Why The Pac-12 May Be Lacking In NCAA Tournament Teams Come March
By 750 THE GAME STAFF
Last season the Pac-12 had four teams in the NCAA Tournament which is above average for the past five tournaments. The Pac-12 has averaged 3.6 teams in the NCAA tournament over the past five tournaments.
This season could be a below average year in the final year for the conference. It depends on where you look.
As of February 13, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has three Pac-12 teams in the tournament. Yahoo published an article saying that as few as two teams may get in the tournament.
John Canzano wanted the answers that he trusts the most. He got them Tuesday from CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm.
Canzano asked Palm if everything broke the Pac-12’s way, how many teams could Palm potentially see getting into the NCAA tournament.
“Five – if everything really went well,” Palm said. “You’re talking about Utah, Colorado, Washington State and Oregon (and Arizona) all finding their way in.
“I think that 3-4 is more likely. I kind of like four. I like Washington State to get in. I like Colorado and Utah to get in. I’m not as sure about Oregon. Washington State is probably in the best shape of the four and playing the best ball of the four.”
Palm says to get more teams in the NCAA tournament there is one clear thing that has to happen at the Pac-12 Tournament down in Las Vegas.
“It could be anybody because the winner gets is an automatic qualifier,” Palm said. “The only bad thing about something like that is that that may take one (team on the bubble) out along the way. But Arizona winning the tournament doesn’t really help the league much. So it would be better if almost anybody else won the tournament.”
Going into the week, Arizona is at the top of the Pac-12 with a 10-3 record followed by Washington State (9-3).
The Ducks are needing to some big wins to help boost their resume and get an at large bid. This week Oregon faces off against Oregon State in the Civil War basketball game from Gill Coliseum on Saturday.
Check out Jerry Palm’s full bracketology by clicking here.
Listen to the full interview with Jerry Palm by clicking the podcast below. Catch the Bald Faced Truth with John Canzano weekdays 3-6 p.m. in Portland exclusively on 750 The Game,
