Pac-12 Basketball: 5 questions for the beginning of conference play

With conference play approaching for the Pac-12 basketball, here are five questions facing the teams in the powerful league out west.

1. Is Cal really as bad as they look?

After losing their coaching staff and most of the roster a year ago, the Cal Golden Bears were not expected to be good. But after losing to Central Arkansas and D-II Chaminade by 20+ points, as well as giving up 106 to Portland State, Cal has made a great case of being the worst power conference team.

But there’s some hope for this team. Don Coleman is a 20 ppg scorer and Kentucky transfer Marcus Lee has been a solid post option. This team has already beaten San Diego State and pushed Wichita State well into the second half. We’ll see how the Bears look in the new year.

2. How big an impact will Kezie Okpeda make for Stanford?

The Cardinals are under .500 at 6-7, and, outside of Reid Travis, has struggled everywhere. Good news is that a top-50 recruit has been cleared to play after academic issues. Okpeda is a 6’6 wing, an area Stanford desperately needs. For head coach Jared Haase, the impact better be significant.

3. How will USC deal with the loss of DeAnthony Melton?

In the last week, the university made its ruling on the status of Melton, who has yet to play this season as part of the FBI Investigation earlier in the season. He has been declared ineligible and will not be traveling with the team.

This now makes Jordan McLaughlin, who leads the conference in assists at 7.8 per game, all the more important. One player to keep an eye on is Duke transfer Derryck Thorton, who plays about 15 mpg.

4. Can Arizona State continue its momentum in league play?

The Sun Devils are the biggest surprise of the season so far, going undefeated in conference play. The NCAA bid is all but locked up, but a PAC-12 title is certainly not out of reach. The key could be right out the gate, with a game against Arizona this weekend. Win that and the noise will really start going.

5.  Does the return of Rawle Alkins make Arizona conference favorites?

The Wildcats had an awful three-game stretch in the Bahamas, losing all three games of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. The problem was that outside of Deandre Ayton and Allonzo Trier, there were no contributions elsewhere.

Next: Pac-12 power rankings before league play

But the return of Alkins, who’s averaged 16.0 ppg in the four games since coming back from injury, gives Arizona as good a trio as any school in the country. The 6’5″ guard will be needed badly in Saturday’s big-time game against the Sun Devils.