The OSU Beavers and nine other Pac-10 teams will head to Los Angeles this week for the Pac-10's own version of March Madness, and Building the Dam is going to be your source for everything related to the tourney over the next week.
Here's a quick overview of the particulars of the tournament before play starts on Wednesday. Throughout the week, we will have a full TV schedule, open threads, and recaps after each day.
Pac-10 Tournament Overview
Who: A ten-team field featuring the No. 16 Arizona Wildcats, No. 29 UCLA Bruins, Washington Huskies, USC Trojans, California Golden Bears, Washington State Cougars, Stanford Cardinal, Oregon Ducks, Oregon State Beavers, and Arizona State Sun Devils.
What: A single-elimination tournament with the winner taking the Pac-10's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
When: March 9th-12th
Where: Staples Center in Los Angeles, California
Bracketology:
IN, NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS IN LA
Arizona comes into the tournament as the favorite, and will be in the NCAA Tournament regardless of what happens this week. 2 Seed UCLA will also be in the Field of 68 no matter what happens, but taking home the Championship would help their seed in the NCAA Tournament. Washington is also in, but thye need to make some noise unless they want a double digit seed come Selection Sunday.
ON THE BUBBLE
USC is currently on the wrong side of the bubble, but a quarterfinal win over California would change that. A loss to the Golden Bears though, and they will almost certainly be out. Washington State will most likely have to defeat Washington in the quarterfinals, and then upset UCLA, Arizona State, or Oregon in the semifinals in order to make the Field of 68.
MUST GET THE AUTOMATIC BID
California, Stanford, Oregon, Oregon State, and Arizona State will all have to win the tournament to make the NCAA Tourney.
Complete schedule after the jump
Wed, March 9
Game 1: Stanford vs Oregon State, 6:10 PM, FSN
Game 2: Oregon vs Arizona State, 8:40 PM, FSN
Thu, March 10
Game 3: USC vs California, 12:10 PM, FSN
Game 4: Arizona vs Winner of Stan/OSU, 2:40 PM, FSN
Game 5: UCLA vs Winner of UO/ASU, 6:10 PM, FSN
Game 6: Washington vs Washington State, 8:40 PM, FSN
Fri, March 11
Semifinal 1 (Winner of Game 3 vs Winner of Game 4), 6:10 PM, FSN
Semifinal 2 (Winner of Game 5 vs Winner of Game 6), 8:40 PM, FSN
Sat, March 12
Championship, 3:15 PM, CBS