Pac-12 Basketball: UCLA, Arizona Top Betting Odds; Cal the Longshot

If you're not sure how Pac-12 basketball teams will finish in the conference standings, you're not alone. Bookmakers have established varying odds for the 12 Pac-12 teams to win the regular-season conference title based on results so far.

Just two things seem clear:

1. Arizona and UCLA have established themselves as the favorites, with both having nearly even odds to win the conference crown in all three of the betting sites we cited. They are the only two Pac-12 teams ranked in this week's AP poll released Monday, with Arizona at No. 5 and UCLA at No. 11. Arizona hosts UCLA on Jan. 21, then the teams meet again in their final regular-season game on March 4.

2. Cal is the biggest longshot to win the Pac-12 title. The Bears are tied with Oregon State with the longest odds on two of the sites, and they stand alone with the longest odds at the third.

BetMGM is offering 500-to-1 odds for the Bears to finish first, according to Vegas Insider, and you can almost talk yourself into wagering a few bucks on the Bears if you consider a few things.

First of all, Cal is on a one-game winning streak, having beaten Texas-Arlington in dominant fashion 73-51. The Bears did it with their leading scorer, Devin Askew, sitting out the game with a foot/ankle injury. So maybe Cal is getting better. What might the Bears do when Askew returns and when Jalen Celestine and DeJuan Clayton are ready to go? Celestine and Clayton have yet to play this season, and both figure to be in the starting lineup soon after they are cleared to play.

And Grant Newell was named Pac-12 freshman of the week for his play against UTA, so perhaps he can be a bigger factor as the season goes on.

But there are some negative factors that cannot be ignored.

Cal was 0-12 before that win over UTA, and still have a NET ranking of 319, by far the worst in the Pac-12.

The Bears are 0-2 in Pac-12 play and host Utah on Thursday and Colorado on Saturday.

Odds vary on the other teams in the Pac-12, with Arizona State moving up, although the Sun Devils are difficult to read. Arizona State is 11-2 with a 25-point win over Michigan and a 2-0 record in the Pac-12, with both wins coming on the road. But the Sun Devils also lost to Texas Southern and lost by 37 points to San Francisco.

Washington is difficult to pin down, having 100-to-1 odds on two sites but just 35-to-1 on the other. The Huskies have a win over Saint Mary's, but lost to Oregon State.

Here is how four betting sites have the odds to win the Pac-12 regular-season title:

www.BetOnline.ag

UCLA: 11-to-10

Arizona: 7-to-5

Arizona State: 12-to-1

Oregon: 14-to-1

USC: 14-to-1

Utah: 22-to-1

Stanford: 50-to-1

Washington State: 55-to-1

Colorado: 100-to-1

Washington: 100-to-1

Oregon State: 250-to-1

Cal: 250-to-1

Fan Duel

Arizona: 13-to-10

UCLA: 13-to-10

USC: 8.5-to-1

Oregon: 11-to-1

Arizona State: 13-to-1

Utah: 24-to-1

Stanford: 48-to-1

Colorado: 95-to-1

Washington State: 60-to-1

Washington: 100-to-1

Oregon State: 250-to-1

Cal: 250-to-1

Caesars Sportsbook

Arizona: 20-to-23

UCLA: 6-to-5

Arizona State: 12-to-1

USC: 12-to-1

Utah: 16-to-1

Oregon: 18-to-1

Washington: 35-to-1

Stanford: 45-to-1

Colorado: 50-to-1

Oregon State: 50-to-1

Washington State: 100-to-1

Cal: 150-to-1

Cover photo of UCLA's Jaime Jaquez is by Kiyoshi Mio, USA TODAY Sports

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