After a first month of the season centered on non-conference games, the second part of the season begins this week, that of conference games. For four months, until the conference tournaments at the end of the season which precede the “March Madness”, the various programs of the country will indeed face the teams of their respective conferences.
USA Basketball offers you for the occasion a preview of each conference of the “Power Six”, the six major conferences of the NCAA first division: ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC and Pac-12.
And after the ACC, the Big East and the Big Ten and the Big 12, heading West today, with the review of the Pac-12 (Pacific 12).
A very strong conference last year, since seven of the twelve teams finished the regular season with a positive balance, with two teams (UCLA and Arizona) which reached the third round of the “March Madness”.
This season, the level will remain high, always under the impetus of the Bruins and the Wildcats who should remain the headliners of the conference. Behind, programs in ambush will be able to do well, such as USC and Arizona State.
The teams
– arizona wildcats (#1 in the conference in 2021/22)
– UCLA Bruins (#2 in 2021/22)
– USC Trojans (#3 in 2021/22)
– Colorado buffaloes (#4 in 2021/22)
– Washington State Cougars (#5 in 2021/22)
– Oregon Ducks (#6 in 2021/22)
– washington huskies (#7 in 2021/22)
– Arizona State Sun Devils (#8 in 2021/22)
– Stanford Cardinal (#9 in 2021/22)
– California Golden Bears (#10 in 2021/22)
– utah utes (#11 in 2021/22)
– Oregon State Beavers (#12 in 2021/22)
Challenges
– UCLA, favorite logic? Last year, the best Pac-12 team was Arizona, with 18 conference wins and 2 losses. The Bruins were second with 15 wins and 5 losses. But during the offseason, the Wildcats lost two major starters and their sixth man – Bennedict Mathurin, Christian Koloko and Dalen Terry – gone to the NBA, while UCLA lost “only” Johnny Juzang (15.6 points and 4.7 rebounds in 2021/22) and Jules Bernard (12.8 points and 4.7 rebounds), while recording the arrivals of the two “freshmen” Amari Bailey (11.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists) and Adam Bona (7 points and 4.3 rebounds this season), without forgetting the return of the “senior” Jaime Jaquez Jr. (17.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists this season). In other words, on paper, the Bruins seem slightly more favorite than the Wildcats in the quest for the title, even if the Tucson program is wonderfully well coached by Tommy Lloydand is in no way to be underestimated.
– Oregon still in trouble? At the end of a mixed 2021/22 season (20 wins and 15 losses, 11-9 in conference), the Ducks want to start again on a more stable dynamic this season. After a month in this 2022/23 season… it’s off to a bad start, since the men of Dana Altman have won only 3 times in 7 games, with three losses against teams ranked in the Top 25 (UConn, Houston and Michigan State). Their workforce is however experienced, with no less than 10 third or fourth year players, but the collective ceiling seems, for the moment, quite low. When it comes to attacking the Pac-12 calendar, their momentum is therefore not ideal, and it is hard to imagine any other outcome than a soft stomach for this team, unless there is a meteoric rise in power in the coming weeks.
– The good surprise Arizona State? After 8 games played this season, the Sun Devils have 7 wins (including a 25-point success against Michigan!), which is half their total for the whole of last season (14-17)! Suffice to say that the men of Bobby Hurley have started the exercise ideally, and approach the conference matches with a very good dynamic. The squad is deep, the rotations are well put together (6 players play 20 minutes or more) and there is no shortage of offensive options (4 players at 10 points or more, including 3 players at 12 points or more): ArizonaState has the perfect profile of the #1 outsider (with USC) in this conference, behind the UCLA-Arizona duo.
Player to watch: Kerr Kriisa
Many possible options for this section, because the Pac-12 is full of talented players, but to choose, we choose Kerr Kriisathe Estonian point guard from Arizona (named by his parents in honor of Steve Kerr, also trained in Arizona).
Our reasoning is simple: With the possible exception of UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez Jr., no other conference starter is more central to his team’s offense than the Wildcats’ No. 25. Rather a lieutenant last year, alongside Bennedict Mathurin and Christian Koloko, the leader is this season at the center of the poster. If the pivot Oumar Ballo is the first option to finish (19.1 points), Kerr Kriisa is the engine of the machine, the one through which everything passes (12.8 points and 7.8 assists).
Interesting in September during the Eurobasket with Estonia (10.8 points and 5.8 assists), the 21-year-old leader, at the helm of an Arizona team ranked 10th in the Top 25 this week, is therefore on track to make a great season in Pac-12.
Prediction: UCLA
Last year, Arizona won the Pac-12 by beating UCLA in the conference tournament final. This season, we imagine the opposite scenario, with the Bruins finishing as conference leaders at the end of the regular season, before taking their revenge on the Wildcats in the tournament final.
UCLA’s squad seems a bit denser to us, led by winger Jaime Jaquez Jr., who can legitimately be considered the best player in the Pac-12.
Pacific Supremacy is at Westwood this season.
