2015 Pac-12 Conference Tournament Preview

(SportsNetwork.com) – A slate of four games will kick off the 2015 Pac-12 Conference Tournament, which is being held at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The tournament starts Wednesday, March 11 and runs through to the championship bout on Saturday, March 14 where a winner will be crowned and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament awarded.

Last season UCLA pulled off an upset by defeating top-seeded Arizona in the championship game, 75-71, to get the NCAA Tournament, though Arizona still was rewarded with a No. 1 seed on the national stage. The Wildcats earned the top overall seed again this year, and are looking to change their fortunes as they set their sights on a potential tournament run again.

The top four seeds in the Pac-12 earned byes to the quarterfinal round, and will await the winners of Wednesday’s first-round matchups. Arizona plays first on Thursday against the winner of Washington State and California. The Wildcats ended the regular season at 28-3 overall, with a 16-2 mark against conference competition.

Freshman Stanley Johnson erupted for a huge season to pace the Wildcats in scoring, averaging 13.9 ppg on 44.9 percent shooting from the floor. Brandon Ashley followed with 11.6 ppg, and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson chipped in 11.2 ppg for an Arizona team that finished the regular season netting 76.6 ppg. Defensively, the Wildcats allowed only 58.9 ppg to opponents, and owned the league’s best scoring margin at +17.7 ppg. Point guard T.J. McConnell led the league with 6.3 apg, and the Wildcats as a whole shot a conference-best 49.1 percent from the floor.

Oregon earned the second seed after winning the tiebreaker over Utah, since each team finished with a 13-5 mark in Pac-12 play. The Ducks won the only head-to-head matchup over the Utes during the season, and were led on the year by the league’s leading scorer in guard Joseph Young, who tallied 19.8 ppg and connected on a conference-best 91.8 percent from the free-throw line. Elgin Cook (13.1 ppg) and Dillon Brooks (11.4 ppg) helped the Ducks average 76.0 ppg.

Utah garnered the third seed. The Utes capped off a 23-7 season with a 13-5 record in league play, but fell apart a bit toward the end of the season with losses in three of the team’s final five games.Senior standout Delon Wright topped the team with 14.7 ppg and averaged 5.3 apg. Brandon Taylor (10.4 ppg) and Jordan Loveridge (10.2 ppg) each finished averaging double figures in the scoring department. The Utes owned the league’s best scoring defense by allowing just 56.6 ppg.

Last year’s Pac-12 champion Bruins get the fourth seed and the final bye into the quarterfinal round. UCLA had a turbulent season at 19-12 overall with an 11-7 record against the rest of the conference. A strong starting five led the way for the team, with all players averaging scoring totals in the double digits. Senior Norman Powell led the way with 16.3 ppg, followed by sophomore guard Bryce Alford. UCLA averaged 71.5 ppg this season, but gave up 67.9 ppg to opponents.

Wednesday’s opening-round contests begin with the ninth-seeded Washington State Cougars facing off against the eighth-seeded California Golden Bears. Cal finished the regular season above .500 with a 17-14 overall ledger, but went just 7-11 in conference play. The Bears lost five of their final six games, but were led by Tyrone Wallace, who led the team in scoring (17.2 ppg), rebounding (7.3 rpg) and passing (3.8 apg).

Washington State never won more than three games in a row all season long. DaVonte Lacy netted 17.2 ppg to pace the Cougars, while Josh Hawkinson averaged a double-double with 14.7 ppg and a Pac-12-leading 10.8 rpg.

USC finished at the bottom of the Pac-12 standings after suffering through a 3-15 conference campaign that included losing the team’s best scorer to injury. Katin Reinhardt (12.4 ppg) and Nikola Jovanovic (12.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg) have been the go-to players since Jordan McLaughlin (12.1 ppg) dislocated his shoulder back in mid February.

The 12th-seeded Trojans face fifth-seeded Arizona State in the opening round. The Sun Devils won five of their last seven games to end the regular season, and were led by Shaquielle McKissic’s 11.8 ppg.

The 10th-seed, Colorado will hope its offense can get the job done against a tough Oregon State defense on Wednesday. The Buffaloes lost their regular- season finale in overtime to Washington State, but Askia Booker (17.2 ppg) and Josh Scott (13.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg) will try to turn their fortunes around in the league tournament.

The seventh-seeded Beavers lost six of their last seven games, and struggled on the offensive end to a 60.5 ppg average. But the Beavers allowed only 58.5 ppg to opponents with defensive stud Gary Payton II (7.5 rpg, 92 steals, 36 blocked shots) at the helm.

The first round wraps up late on Wednesday with a matchup pitting the 11th- seeded Washington Huskies against the sixth-seeded Stanford Cardinal. Washington started the year 11-0, but fell apart just before conference play began. The Huskies ended the 2014-15 campaign at 5-13 against the Pac-12, but were led by sturdy guard Nigel Williams-Goss (15.6 ppg, 5.9 apg).

Stanford, which finished at an even 9-9 against the conference, dropped its final three games of the regular season. Senior guard Chasson Randle finished behind Oregon’s Young in scoring at 19.1 ppg. Anthony Brown (15.1 ppg) and Stefan Nastic (13.7 ppg) helped the Stanford offense to average 72.9 ppg – good for third in the league.

Arizona and UCLA have each won four Pac-12 titles – tied for the most among the field. The last tournament championship for the top-seeded Wildcats came back in 2002, but they are easily the favorite to pick up the title and the automatic bid this year with an explosive all-around game.

Sports Network Predicted Champion: Arizona

Categorized in: NCAA Basketball