Pac-12 Basketball: Historical Look at the Arizona-WSU Title Chase
With the race for the Pac-12 regular-season title coming down to the final two weeks, it's an appropriate time to take a historical look at the two contenders, Arizona and Washington State.
Here's what Arizona looked like the last time it won a regular-season conference championship:
And here is what Washington State looked like the last time it won a conference championship:
Washington State, which is a half-game behind first-place Arizona, last won a conference championship in 1941, nine months before the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Ray Sundquist and Paul Lindemann were the stars of that WSU team, which got to the finals of the NCAA tournament that season, 11 years before colleges were allowed to award athletic scholarships. (By the way, WSU was a heavy favorite in the 1941 national championship game, but lost to Wisconsin.)
The only other time Washington State won a conference title was in 1916-17, just before the United State entered World War I. WSU wasn't even known as the Cougars then.
Arizona has won or shared 26 regular-season conference championships since WSU won its most recent one.
Every current Pac-12 team has won a regular-season conference title since Washington State won the Pacific Coast Conference championship in 1941. Here is a list of the last time each current Pac-12 team won a regular-season conference championship. (All are in the Pac-8, Pac-10, Pac-12 unless otherwise noted)
UCLA -- 2023
Arizona -- 2022
Oregon -- 2021
Washington -- 2019
Cal --2010
Utah -- 2009 (Mountain West)
Stanford -- 2001
Oregon State -- 1990
USC -- 1985
Arizona State -- 1975 (WAC)
Colorado -- 1969 (Big-8)
Washington State -- 1941 (PCC)
Every current Pac-12 school has been to the NCAA tournament more recently than Washington State, which presumably will change that this season. Here is a list of the last time each Pac-12 school got into the NCAA tournament:
Arizona -- 2023
Arizona State -- 2023
UCLA -- 2023
USC -- 2023
Oregon State -- 2021
Oregon -- 2021
Colorado -- 2021
Washington -- 2019
Cal -- 2016
Utah -- 2016
Stanford -- 2014
Washington State -- 2008
The Stanford Case
You will note that Stanford is next to last on that list of NCAA tournament appearances, and unless the Cardinal wins the conference tournament, this will be the 10th straight year Stanford has been left out of March Madness.
That includes no NCAA appearances in Jerod Haase's eight years as Stanford's head coach. It's difficult to imagine a coach at any other Pac-12 school being retained that long without an NCAA tournament berth.
And that includes the aforementioned Washington State, despite its history of failure. The Cougars' previous two head coaches, Ernie Kent and Ken Bone, were each fired after five seasons with no NCAA Tournament appearances.
Stanford's case has led to this what-if conjecture: If Haase had been fired after last season, there was speculation the Cardinal would have hired former Stanford star Mark Madsen as its head coach. It would have been a perfect fit.
Instead, Stanford kept Haase, while Cal fired Mark Fox and hired Madsen, who has energized the Golden Bears' fan base and helped Cal (9-8 in the conference) have a chance at a winning Pac-12 record for the first time since 2017.
The Cardinal has lost six of its last seven games and is averaging just 3,443 in home attendance this season. And those who do show up don't make much noise.
Could Madsen have whipped them into a frenzy? Well, when Stanford was a national powerhouse under Mike Montgomery, every game was sold out and it was a loud and intimidating place. That was back when the Cardinal went to the NCAA tournament 11 consecutive years from 1995 to 2005, and was a No. 1 seed three times.
Certainly Stanford has its disadvantages, especially when it comes to the all-important transfer portal, but not making a change at this point makes it look like the administration doesn't care.
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Pac-12 Player of the Year Standings
(A team’s place in the standings matters)
1. Caleb Love, Arizona – Averaging 19.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists. He's averaging 21.4 points in conference games.
2. Isaac Jones, Washington State -- 15.8 points, 7.7 rebounds. His numbers are less impressive because WSU plays at a slower pace. WSU averages 58.9 shots per game; Arizona averages 66.1.
3. KJ Simpson, Colorado – 19.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 45.8% three-point shooting. He scored 28 and 30 points the past two games to keep an NCAA tournament berth within reach.
4. Jaylon Tyson, Cal -- Averaging 20.1 points, 7.0 rebounds and is the Bears' primary ballhandler. He moves up this list as Cal moves up the standings.
5. Keion Brooks Jr., Washington -- Averaging 21.0 points, 6.8 rebounds. Nice numbers but the Huskies are tied for ninth place. Sizable gap between the No. 4 and No. 5 players on this list.
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Top Five Pac-12 Teams
(Based on results, not the eye test)
1. Arizona (21-6, 12-14 Pac-12) -- Still in the hunt for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
2. Washington State (21-7, 12-5) – We debated putting the Cougars on top based on their two wins over Arizona, but couldn't get past Saturday's 12-point loss to Arizona State.
3. Oregon (18-9, 10-6) – Ducks' loss to Cal may have ruined their NCAA tournament hopes.
4. Colorado (18-9, 9-7) – Consecutive wins over USC and Utah push the Buffs past UCLA.
5. UCLA (14-13, 9-7) – Bruins have lost two straight at home and barely hold onto the No. 5 spot ahead of charging Cal.
Cover photo by Zachary BonDurant, USA TODAY Sports
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