Bracketology 2020 Losers: League play leads to early casualties
Pac-12
The Pac-12 showcased both its strengths and its weaknesses this past week, with all but two teams claiming at least one victory in the opening set of league games. Of course, the flip side is that all but two teams suffered at least one defeat, too.
Arizona and Stanford were the two unbeaten teams, but they each only played one game, taking on their respective regional rivals. The Wildcats thrashed a wayward Arizona State ballclub, while the Cardinal easily corralled Cal. Neither the Golden Bears nor the Sun Devils ought to have too high of expectations for postseason play, but Arizona and Stanford both look like tournament teams already.
At the top of the league, Oregon once again faltered under the intense lights of a top-5 national ranking, falling to Colorado before beating Utah. The Ducks are still easily in the tournament, but they might have trouble putting together a 1-seed performance against a difficult Pac-12. The Buffaloes, meanwhile, went on to lose their second game of the week, as visiting Oregon State pulled out a come-from-behind victory to avoid going 0-2 in conference play. The Beavers were beaten by the Utes earlier in the week. Those two teams are the most likely contenders for seventh place in the Pac-12, so Utah scored an important early victory against OSU.
Further north, the Los Angeles schools traveled to the Evergreen State. UCLA pulled off the shocker of the week when they took down Washington, whose ascent back into the Top 25 hit a huge speedbump. Don’t worry, the Huskies should still be fine. And UCLA is still no closer to getting an at-large bid. But Washington’s margins got a lot narrower with the loss; fortunately, they quickly exorcised those demons, throttling a USC that had built a six-game winning streak coming into the game. The Trojans scored a win over Washington State on Thursday, but Saturday’s 72-40 scoreline against the Huskies will leave a bitter taste in their mouths going into next week.
The top four of Oregon, Arizona, Colorado, and Washington are all still safe, and Stanford grows closer every week. USC, Utah, and Oregon State have all shown flashes in both directions this year, but don’t be surprised if two of those three ends up hearing their names called on Selection Sunday.