Pac-12 Basketball: Colorado, Arizona State Lose; UCLA, Oregon on Top
The crazy Pac-12 took another turn on Thursday, and it ended with surprising UCLA and preseason favorite Oregon tied for first place. But with just two or three games remaining, five teams are within one game of the lead in the loss column.
Here is how they stand, with their Pac-12 record, how many games out of first place and remaining games:
1. Oregon -- 11-5 -- no games back, (22-7 overal). Remaining games: Cal (home), Stanford (home)
1. UCLA -- 11-5 -- no games back, (18-11 overall). Remaining games: Arizona (home), USC (road)
3. Arizona State -- 10-5 -- 0.5 games back (19-9 overall). Remaining games: USC (road), Washington (home), Washington State (home).
4. Colorado -- 10-6 -- 1 game back (21-8 overall). Remaining games: Stanford (road), Utah (road)
5. Arizona -- 9-6 -- 1.5 games back (19-9 overall). Remaining games: UCLA (road), Washington State (home), Washington (home).
Jaime Jaquez's three-point shot with less than a second remaining gave UCLA a 75-72 victory over Arizona State. That knocked the Sun Devils out of first place and moved the Bruins into a tie for first place. It was UCLA's sixth straight win, and only four teams have a longer winning streak among teams from major basketball conferences.
But the big news was in Berkeley, where Colorado continued its sudden skid.
Less than a week ago the Buffaloes seemed to be sitting pretty atop the Pa-12 with a 10-4 conference record and a favorable remaining schedule. But Colorado lost at home against UCLA on Sunday, then was decisively beaten on Thursday by Cal, an 8 1/2-point underdog, 76-62 by a Bears squad that was coming off a 35-point loss to last-place Washington.
That dropped the 21st-ranked Colorado to 10-6, still just one game off the lead and still in contention for a conference title. Colorado coach Tad Boyle was not so sure the Buffaloes still had a chance, though, as he noted in the video above.
When told he was still in contention for a championship, he said, "Yeah, I don't know about that. We'll see what happens. We gotta win the next two games and keep our fingers crossed. If we don't win the next game (against Stanford on Sunday), forget the league title, forget seedings in the Pac-12 tournament, forget first-round byes, all that. We just gotta win the next game."
The Buffaloes could not stop Cal's Matt Bradley, who tied a career high with 26 points, and the only Colorado player who provided much of a counter was McKinley Wright IV, who had 18 points.
Wright still thinks the Buffaloes are in the running.
"I still feel we're one of the most feared teams in the Pac-12," he said in the video below. "I feel we're the best team in the Pac-12."
Boyle suggested below that the Colorado players have confidence in Wright, but are losing confidence in themselves. As a result, they are now leaning on Wright to do everything.
Arizona slipped a little further in the standings, losing on the road to USC 57-48. It did wonders for the Trojans' chances of making the NCAA tournament, because they were -- and still are -- on the bubble. But it hurt the Wildcats' chances of winning the conference title, and they now need to beat red-hot UCLA at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday. The Wildcats can't afford to have freshman guard Nico Mannion go 3-for-14 from the field as he did Thursday.
The Bruins are tied for first for the first time this season after starting 1-3 in Pac-12 play. They have all the momentum heading into the game against Arizona, a team UCLA beart decisively in Tucson.
Nonetheless, the favorite remains Oregon, who gained a share of the Pac-12 lead with a 69-54 win over Oregon State as Payton Pritchard virtually assured himself Pac-12 player of the year honors with 23 points, hitting 5 of 9 three-pointers.
The Ducks' biggest asset is the schedule. Their two remaining games -- against Cal and Stanford -- are both at home next week, and the Ducks are 15-0 at home, one of just a few major-conference teams (Dayton, Florida State, Gonzaga, Maryland, Auburn) who are unbeaten at home.
The Bruins probably need to win both of their remaining games -- Arizona at home and USC on the road -- to tie for the regular-season championship. The Bruins still are not in the NCAA tournament field in the estimation of two key bracketology experts, so every win is critical.
The safe bet at this point is not to bet, as things change daily in the Pac-12.
