Pac-12 Basketball: Conference falters in NCAA Tournament

The Pac-12 basketball conference lost six of their seven NCAA Tournament teams before the Sweet 16.

With the Final Four set to take place in just a few days, this is the time when everybody takes a step back and re-evaluates the field of 68 teams.

The most notable, and perhaps most shocking, was the disappearance of the Pac-12 Conference. The formerly known Pac-10, before they added a pair of teams, was tied for the lead with seven teams receiving spots in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.

The other conferences to have seven teams in the field? The ACC, Big 12, and Big Ten. For comparison sake, let’s put the ACC next to the Pac-12.

The difference between the two you ask? Simple. Six of the seven ACC teams were members of the Sweet 16, while just one Pac-12 team went on to the Round of 16. Oregon, the lone representative, then went to the Elite Eight before losing to Buddy Hield and the Oklahoma Sooners.

In fact, the only other Pac-12 team to advance past the first round was the Utah Utes, who beat 14-seed Fresno State in a game that Fresno State was leading at one point in the second half. Utah then lost to 11-seed Gonzaga in a lopsided contest, one that raised eyebrows at the 3-seed the committee gave to Utah.

The Pac-12 Conference was one of the strongest as a whole all year, with Arizona, Utah, Oregon, and Cal all going in and out of the rankings and with Oregon grasping a number one seed in the Field of 68. The Ducks actually got seeded higher than Villanova and Michigan State, two teams that spent time as the number one team in the regular season, a feat that Oregon never got the chance to brag about.

Looking back at the first round of the tournament, the Pac-12 got off to a rough start. Colorado lost to UConn and USC lost to Providence in a pair of 8-9 games, with the Pac-12 teams being seeded as the eight seeds in both those matchups.

To make matters worse, Arizona was a 6-seed and lost to 11-seed Wichita State. The Shockers were actually a member of the First Four, and went on to beat Arizona by 10 in a game that never seemed that close by any means. Utah was the only Pac-12 team to win on the first day of the tournament, and even they only beat 14-seed Fresno State by 11.

The second day of the tournament wasn’t any better for the conference.

Oregon State, who for some reason was a 7-seed, lost to VCU in a tight game 75-67. Why the Beavers were a 7-seed is beyond anybody’s reasoning, especially considering Oregon State finished with a mediocre 19-13 record and a 9-9 record in conference, which was tied for 6th with USC and Washington.

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Cal was a team many thought could make a big run in the tourney, especially with potential top-pick Jaylen Brown, but the Bears had some unfortunate things happen that week. Leading scorer Tyrone Wallace broke his hand in practice in earlier that week, and guard Jabari Bird wasn’t able to go against Hawaii due to back spasms, as the 13-seed Rainbow Warriors got their first-ever NCAA Tournament win, beating Cal by 11.

Oregon won, of course, in the always-reliable 1-16 matchup, pummeled Holy Cross by a score of 91-52.

The Pac-12 record after the first round? 2-5. Yes, the field is tough, but all seven teams were higher seeds than their opponents, yet only two advanced.

Something doesn’t seem right.

When you compare the Pac-12 to the ACC, one of the other conferences to get seven teams in the field, it looks even worse for the Pac-12. The ACC was 6-1 after the first round, and six teams, SIX TEAMS, went on to advance to the Sweet 16. The Big 12 had Kansas, Oklahoma, and Iowa State advance to the Round of 16 and the Big Ten had Maryland, Wisconsin, and Indiana advance to the Sweet 16.

Three of the four conferences with seven bids had at least three teams in the Sweet 16. The one conference that didn’t? The Pac-12 of course. Oregon was the lone representative, and Oregon would go on to lose to Oklahoma in the Elite Eight.

Even now, the ACC has half of the Final Four teams playing on Saturday in Houston, with North Carolina, a 1-seed, taking on 10-seed Syracuse. As a matter of fact, the Elite Eight was composed of four teams from the ACC, two from the Big 12, and one each from the Big East and the Pac-12.

The ACC had seven teams: North Carolina, Virginia, Syracuse, Duke, Miami (Fl), Notre Dame and Pitt. The only team to lose within the first two rounds was Pittsburgh, who lost to Wisconsin, a team that advanced to the Sweet 16. Pitt lost that game by only four points.

For what it’s worth, the ACC would’ve had, most likely, eight teams if Louisville hadn’t self-imposed a postseason ban earlier in conference play.

One of the factors the committee looks at is RPI for each team, and RPI for the conference as a whole.

According to realtimerpi.com, the Big 12 had the highest average RPI at 58, while the PAC-12 sat second with a 57 RPI. The ACC, Big East, and Big Ten were third through fifth, as of March 13, which was when the brackets were released.

On the surface, a conference with the second-highest average RPI deserved to have seven bids, but in hindsight, perhaps the RPI as a conference didn’t make a big difference.

The selection committee must approach things different in the future. Strong teams like St. Bonaventure, Monmouth, Valpo, South Carolina, BYU, St. Mary’s and San Diego State were all left out of the field due in part to weak conference RPIs, while the Pac-12 was rewarded with seven bids.

The argument could be made that any of the aforementioned teams would have advanced at least past the first round. San Diego State, BYU, and Valpo were all a part of the Final Four in the NIT, while Valpo has a shot to win the whole tournament.

When the Pac-12, Big 12, Big Ten, and ACC have a total of 28 teams in the field, something isn’t right. 28 of 68 is almost half of the entire field. The ACC certainly showed it deserves that many, as did the Big 12 and Big Ten, but the Pac-12 and their failure to live up to expectations raised quite a few eyebrows after opening-round losses.

Should the committee re-think the way they choose teams? For a conference that was arguably the toughest conference in all of college basketball, the Pac-12 failed on a national stage.

With the Power Five conferences in college basketball running the show, the mid-majors are once again overlooked due to weak conference schedules and weak conference RPIs.

Next: Final Four Preview

Something needs to change, and it has to come from the top.

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