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There’s two more weeks of Pac-12 basketball left, and this conference has failed to cement more than two teams into the NCAA Tournament. Well, at least one team.
Washington, UCLA and USC are each in the first four out of ESPN’s Bracketology, while Utah falls in the next four out column. Arizona State and Arizona are the lone Pac-12 representatives in Joe Lunardi’s bracket.
However, the race for a conference tournament bye incredibly close. Just a game separates eight-placed Arizona State from fifth-placed Stanford in the Pac-12 standings. This two-week stretch should be fun.
Pac-12 power rankings — Feb. 20
| Rank | Destin | Kaye |
|---|---|---|
| Rank | Destin | Kaye |
| 1 | Arizona | Arizona |
| 2 | Arizona State (+1) | UCLA (+1) |
| 3 | USC (-1) | Arizona State (-1) |
| 4 | UCLA | USC (+1) |
| 5 | Utah (+2) | Utah (+2) |
| 6 | Stanford (+2) | Stanford (+4) |
| 7 | Washington (-1) | Oregon (-3) |
| 8 | Oregon (-4) | Washington (-2) |
| 9 | Colorado | Oregon State (+1) |
| 10 | Oregon State | Colorado (-2) |
| 11 | California | Washington State |
| 12 | Washington State | California |
Destin: USC losing Bennie Boatwright is a major buzz kill for its Tournament push. And it thins out the Pac-12’s depth that already resembles a toothpick. Oregon and Oregon State both losing to both UCLA and USC gives me reason to believe the Arizona schools should do the same this weekend. Winners of their last four, Utah is the hottest team in the Pac. However, the Utes have yet to beat UCLA or USC. They have a chance to do so this weekend.
Kaye: The Pac-12 is not very good. It’s a big batch of inconsistency week in and week out, and that’s probably the reason the conference is most likely only going to get two teams into the NCAA tournament. For the last two weeks of the season, getting into the top-4 and securing a bye in the Pac-12 Tournament will be the biggest thing to watch for. Washington and Stanford currently trail Utah by a game for that final spot, but the Utes have won their last four. If we’ve learned anything from this conference season, its that some team will probably completely fall out and some team will get hot out of the blue.