Busting Brackets
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Pac-12 Basketball: 3 biggest storylines of 2020 offseason

By Sydney Chesser

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 07: Ethan Anderson #20 of the USC Trojans defends David Singleton #34 of the UCLA Bruins as he drives to the basket during the game at Galen Center on March 7, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 07: Ethan Anderson #20 of the USC Trojans defends David Singleton #34 of the UCLA Bruins as he drives to the basket during the game at Galen Center on March 7, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – JANUARY 18: Payton Pritchard #3 (middle) celebrates with Chris Duarte #5 of the Oregon Ducks (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – JANUARY 18: Payton Pritchard #3 (middle) celebrates with Chris Duarte #5 of the Oregon Ducks (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

With Pac-12 Basketball landing highly ranked recruits, valuable transfers, but losing key players, are the Oregon Ducks still the team to beat?

The Oregon Ducks have been the team to beat in the Pac-12 the last few seasons. Led by 2019-20 Pac-12 Player of the Year Payton Pritchard, Oregon ended up on top of the Pac-12 regular-season standings, where they remained on track to win their second consecutive Pac-12 tournament.

Pritchard will be leaving Oregon and declaring for the NBA, leaving the Ducks to try and find the right player that will step into Pritchard’s role. However, they will be adding the talent of Amauri Hardy and incoming four-star point-guard Jalen Terry, alongside returning veteran Chris Duarte.

With the strength of recruiting this season, no team is a clear favorite to dominate the conference unlike past seasons, where Oregon was one of the few Pac-12 teams expected to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament. Expectations for the conference are higher this upcoming season as more teams have the ability to rival Oregon for first place.

ESPN’s Top 25 for 2020-21 preseason poll has Arizona State at No.15, Oregon at No.16, and Stanford at No. 18.

Next. Early Pac-12 power rankings for 2020-21. dark

Even if absent from Top 25 rankings, it’s hard to ignore the talent that Arizona, USC, UCLA, Utah, and Colorado brings in. All teams have shown that they are taking a step in the right direction to become one of the most dominant teams in the Pac-12.

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