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Pac-12 Basketball: Ducks to remain the league’s best

By Carmine Carcieri

March 12, 2016; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dana Altman celebrates after cutting down the net after the championship game of the Pac-12 Conference tournament against the Utah Utes at MGM Grand Garden Arena. The Ducks defeated the Utes 88-57. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
March 12, 2016; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dana Altman celebrates after cutting down the net after the championship game of the Pac-12 Conference tournament against the Utah Utes at MGM Grand Garden Arena. The Ducks defeated the Utes 88-57. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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Feb 27, 2016; Stanford, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Isaac Hamilton (10) and guard Bryce Alford (20) talk during the game against the Stanford Cardinal in the 2nd half at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 27, 2016; Stanford, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Isaac Hamilton (10) and guard Bryce Alford (20) talk during the game against the Stanford Cardinal in the 2nd half at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports /

Next up in Busting Brackets’ 2016-17 conference previews is the Pac-12 basketball league.

The 2015-16 regular season couldn’t have been any better for the Pac-12. The conference sent seven teams (Oregon, Utah, Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon State and USC) to the NCAA Tournament and saw the Ducks earn a number one seed in the Big Dance.

Unfortunately, the tables turned when the postseason rolled around. The only Pac-12 team that reached the second weekend was the Oregon Ducks, and even they were blown out in an Elite Eight battle against Buddy Hield and the Oklahoma Sooners.

Utah flopped against Gonzaga in the second round. Arizona was run out of the gym by Wichita State in round one. California dealt with two injuries to their key players and were bounced by Hawaii in the opening round. Colorado got knocked off by UConn immediately. Oregon State ran into the VCU Rams in the 8-9 game. And USC was downed by Rodney Bullock’s buzzer beating layup.

The league is hoping to avoid a similar trend in 2016-17, however, there is only one team that looks like a surefire National Championship contender. And even that squad (who is number one in our conference preview predictions) is dealing with an unknown injury that their best player suffered earlier this summer.

The Pac-12 certainly doesn’t have as many question marks as the SEC currently has, but that doesn’t mean that the conference will suddenly find themselves breaking through in March’s grand event.

While they could still see seven teams reach the NCAA Tournament, the Pac-12 is unlikely to have multiple teams playing during the second weekend.

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