Pac-12 Tournament Schedule, Predictions
Pac-12 Tournament schedule, predictions and overview as the conference tourney moves into the T-Mobile Arena for the first time in its existence.
Pac-12 Tournament schedule, predictions and overview as the conference tourney moves into the T-Mobile Arena for the first time in its existence.
For the fifth year running, the Pac-12 Tournament will take place under the bright lights of Las Vegas. Unlike years past, however, the 2017 Pac-12 Tournament will be held at T-Mobile Arena (as opposed to the MGM Grand Garden Arena). And while it’s a new venue, this top-heavy league has some intriguing teams perched atop the standings.
Arizona, Oregon and UCLA all sit within the top 7 of the AP Top 25 rankings, with the latter two residing inside the top 5. A strong showing from any could result in a No. 1 seeding in the upcoming NCAA Tournament – with dominant play and a competitive title game possibly resulting in two No. 1 seeds for the Pac-12.
Below is a look at the Pac-12 Tournament schedule, along with some predictions for the event.
Pac-12 Tournament Schedule
Note: All times PT
Wednesday, March 8 (First Round)
No. 8 Arizona State vs. No. 9 Stanford – 12:00 p.m.
No. 5 California vs. No. 12 Oregon State – 2:30 p.m.
No. 7 Colorado vs. No. 10 Washington State – 6:00 p.m.
No. 6 USC vs. No. 11 Washington – 8:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 9 (Quarterfinals)
No. 1 Oregon vs. Winner of game 1 – 12:00 p.m.
No. 4 Utah vs. Winner of game 2 – 2:30 p.m.
No. 2 Arizona vs. Winner of game 3 – 6:00 p.m.
No. 3 UCLA vs. Winner of game 4 – 8:30 p.m.
Friday, March 10 (Semifinals)
Winner of game 5 vs Winner of game 6 – 6:00 p.m.
Winner of game 7 vs Winner of game 8 – 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 11 (Finals)
Winner of game 9 vs Winner of game 10 – 8:00 p.m.
Pac-12 Tournament Predictions
As previously mentioned, this one is pretty much a three-headed monster. The Pac-12 has seen bursts of productive play from teams other than Arizona, Oregon and UCLA – USC made a nice push earlier in the season, and Utah is on a nice three-game winning streak that includes a 30-point throttling of Cal – but this tourney is really about the race for a No. 1 seed in March Madness.
Oregon will likely come out of the top part of the bracket, though potential games against Cal or Stanford could prove challenging. Both teams played the Ducks very tough deep in the season, losing by a combined five points.
In the bottom part of the bracket, make sure all affairs are in order so you don’t miss the looming Arizona-UCLA tilt. The Wildcats have been a different team since Allonzo Trier was cleared to play. And Lonzo Ball is a supernova on the court for the Bruins.
Ultimately, it’ll be UCLA and Oregon battling for that top seed. Hot shooting from Bryce Alford and a solid all-around game from Ball push the Bruins to the victory, continuing a winning streak that began on February 1.
