in 2022 (11 regular-season wins and two losses to one team). Michael Penix and Bo Nix were both Heisman Trophy finalists. Yet, as great as Pac-12 football was, Pac-12 men’s basketball has been awful in its final season.

You know that USC and UCLA have had disastrous seasons and can only make the NCAA Tournament by winning the Pac-12 Tournament. Beyond the Los Angeles schools and their own woes, however, the problems run a lot deeper for the conference which is about to die.

Believe it or not, the Pac-12 could very realistically have only two NCAA Tournament teams. We say that because of what happened on the weekend relative to the NCAA Tournament bubble.

Let’s dive into the details:

UTAH GETS SWEPT AT HOME BY THE ARIZONA SCHOOLS

Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

Utah lost at home to Arizona on Thursday. That loss denied the Utes a chance to solidify an NCAA Tournament bid with a high-quality result. Then Utah lost at home to Arizona State on Saturday, a horrific loss which will send the Utes several spots downward on the seed list. Utah, once felt to be safe for March Madness, is now right on the middle of the bubble and in real danger of missing the NCAA Tournament.

COLORADO GETS BLOWN OUT

Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Colorado hosted Arizona on Saturday, gaining a chance to make huge gains relative to every other bubble team. Instead, Colorado lost by 20 points to the Wildcats. This game after Arizona played a triple-overtime game on Thursday in Utah. Arizona was supposed to be tired, but Colorado looked like the team with no juice. The Buffaloes are in…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/pac-12-men-basketball-could-230651689.html

Author : Trojans Wire

Publish date : 2024-02-11 23:06:51

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