1. Arizona Wildcats (30-4)
Last Game: (W) 83-80 v. Oregon* | Streak: 4W
The Wildcats proved they were the top-dog in the conference, as they knocked off both Oregon and UCLA en route to a Pac-12 Tournament Championship. Arizona is playing arguably their most inspired basketball of the season and they’ve likely locked themselves in as a #2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
2. Oregon Ducks (29-5)
Last Game: (L) 83-80 v. Arizona | Streak: 1L
The loss of forward Chris Boucher to a torn ACL may end up being the biggest blow for Oregon this week, as the Ducks simply looked to be missing that key element that would put them over the edge against Arizona. A potential Final Four group has suddenly become a likely Sweet Sixteen outfit, unless somebody fills a bigger role on the fly.
3. UCLA Bruins (29-4)
Last Game: (L) 86-75 v. Arizona* | Streak: 1L
Guard Lonzo Ball looks like he narrowly avoided a broken thumb and forward T.J. Leaf is still fighting his way through a nagging ankle injury. Maybe a loss wasn’t the worst thing for this Bruins group. UCLA will get a few days to get healthy and figure things out, as they head to the NCAA Tournament as a potential #3 seed.
4. California Golden Bears (21-12)
Last Game: (L) 73-65 v. Oregon* | Streak: 1L
The Golden Bears couldn’t break through that “big three” buzz-saw all-season long, but their greatest undoing probably came in throwaway losses to teams like Stanford and Colorado. Unless the selection committee sees things completely different than ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, California is likely headed to the NIT.
5. USC Trojans (24-9)
Last Game: (L) 76-74 v. UCLA* | Streak: 1L
USC will be the Pac-12’s best chance at getting a fourth team in the NCAA Tournament, but at the moment, they currently sit as ol’ Joey Brackets’ first team out of the big dance. Like California, the Trojans needed that “big three” victory in the Pac-12 Tournament to swing their resume and they didn’t get it. They’ll be forced to sweat out Selection Sunday once again.
6. Utah Utes (20-11)
Last Game: (L) 78-75 v. California* | Streak: 1L
A late, regular season loss at Oregon State seemed to shake some sense into this Utah group but it was a case of “too little, too late” for this roller-coaster squad. The Utes couldn’t get by California in their first game of the Pac-12 Tournament and now they’re likely headed to the NIT, along with their friends in the Golden Bears.
7. Colorado Buffaloes (19-14)
Last Game: (L) 92-78 v. Arizona* | Streak: 1L
The Buffs somehow overcame their 0-7 start to conference play and ended up salvaging something from this chaotic season, which was helped by their 9-4 finish down the stretch. If this season had two more weeks to it, there’s a chance Colorado could be an NCAA Tournament caliber team. Since it doesn’t, the Buffs are headed to the NIT.
8. Arizona State Sun Devils (15-18)
Last Game: (L) 80-57 v. Oregon* | Streak: 1L
Head coach Bobby Hurley’s passion and dedication to this Sun Devils program made you want to love Arizona State more than they deserved at times, but maybe there is something blooming in Tempe worth keeping an eye on. The Sun Devils will bring in three four-star recruits this summer, who will add a serious splash of talent to a blue-collar group.
9. Stanford Cardinal (14-17)
Last Game: (L) 98-88 v. Arizona State* | Streak: 4L
Year one of head coach Jerod Haase’s stay at Stanford is in the books and the jury is currently out on how different this program’s trajectory is now, from when Johnnie Dawkins was leading his team to NIT Championships. Forward Reid Travis’ health hindered the Cardinal all-season long but inconsistencies also riddled this group as well. Haase’s first real off-season should see marked changes for this program.
10. Washington State Cougars (13-18)
Last Game: (L) 73-63 v. Colorado* | Streak: 3L
The Washington State careers of Josh Hawkinson, Ike Iroegbu, Charles Callison and Conor Clifford all came to an end with the Cougars loss to Colorado in the Pac-12 Tournament and now head coach Ernie Kent must look ahead to a blurry future. The Cougars will lose four of their top five scorers from this season and will have to build around freshman stand-out Malachi Flynn.
11. Washington Huskies (9-22)
Last Game: (L) 78-73 v. USC* | Streak: 13L
Freshman sensation Markelle Fultz wasted no time throwing his name into the NBA Draft mix and now the focus around this Washington program turns to head coach Lorenzo Romar’s job status. It was a brutal end to the 2016-2017 season for the Huskies, who last won a game back on January 18th.
12. Oregon State Beavers (5-27)
Last Game: (L) 67-62 v. California* | Streak: 4L
Oregon State showed fight in their Pac-12 Tournament loss to California, where the Beavers rode one of their stronger shooting outings of the season to a near-upset of the Golden Bears. It was a long and trying season for head coach Wayne Tinkle and company, who now look to the 2017-2018 campaign with a cautious sense of optimism.
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