College basketball conference tournaments are already in full swing. All across the country, teams are battling for an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. On Wednesday afternoon, the Pac-12 Tournament will commence at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. If you are looking for a league where there are both legitimate Final Four contenders and several potential bid-stealer could emerge, keep an eye on the Pac-12 Tournament bracket. Entering the tournament, there are a number of teams sitting on the March Madness bubble. Winning a conference championship is the only way to remove all doubt.
The following contains the Pac-12 Tournament bracket and schedule, as well as a preview of what we can expect to see.
Pac-12 Basketball Standings
| Team | Conf. Record | Overall Record | Seed |
| UCLA | 18-2 | 27-4 | 1 |
| Arizona | 14-6 | 25-6 | 2 |
| USC | 14-6 | 22-9 | 3 |
| Oregon | 12-8 | 18-13 | 4 |
| Washington State | 11-9 | 20-11 | 5 |
| Arizona State | 11-9 | 16-15 | 6 |
| Utah | 10-10 | 17-14 | 7 |
| Washington | 8-12 | 16-15 | 8 |
| Colorado | 8-12 | 16-15 | 9 |
| Stanford | 7-13 | 13-18 | 10 |
| Oregon State | 5-15 | 11-20 | 11 |
| California | 2-18 | 3-28 | 12 |
Pac-12 Tournament Schedule
Dates: March 8-11
TV Schedule: Pac-12 Network (First Round, Quarterfinals 1, 2 and 3, First Semifinal); ESPN (Quarterfinal 4, Second Semifinal, Championship Game)
Venue: T-Mobile Arena — Las Vegas, NV
Byes: Top 4 receive single bye
Defending Champion: Arizona
Pac-12 Tournament Bracket
First Round
- (9) Colorado 74, (8) Washington 68
- (5) Washington State 69, (12) California 52
- (10) Stanford 73, (7) Utah 62
- (6) Arizona State 63, (11) Oregon State 57
Quarterfinals
- (1) UCLA 80, (9) Colorado 69
- (4) Oregon 75, (5) Washington State 70
- (2) Arizona 95, (10) Stanford 84
- (6) Arizona State 77, (3) USC 72
Semifinals
- (1) UCLA 75, (4) Oregon 56
- (2) Arizona 78, (6) Arizona State 59
Pac-12 Tournament Championship
- (2) Arizona 61, (1) UCLA 59
Arizona earns automatic bid to NCAA Tournament
Pac-12 Conference Tournament Breakdown
If pre-tournament seeding is any indication, UCLA and Arizona appear destined to meet in the Pac-12 Championship Game for the second year in a row. Last year, it was the Wildcats who cut down the nets in Las Vegas on their way to earning a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament. Arizona has now won four of the last seven editions of this tournament. All of those victories have come since the Bruins’ last conference tournament title back in 2014.
Of course, simply penciling the top two seeds into the final is hardly advised. There are several teams whose March Madness hopes are dependent on a strong showing in the Pac-12 Tournament. USC will enter as the 3-seed and is currently the only other team from the Conference of Champions that is projected to make the field of 68. 4-seed Oregon won this tournament in both 2016 and ’19 and likely needs to at least reach the final this year to wind up on the positive side of the NCAA bubble.
6-seed Arizona State is another team to watch in Las Vegas. The Sun Devils are squarely on the NCAA bubble and could put themselves into the field with a deep run through the Pac-12 Tournament bracket. As far as statistics are concerned, both Washington State and Colorado look to be capable of making a run. Don’t sleep on Stanford either! Despite entering as the 10-seed, advanced metrics suggest that the Cardinal are a much better team than their 13-18 overall record would seem to indicate.
Team Stats | 2023 Pac-12 Basketball Tournament
(1) UCLA Bruins
Net Ranking: 4 (No. 1 in Pac-12)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 2 (No. 1 in Pac-12)
(2) Arizona Wildcats
Net Ranking: 11 (No. 2 in Pac-12)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 11 (No. 2 in Pac-12)
(3) USC Trojans
Net Ranking: 45 (No. 3 in Pac-12)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 34 (No. 3 in Pac-12)
(4) Oregon Ducks
Net Ranking: 47 (No. 4 in Pac-12)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 41 (No. 4 in Pac-12)
(5) Washington State Cougars
Net Ranking: 70 (No. 6 in Pac-12)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 54 (No. 5 in Pac-12)
(6) Arizona State Sun Devils
Net Ranking: 64 (No. 5 in Pac-12)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 61 (No. 7 in Pac-12)
(7) Utah Utes
Net Ranking: 76 (No. 8 in Pac-12)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 65 (No. 8 in Pac-12)
(8) Washington Huskies
Net Ranking: 123 (No. 10 in Pac-12)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 105 (No. 10 in WCC)
(9) Colorado Buffaloes
Net Ranking: 71 (No. 7 in Pac-12)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 56 (No. 6 in Pac-12)
(10) Stanford Cardinal
Net Ranking: 98 (No. 9 in Pac-12)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 86 (No. 9 in Pac-12)
(11) Oregon State Beavers
Net Ranking: 221 (No. 11 in Pac-12)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 215 (No. 11 in Pac-12)
(12) California Golden Bears
Net Ranking: 310 (No. 12 in Pac-12)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 263 (No. 12 in Pac-12)
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