Bracketology Losers: Lumps of coal this Christmas for the Pac-12 and SEC

PAC-12

The Pac is Back!

Or is it?

With four teams in or around the Top 25 in the early season and a handful of others getting off to fast starts, it was looking like a renaissance for the Pac-12 after last season’s well-documented struggles.

But if the first month and a half was a rebirth, last week was a relapse.

Let’s start with Arizona. There were already question marks starting to surround Sean Miller’s team after they were beaten by Gonzaga two Saturdays ago. But they were outgunned from start to finish against a St. John’s team that was not supposed to beat the Wildcats. Both of these losses were close, but Arizona had to storm back to get to that point. At one point, this team looked like it could contend for a 1-seed. But right now, they’re sliding down into the 4 to 6 range.

With the Wildcats’ recent struggles, Oregon is now the unquestioned top team in the league, while Colorado and Washington aren’t far behind, especially coming off successful weeks of their own.

Elsewhere in the Grand Canyon State, the Sun Devils spent the week falling into the chasm.

Arizona State suffered a headline-grabbing loss to Saint Mary’s early in the week. The Gaels hung 96 points on Bobby Hurley’s boys and held ASU to just 56. It was an embarrassing showing for a team trying to contend for the coveted fifth spot behind the foursome at the top of the league. The Sun Devils followed it up by missing out on a quality win against Creighton over the weekend. The Blue Jays won’t be a bad stain on the resume, but Arizona State needed that victory to help wash away the bad taste from the Saint Mary’s game.

Luckily for Hurley, some of the other teams in the middle of the Pac-12 also fell on their faces.

Oregon State beat a UTSA team with a couple dangerous scorers in Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace but then lost to Texas A&M on the road. The Beavers were 9-1 coming into the game and had been one of the nation’s most efficient offenses. But things just weren’t clicking for Wayne Tinkle’s bunch in College Station, as they eked out just 49 points against one of the lowest-rated teams in high-major basketball.

Perhaps the strangest week goes to Utah. It was all jubilation for the Utes after toppling a Top 10 Kentucky team, but the party was over just as quickly as it started. Following their huge upset of the Wildcats, Utah was crushed by San Diego State. The Aztecs won 80-52, which is perhaps more a testament to SDSU’s quality than it is a condemnation of Utah’s. Even still, a 28-point loss never looks good on the resume.

Lastly, an honorable mention for UCLA, who lost to an injury-riddled North Carolina team in their only game last week. It’s probably time to close the door on any bracketology talk for the Bruins going forward. Mick Cronin may eventually find success in Westwood, but it won’t be this year.

UCLA isn’t the only storied program to fall on (relatively) hard times. A couple of them reside in our next league, which also saw its fair share of dismay in Week 7.