Pac-12 Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2022-23 season
Last season, the hype in the Pac-12 Basketball league was supposed to be about UCLA, who went to the Final Four the year prior and had plenty of offseason hype to have a top-5 overall regular season. Turns out that it was another team from the conference that ended up in the top-5 in Arizona, who under first-year head coach Tommy Lloyd went from unranked to being a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The Wildcats, Bruins, and USC Trojans made the Big Dance, while teams such as Oregon State, Cal, and Utah were in a tier of their own at the bottom of the Pac-12. The other six programs ended up squarely in the middle, having both good and bad moments overall.
With the 2022-23 season weeks away, it’s time to look at all of the rosters in the conference and predict where everyone will place. Who will be No. 1? Check out the preview for all 12 programs.
The Beavers won just three games total last season and thanks to a pair of recent offseason news, easily have a worse roster. Forward Warith Alatishe, the last key piece of the 2021 Elite 8 team, elected to go pro and not return to the team, while Georgia transfer guard Christian Wright suffered an injury and could be out for longer than three months.
The leaves an already depleted roster with little proven production at the Pac-12 level. Look for Glenn Taylor Jr., a 6’6 forward that averaged 6.9 ppg as a freshman, to take a large role in the offense and have a good year on offense. The six-man incoming freshmen class will also have plenty of opportunities and if a few can break out and not leave the team next offseason, Oregon State can have something to build off of in the future.
But the reality is, the Beavers will be lucky to win more than two games in league play this season.