It is that time of the year when the NFL is over, the NBA has come off of its honeymoon stage where the general population stops paying attention to it and the hockey season is far from its most exciting point. With conference play ending soon, college basketball has hit its stride and you should start paying attention! With that being said, let’s take a look at Pac-12 basketball.
So far, Pac-12 basketball has been dominated by Arizona, as the Wildcats have one of the best teams in the country, led by Pelle Larson and Caleb Love. More than just those two, Tommy Lloyd is one of the best coaches in college basketball, and the cast of characters around the duo is about as good as any in the country. While Arizona is a juggernaut, teams like Washington State and UCLA may have a chance to knock off the top dogs (or cats, if you will).
3 Best Bets to Win the Pac-12 Basketball Conference
Best Bet: Arizona Wildcats (-1000) | 20-5 (11-3)
The Arizona Wildcats are currently ranked as the fourth-best team in the country in both the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. While Arizona has struggled come the tournament, the program as a whole has had somewhat of a resurgence under Lloyd. They won the regular season title in the 2021-22 season and have won the Pac-12 Tournament in each of the past two seasons, after being ruled ineligible in 2020-21. Given the lack of talented teams in the Pac-12 this season, this Arizona basketball team probably has the chance to win both the regular season and the tournament for the first time since 2017-18, when Deandre Ayton was roaming the paint.
More than the conference being lackluster though is that this Arizona team is actually really good. Larson can work both the midrange and the paint while providing solid defense. Love is a senior guard who has been through it all while at North Carolina. He can hit deep threes and take anyone in the country off of the dribble. Oumar Ballo is a force inside, attacking the rim just as well as he defends it. Add in two more double-digit scorers in Keshad Johnson and Kylan Boswell, and you have not only a Pac-12 winner but a championship contender. The Wildcats are currently ranked fourth according to KenPom, and while the -1000 is not great value, Arizona is probably the only team that can win the Pac-12 this season.
Best Value: Washington State Cougars (+375) | 20-6 (11-4)
Is it 2008? Washington State basketball is having a magical season, which is certainly out of the norm for the Cougars. Washington State has been downright terrible as a Pac-12 basketball program since Tony Bennett left after the 2009 season. In fact, they have not made the NCAA Tournament since then.
This season is much different, though. Currently ranked No. 21 in the AP Poll and No. 22 in the coaches poll, the Cougars (as of writing this article) have won seven games in a row and 10 out of their last 11 games, including a 73-70 win over Arizona. Washington State has two 15+ PPG scorers, including Myles Rice, who shoots at a 45.7% clip, and Isaac Jones, who shoots just short of 59%. Currently ranked at 33rd according to KenPom, the Cougars suffocate teams on defense, but they can also score the ball well. The conference may come down to the matchup between Washington State and Arizona this week and, if the Cougars can hold Larson to nine points again, they may find themselves at the top of the conference come next week.
If you were to bet on any team other than Arizona to win the conference, it has to be Washington State. With +375 odds, the value is there to win a decent amount of money. If you are betting this line, do it now, before the game against Arizona this week.
Best Long Shot: UCLA Bruins (+6500) | 14-12 (9-6)
This season has been tumultuous for the Bruins, to say the least. After starting the season 5-2, UCLA went on to lose eight out of their next nine games. That is a far cry from the Johnny Juzang, Jaime Jacquez, Tyger Campbell teams that we have seen over the past couple of seasons. Since that rough eight-game stretch though, the Bruins have won eight out of their last nine games, before dropping to Utah at the buzzer late last week. The loss to Utah probably bumps the Bruins out of an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament. So, to get there, winning the Pac-12 Tournament will have to be the way.
Being fourth in the conference and 2.5 games back from Arizona for the lead, should UCLA go on a run to end the regular season, a top-two seed is not out of the realm of possibilities. It is going to be tough because the Bruins still have to play Arizona and Washington State yet. While it sounds like that could be a problem, there is a silver lining there. If they do beat both the Wildcats and the Cougars, they get that many games back to get on top of the conference. In all reality, UCLA probably cannot win the Pac-12, but Mick Cronin is still a good coach and crazier things have happened. I am not betting on UCLA, but given the lack of Pac-12 basketball talent this season, they are probably the team with the best “long shot” chance to win the conference.
