March Madness 2021: Top 10 moments from NCAA Tournament
By Adam Childs
9. PAC 12 with three teams in the Elite 8
Ask anyone that pays attention to college basketball who the best conference was this year and they would say the Big Ten or the Big 12. Press for the next best and you would probably get the Big East, SEC, or ACC in any order. Keep going and they may name a mid-major conference before finally getting to the PAC 12.
Widely considered the worst power-five conference by a wide margin and one that some thought would only get one bid was the last one laughing this year. UCLA barely made it in and had to play in the first four. Oregon State needed to win the tournament to just get in and USC and Oregon both looked inconsistent at best.
They definitely didn’t look bad in the NCAA tournament. All four of them would advance to the Sweet 16 and three of them into the Elite Eight. it could have been four if two of them, USC and Oregon, weren’t playing each other.
A conference that was considered second-fiddle to many showed that they were better than advertised. Oregon State took down big name after big name and come within a couple of possessions of making the Final Four, and UCLA beat two-seed Alabama, top seed Michigan before nearly ending Gonzaga’s perfect season to make the championship game.
The PAC 12 showed that they not only belonged, but they may be back for a few years. They were without a doubt the best conference in the tournament and one of the best moments/stories of the year.