Pac-12 Basketball: UCLA Alone in First Place; Colorado Loses Again
You never would have believed this back on January 16, when UCLA was 8-9 overall and 1-3 in the Pac-12, but it's true: UCLA is alone in first place in the Pac-12 with just one game to play.
The Bruins won their seventh straight game on Saturday night, knocking off Arizona 69-64.
No. 21 Colorado lost its third straight game, falling to Stanford 72-64 in Palo Alto on Sunday. But while the Buffaloes' collapse and Arizona State's fall from first place may be national news, the story on the West Coast is still UCLA.
UCLA trailed nearly the entire second half on Saturday, and took its first second-half lead when freshman point guard Tyger Campbell scored with 53 seconds remaining in the game. Campbell was 0-for-10 from the floor before he made that shot, an off-balance 10-footer.
It probably didn't help the Wildcats that coach Sean Miller was ejected for his second technical foul with about 12 minutes left. (See video of the ejection here.)
But have the Bruins done enough to get into the NCAA tournament? Before Saturday's games, ESPN's Joe Lunardi and CBS Sports' Jerry Palm both had UCLA out of the NCAA tournament field and among their "first four out." (We will update this story if those sites update their bracketology selections Sunday.)
ESPN's "Bubble Watch" suggests UCLA, Stanford and USC still have work to do to get into the NCAA tournament, although the Cardinal certainly helped their case by winning Sunday.
UCLA still has to face suddenly-hot USC on the Trojans' home court next week, and the Bruins must win that game to assure themselves at least a tie for their first regular-season conference title since 2013. Would that be enough to get the Bruins into the NCAA tournament?
A UCLA loss would give Oregon the opportunity to bypass the Bruins for the regular-season title. To assure themselves of at least a tie for the crown, the Ducks need only to beat Cal and Stanford next week in Eugene, where Oregon is 15-0 this season. The Ducks enter the final week a half-game behind UCLA.
Despite the loss Arizona still seems to be safely into the NCAA tournament, but the Wildcats have now lost three in a row and fell to 19-11 overall and 9-7 in the conference, dropping them into sixth-place with Stanford in the conference.
Arizona is behind USC, which picked up another important win by beating Arizona State 71-61 and is now tied with Colorado for fourth place. The Trojans (21-9, 10-7) needed both wins to improve their chances of getting into the NCAA tournament. They seem to be in the field for now, but a loss to UCLA and an early defeat in the Pac-12 tournament might put their berth in jeopardy.
Stanford moved into a tie with Arizona by beating skidding Colorado at home, improving the Cardinal's chances of landing an NCAA tournament berth.
Colorado is in freefall, and we are reminded of coach Tad Boyle's words after Thursday's overtime loss to Cal:
You will note that Boyle said, "If we don't win the next game . . . " Well, Colorado did not win the next game, and it is searching for answers.
Stanford shot 52.5 percent from the field, and four Stanford players scored in double figures in a game the Cardinal led most of the way. Colorado got to within three points with 3:52 left in the game, but the Buffaloes then missed their next seven shots and did not score again until just 35 seconds remained and the game was out of reach.
McKinley Wright IV is trying to do it all for Colorado these days, and he had 13 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and two assists. But it took him 20 shots to get his 13 points, and that is not efficient basketball. Wright is an excellent all-around player, but he is not a big-time scorer.
Arizona State began the week alone in first place. but the Sun Devils find themselves in third place now. They would have dropped all the way to fourth if Colorado had defeated Stanford. That's how quickly things change in the Pac-12.
Meanwhile, Cal has won two straight, beating Utah in overtime on Saturday in Berkeley. A bigger problem for the Utes is the status of point guard Rylan Jones. He played just four minutes Saturday before suffering an apparent head injury in a pileup under the basket.
Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak did not know Jones' status after the game, but whether he can play in next week's game against Colorado or in the Pac-12 tournament will be critical. Krystowiak notes the importance in the video below:
Cal is now 7-9 in the conference after being picked to finish last. Its two remaining games are on the road, however, and the Bears must face Oregon and Oregon State away from Haas Pavilion, where they are 12-5.
