Pac-12 NCAA Tournament Projections: Is Arizona a No. 1 seed? Is Colorado or Utah In?
Is Arizona a No. 1 seed? Is Washington State safely in? What will is take for Colorado or Utah to get into the field? Does Oregon still have a shot?
Questions abound regarding Pac-12 teams trying to get into the 68-team field for the NCAA tournament. The winner of the Pac-12 tournament gets an automatic berth in March Madness, but we are looking at the chances of Pac-12 teams to get an at-large bid.
We cited 12 NCAA tournament projections that were posted this week. Eight of them see Arizona (21-6, 12-4 Pac-12) as a No. 1 seed, and four have the Wildcats as a No. 2 seed, so Arizona's final four regular-season games (road game vs. Arizona State, home game vs. Oregon and road games vs. USC and UCLA) as well as the conference tournament will determine whether the Wildcats are one of the four No. 1 seed.
Washington State (21-7, 12-5) seems to be safely into the field, but its projected seeds varies considerably, from a high of a No. 5 seed to a low of No. 9.
This is another big week for Colorado (18-9, 9-7) and Utah (16-11, 7-9), both of whom are squarely on the cusp of inclusion in the NCAA tournament based on the projections of the 12 experts.
Colorado is included in the 68-team field on four sites, but is one of the First Four Out on six other sites. Utah is in the field according to two experts, and one of the First Four Out at five other sites.
Oregon (18-9, 10-6) is ahead of both Colorado and Utah in the Pac-12 standings, but it is not including in the NCAA tournament field in any of the 12 projections. However, one site has the Ducks as one of the First Four Out, and three others have them among the Next Four Out (the fifth through eighth teams on the outside looking in).
So the Pac-12 might have just two teams in the NCAA tournament field, but there is also a chance it could have as many as five teams in March Madness.
Below we list the projected NCAA tournament seeding of the five Pac-12 teams in contention, according to the 12 experts we cited. The sites are listed in the order of their perceived credibility, with Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology generally considered the most accurate predictor of the field. CBS Sports, NCAA.com, Fox Sports and USA Today are not far behind.
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Pac-12 teams in -- 2
Arizona -- 1
Washington State -- 5
Colorado -- First Four Out
Utah -- First Four Out
Oregon -- Not Included
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Pac-12 teams in -- 2
Arizona -- 1
Washington State -- 7
Colorado -- First Four Out
Utah -- First Four Out
Oregon -- Not Included
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Pac-12 teams in -- 4
Arizona -- 2
Washington State -- 7
Colorado -- 10
Utah -- 11
Oregon -- First Four Out
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Pac-12 teams in -- 2
Arizona -- 1
Washington State -- 7
Colorado -- First Four Out
Utah -- First Four Out
Oregon -- Next Four Out
USA TODAY (Paul Myerberg, Erick Smith, Eddie Timanus)
Pac-12 teams in -- 2
Arizona -- 2
Washington State -- 7
Colorado -- First Four Out
Utah -- Next Four Out
Oregon -- Next Four Out
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The Sporting News (Bill Bender)
Pac-12 teams in -- 3
Arizona -- 2
Washington State -- 7
Colorado -- 11
Utah -- Not Included with Four Teams in Bubble Watch
Oregon -- Not Included with Four Teams in Bubble Watch
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Bleacher Report (Kerry Miller)
Pac-12 teams in -- 2
Arizona -- 2
Washington State -- 6
Colorado -- Fifth Team Out
Utah -- Also Considered
Oregon -- Not Included
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Pac-12 teams in -- 3
Arizona -- 1
Washington State -- 8
Colorado -- 11
Utah -- Not Included
Oregon -- Not Included
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Pac-12 teams in -- 3
Arizona -- 1
Washington State -- 9
Colorado -- 11
Utah -- First Four Out
Oregon -- Next Four Out
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Pac-12 teams in -- 2
Arizona -- 1
Washington State -- 5
Colorado -- First Four Out
Utah -- First Four Out
Oregon -- Not Included
Pac-12 teams in -- 3
Arizona -- 1
Washington State -- 5
Colorado -- 12 (probably not in the tournament with that projected seed)
Utah -- 11
Oregon -- Well down the list of teams not in
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Clutch Points (Sonny Giuliano)
Pac-12 teams in -- 2
Arizona -- 1
Washington State -- 7
Colorado -- First Four Out
Utah -- Next Four Out
Oregon -- Not Included
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Cover photo by Zachary BonDurant-USA TODAY Sports
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