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Pac-12 Tournament: 8 Thoughts on Day 1

By Daniel Tran

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Well, so much for Pac-12 basketball being dull. Day one of the Pac-12 Tournament was far from predictable and provided some exciting west coast basketball. Though they may not have the strength or the talent of the Big 12 or ACC, the conference can still get fans out of their seats.

1. The Cal Bears need the Kravish Krazies.

Star forward David Kravish is the force in the middle that drives the Cal Bears. But what drives the driver: a group of young to middle-aged women, apparently.

A rowdy group known as the Kravish Krazies, made up of the Lee Summit North product’s relatives, have invaded the MGM Garden Arena, and have provided Kravish and Cal with a boost when they needed it most. With his mother, aunts, and cousins in the crowd, Kravish torched Washington State with 25 points and 8 rebounds, shooting 58.8 percent from the field.

All head coach Cuonzo Martin is asking: When are you ladies coming back?

2. Washington State’s DaVonte Lacy deserved a better end than that.

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Seniors rarely know that they are going to play their last game. The incorporation of the conference tournament into college basketball has made those seniors play hard to extend their careers and hope the magic never ends. Unfortunately, for DaVonte Lacy, the dream has ended.

Washington State was blown out by Cal, and all DaVonte could really do was watch. In a game where they needed him most, Lacy only scored 9 points, 1 rebound, and 2 assists in 35 minutes, shooting 36.4 percent from the field.

After averaging 16.9 points for season, Lacy’s NCAA swan song leaves a bitter taste in his and every Cougar fan’s mouth.

3. GIVE THE BALL TO JOSH SCOTT.

Askia Booker’s hot shooting may have caught all the headlines, but it was the play of Josh Scott that allowed the Colorado Buffaloes to claim victory over Oregon State. Scott has been the most consistent player for the Buffaloes, who have suffered from an inconsistent season.

When Booker wasn’t shooting the ball, Scott provided a lift from the interior, going four for eight from the field and finishing with 16 points and 14 rebounds. He also stayed aggressive in the paint and shot eight for eight from the free throw line.

If Colorado hopes to advance in the Pac-12 tournament, Scott is the bronco that needs to be ridden for the Buffaloes.

4. Loss or not, Oregon State should be proud of their season.

How many people picked Oregon State to finish in the middle of the Pac-12? We sure as heck didn’t, and if you say you did, you are either from Corvallis or a liar.

The Beavers lost four of their five starters from last season and barely made a ripple in the offseason during their recruiting, ranking 68th in the nation with two three-star recruits. However, it was the four-star junior college transfer that made the difference for Oregon State.

Led by Gary Payton II, Oregon State was the third-best defensive team in the Pac-12 behind Utah and Arizona, holding Pac-12 opponents to 59.9 points per game. Timely shooting may have downed them, but the Beavers should go into next season with high hopes of improving.

5. Don’t sleep on this USC team.

Sure, finishing at the bottom of the already weak Pac-12 conference will have you moderately overlooked to say the least. But this USC Trojan team that is dealing with injury issues will not go quietly into the night.

Down 60-46 to Arizona State with nine minutes left in the game, the Trojans went on a 19-2 run to take the lead and eventually buried the Sun Devils 67-64. They accomplished all that without their starting point guard, freshman Jordan McLaughlin who is out for the season with a shoulder injury.

UCLA may want bring their big boy pants today. It’s going to be a battle.

6. Wrong place, wrong time for Arizona State to Collapse

If you want to know where the worst place to have a dry spell is in college basketball, the conference tournament playing against a 12th seed would be pretty high on the list. Arizona State figured that out pretty quickly.

After completely dominating USC for most of the game, the Sun Devils finished the game missing 12 of their last 13 shots, ultimately dooming them against the Trojans. Arizona State’s Shaquielle McKissic found it hard to explain what happened.

”We had a 15-point lead. I don’t really know how to explain how it evaporated so quickly besides lack of hustle, energy,” McKissic said. ”I don’t know how that happened.”

No kidding, man.

7. Stanford should not have won that game.

There are games in basketball where if you don’t look at the scoreboard, you can usually feel out whom is winning the game based on the quality of play. It looked like Washington was going to win this game.

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    • Stanford shot 45.8 percent from the field and went six for twenty from the beyond the three-point line. That sixth three pointer from Chasson Randle after a Marcus Allen offensive rebound got Stanford the win with two seconds left in the game after Washington lead them for a majority of the matchup.

    Out-rebounding Washington by +8 definitely helped the Cardinal avoid a huge upset from the 11th ranked team in the conference tournament, and their going to need to wake up if they want to survive against Utah tonight.

    8. Washington Huskies =(

    Sometimes all you can do is frown. Washington looked like the better team for 95 percent of the game, yet they still fell to a last second shot by Stanford.

    The team shot 52.8 percent from the field, which included the Huskies going 13 for 20 from three-point range. However, their inability to secure rebounds, including a carom that fell to Stanford’s Marcus Allen, which led to the game-winning three, and missing shots when it mattered most, doomed them in the end.

    In the last three minutes, Washington missed their last three shots and a free throw that would have at least induced overtime if Stanford made a three at the end of regulation. Sometimes, your best is not enough.

    Next: SEC Tournament: Recapping the Opening Round Action

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