HoopsHD continues its series leading up to Selection Sunday and March Madness, as we simulate what would have happened in TTTW (The Tournament That Wasn’t). Up next is the much-anticipated Pac-12 Tournament where Oregon entered as the top seed, and teams like UCLA, USC and Arizona State were looking to cement tournament bids and move up the seed list. What would have happened in this conference tourney? It is time to find out!
PAC-12 QUARTERFINALS
The Oregon Ducks entered the Pac-12 Tournament looking to secure a high seed in the Big Dance. Their rivals, the Oregon State Beavers, were playing for their postseason lives after knocking off Utah the night before in the 8/9 game. The Beavers slowed the game down and were able to keep it tied at halftime, with each team only having scored 24 points. That same strategy failed, however, in the second half, as the Ducks pulled away to coast to a 64-52 win. Payton Pritchard was the game’s leading scorer with 17 points for Oregon.
The second quarterfinal presented an intriguing matchup of two teams that looked to be in solid shape for NCAA Tournament bids – 4-seed USC and 5-seed Arizona. The game may have looked good on paper, but on the court it was not much of a contest. Arizona built a halftime lead and kept extending it out in the second period, winning by a final score of 81-61. Nico Mannion led the way with 23 points for the Wildcats, who now had a date with Oregon in the semifinal round.
The evening session began with the 10-seed Cal taking on 2-seed UCLA. Despite being the 2-seed, UCLA was not an NCAA Tournament lock, and a loss to a non-tournament caliber Cal team could put the Bruins on the outside looking-in on Selection Sunday. Mick Cronin’s team instead took care of business, pulling out to a 6-point lead at halftime and winning by a final score of 67-57. Jalen Hill had a double-double for UCLA, scoring 11 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.
The final game of the day matched up 3-seed Arizona State against the surprising 11-seed Washington State Cougars who were fresh off an upset the night before over Colorado. Wazzu’s win over Colorado had turned a few heads, but their win over Bobby Hurley’s Sun Devils on this night had the college basketball world suddenly paying attention. Isaac Bonton led the Cougars with 17 points as they built a 7-point halftime lead and refused to let off the gas, winning 75-66 and advancing to the semifinals against UCLA.
PAC-12 SEMIFINALS
The semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament began with a matchup of two teams, Oregon and Arizona, that had at times each played like the best team in the conference this season. The experts predicted a tight battle, but the Ducks had other plans once again. Oregon pulled away late in the first half to build a 16-point halftime lead and never let the Wildcats make any serious runs in the second. The final score was 89-78 in favor of the Ducks, as five different players scored in double-digits led by 20 from Payton Pritchard.
The late game saw everyone asking if Washington State’s Cinderella run could continue, especially given that they were facing a UCLA team that had quite a few head-scratching losses on their profile. Washington State came ready to play, taking a 43-42 lead into the halftime break. The second half was back-and-forth the entire way until Chris Smith nailed a 3-pointer for the Bruins with just over a minute left to play to extend a 2 point lead out to 5. Washington State couldn’t get the clutch shots to fall in the final minute, and when the game ended, UCLA was off to the title game by a final score of 79-74.
PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIP
The Pac-12 title game saw a matchup of an Oregon team that had to beat their top rivals and then get by a very good Arizona team taking on a UCLA squad that benefited from upset victories by Cal and Washington State to have a much easier (at least in terms of seeds) path to the finals. The fact that they failed to beat an NCAA Tournament-caliber opponent along the way still had the naysayers doubting whether UCLA even deserved an at-large bid. The Bruins decided to take matters into their own hands. Despite trailing by 5 at the halftime break, UCLA fought hard throughout the second half and opened up an 8-point lead late. Oregon had one last run left and cut the lead to 2 on a Chris Duarte 3-pointer with just over a minute left to play. However, despite a pair of defensive stops in the final minute, the Ducks missed on three separate chances to tie the game and the UCLA Bruins were Pac-12 Tournament champions, 73-71.
