Pac-12 NCAA Tournament Projections: Utah, Colorado Living on the Edge
Heading into the conference's final weekend of regular-season games, a lot remains uncertain regarding the Pac-12 teams in the NCAA tournament.
Arizona is still wavering between a No. 1 and No, 2 seed, and Utah and Colorado are both living on the very edge of being barely in or barely out of March Madness.
We cited eight respected websites that posted NCAA tournament projections this week, and there is considerable disagreement among them when it comes to the Pac-12.
Three of the sites have just two Pac-12 teams in the tournament; three other sites have three Pac-12 teams in the 68-team field; and two experts project four Pac-12 teams to be part of March Madness.
Arizona is a No. 1 seed in two of the sites, but the six others place the Wildcats on the No. 2 line. Meanwhile, Washington State continues to rise and is tabbed as a No. 5 or No. 6 seed by the eight people who should know.
But the real nitty-gritty involves Utah and Colorado. Four sites put Colorado into the field as a No. 11 seed, which means it would have to play a preliminary round game, and three sites have Utah in the tournament as a No. 11 seed.
What is interesting is that two sites place Colorado above Utah, but three experts have the Utes above the Buffaloes in their projections. Two sites have both Utah and Colorado in the 68-team field, and all the sites have the two teams teetering on the brink.
Why the disagreement regarding the placement of Utah and Colorado? Well, the Buffaloes have a better overall record (20-9) than Utah (18-11) and are two games ahead of Utah in the Pac-12 standings, with the Buffaloes owning an 11-7 conference record to Utah's 9-9.
However, the NCAA selection committee has said that nonconference games count as much as conference wins when determining the NCAA tournament field, and Utah has impressive wins over BYU (home), Saint Mary's (road) and Wake Forest (neutral), while Colorado has no such victories.
Colorado and Utah split the two games against each other, but if Utah makes the NCAA tournament field and Colorado doesn't, a lot complaints will be coming out of Boulder, Colorado.
Let's take a look at the NCAA tournament seeds given to the contending Pac-12 teams in the eight projections.
.
Pac-12 teams in – 2
Arizona -- 1
Washington State – 5
Utah – First Four Out
Colorado – Next Four Out
.
Pac-12 teams in – 4
Arizona -- 2
Washington State – 6
Colorado – 11 (Last Four In)
Utah – 11 (Last Four In)
.
Pac-12 teams in – 2
Arizona -- 2
Washington State – 6
Colorado – First Four Out
Utah – First Four Out
.
Pac-12 teams in – 4
Arizona -- 1
Washington State – 6
Colorado – 11 (Last Four In)
Utah – 11 (Last Four In)
.
USA Today (Paul Myerberg, Erick Smith, Eddie Timanus)
Pac-12 teams in – 3
Arizona -- 2
Washington State – 6
Colorado – 11 (Last Four In)
Utah – First Four Out
.
The Sporting News (Bill Bender)
Pac-12 teams in – 3
Arizona -- 2
Washington State – 6
Colorado – 11 (Last Four In)
Utah – First Four Out
.
Bleacher Report (Kerry Miller)
Pac-12 teams in – 3
Arizona -- 2
Washington State – 5
Utah – 11 (Third-to-Last Team In)
Colorado – Not Included (Also Considered)
.
Pac-12 teams in – 2
Arizona -- 2
Washington State – 5
Utah – First Four Out
Colorado – Next Four Out
Cover photo of Utah's Branden Carlson by Rob Gray, USA TODAY Sports
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