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Pac-12 Basketball: 5 biggest storylines to watch for 2021-22 offseason

By Jason Burgess

Jan 14, 2021; Boulder, Colorado, USA; A general view of the PAC 12 logo on the floor in the first half of the game between the Colorado Buffaloes and the California Golden Bears at CU Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 14, 2021; Boulder, Colorado, USA; A general view of the PAC 12 logo on the floor in the first half of the game between the Colorado Buffaloes and the California Golden Bears at CU Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /
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Pac-12 Basketball Oregon Ducks USC Trojans Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Pac-12 Basketball Oregon Ducks USC Trojans Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /

The last three seasons have been a struggle for Pac-12 Basketball, with teams up and down the conference taking bad losses in the non-conference, with nobody separating themselves during league play. Because of the lackluster performances, the league has been far from the “Conference of Champions” that Bill Walton claims it is.

In 2018-19 the Washington Huskies finished 27-9 and won the league by three games, but only had the resume of a No. 9 seed. The team that beat them for the conference tournament title, Oregon garnered just a No. 12 seed, and Arizona State was one of the last four teams to make the field. The conference finished the tournament with a 4-3 record, only the Ducks won more than one game, reaching the Sweet Sixteen.

The next season the league was hoping to improve its perception around the college basketball world as the weakest of the power conferences. They seemed well on their way to doing that with as many as six teams projected to make the NCAA Tournament before the pandemic hit. But even then, the conference couldn’t shake the stigma of bad losses. Regular-season champ Oregon lost to Washington State, UCLA who finished second was beat by Hofstra and Cal State Fullerton early on and USC suffered a 32-point loss at last-place Washington.

Two years of struggles and it took just one month, March 2021 for the league to turn the page and begin anew. The narrative began to change in the conference when No. 5 seed Oregon State surprised nearly everyone, taking home their first title in school history. That momentum carried into the Big Dance for the Beavers and the other four teams that qualified.

The conference had the most wins of any conference in the tournament with 13 while comprising 25% of the Sweet 16, three of the five teams made the Elite Eight including the high-riding Beavers and UCLA who began the tournament in the First Four.

Mick Cronin’s Bruins became the first team since VCU to go from the First Four to the Final Four since VCU and proceeded to give us the gave of the tournament with they came up just short in a 93-90 overtime instant classic with Gonzaga in the national semifinals.

With the conference on its best footing in years, this offseason will be important in the league continuing to re-establish itself as one of the country’s best. Here are five Pac-12 storylines to watch this offseason.

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