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Pac-12 Basketball: 3 bold predictions for 2019-20 season

By Brian Rauf

LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 10: Mick Cronin speaks to the media after he was introduced as the new UCLA Mens Head Basketball Coach at Pauley Pavilion on April 10, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 10: Mick Cronin speaks to the media after he was introduced as the new UCLA Mens Head Basketball Coach at Pauley Pavilion on April 10, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 14: McKinley Wright IV #25 of the Colorado Buffaloes passes against Ethan Thompson #5 of the Oregon State Beavers during a quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 basketball tournament at T-Mobile Arena on March 14, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Buffaloes defeated the Beavers 73-58. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 14: McKinley Wright IV #25 of the Colorado Buffaloes passes against Ethan Thompson #5 of the Oregon State Beavers during a quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 basketball tournament at T-Mobile Arena on March 14, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Buffaloes defeated the Beavers 73-58. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

What crazy things could happen during the upcoming Pac-12 basketball season? Here are three bold predictions for the conference in 2019-20.

Pac-12 basketball went through a rough two seasons that caused many to joke about their status as a power conference. They sent three teams to the NCAA Tournament each of the last two years with three of the six total bids being in the First Four and only one team (12th-seeded Oregon) making it past the first weekend.

However, the time for joking may be over as 2019-20 is shaping up to be a major bounce-back season for the conference.

Arizona and Washington both landed five-star freshmen duos that have raised expectations for both programs (the Wildcats are ranked No. 21 in the AP preseason poll and the Huskies were the top team among others receiving votes). Oregon finds themselves at No. 15 thanks to the return of star point guard Payton Pritchard and a very talented incoming class. Colorado and USC also received votes in the preseason poll, and that doesn’t include Arizona State, who returns much of their rotation and is the only program in the conference to make the NCAA Tournament each of the last two seasons.

The conference will be better and deeper than it has been as eight teams have legitimate tournament aspirations. That will be an important storyline to follow, as will the status of several head coaches.

Arizona’s Sean Miller and USC’s Andy Enfield are dealing with questions about their job status due to the FBI scandal (and a lack of production from Enfield). Stanford’s Jared Haase, Oregon State’s Wayne Tinkle (who just signed a one-year contract extension but didn’t increase his buyout) and, potentially, Colorado’s Tad Boyle, could also find themselves on the hot seat if they don’t win this year.

All this competition and uncertainty makes for an exciting season that is also sure to produce some unexpected results. Here are three bold predictions for how the Pac-12 will unfold this season:

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