Dane Massey is a second-year Digital Sports Production major and writes for The Daily News. His views do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper.
It might be Déjà vu with the way this tournament is playing out so far, but it’s playing out like a movie script in a way. The top two seeds in each tournament feature the two teams who finished last year in the championship rounds of the men’s and women’s tournaments. These teams are all ranked in the top 10 teams in the nation, and all have solid basketball histories of glory and championships.
Obviously, rematches are always fun, but there is something about PAC-12 rematches that are just so special. In that third game in a neutral site, you never know for sure who’s going to take the third and final round of the series, and that is what makes this tournament such a fun one to watch.
Where is the tournament taking place?
Both the men's and women’s tournaments will take place in Las Vegas but in separate venues. The men’s tournament will take place inside T-Mobile Arena while the women’s tournament will commence at the Michelob Ultra Arena. This year will mark the fifth year in a row that these two tournaments will take place in the same city.
Who won the Regular Season title and holds the number one seed?
This year, the men’s tournament has the same two teams at the top of the standings as last year. UCLA and Arizona. Also last year these two faced off in the tournament championship in which the Wildcats (the number one seed) came out on top as the champions. Last year didn’t sit right with the Bruins and they took that into this year as an eight-game winning streak pulled them ahead to win the Regular Season Championship and earned the number one seed. But guess who is behind them in the standings, Arizona of course.
Surprisingly enough, Stanford is not the top seed in the women's bracket this year. Utah put together an impressive stretch, only losing once since mid-January. The top seed came down to the Utes and Stanford in the last game of the season in a winner take all game in Salt Lake City. The Utes shocked the two-time defending PAC-12 tournament champions and stole the regular season title from them. Utah vs. Stanford III in a neutral site? Yes, please!
PAC-12 Tournament Brackets:
Men’s Bracket
First Round (March 8)
Game 1: No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 seed at 3 p.m.
Game 2: No. 5 seed vs. No. 12 seed at 5:30 p.m.
Game 3: No. 7 seed vs. No. 10 seed at 9 p.m.
Game 4: No. 6 seed vs. No. 11 seed at 11:30 p.m.
Quarterfinals (March 9)
Game 5: No. 1 seed vs. Winner of Game 1 at 3 p.m.
Game 6: No. 4 seed vs. Winner of Game 2 at 5:30 p.m.
Game 7: No. 2 seed vs. Game 3 winner at 9 p.m.
Game 8: No. 3 seed vs. Game 4 winner at 11:30 p.m.
Semifinals (March 10)
Game 9: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6 at 9 p.m.
Game 10: Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8 at 11:30 p.m.
Championship (March 11)
Game 11: Winner of Game 9 vs. Winner of Game 10 at 10:30 p.m.
Women’s Bracket
Round 1 (March 1):
Game 1: No. 5 UCLA Bruins vs. No. 12 Arizona State Sun Devils at 3 p.m.
Game 2: No. 8 Washington Huskies vs. No. 9 Oregon Ducks at 5:30 p.m.
Game 3: No. 7 Washington State Cougars vs. California Golden Bears at 9 p.m.
Game 4: No. 6 USC Trojans vs. No. 11 Oregon State Beavers at 11:30 p.m.
Quarterfinals (March 2)
Game 5: No. 4 Arizona Wildcats vs. Winner of Game 1 at 3 p.m.
Game 6: No. 1 Stanford Cardinal vs. Winner of Game 2 at 5:30 p.m.
Game 7: No. 2 Utah Utes vs. Winner of Game 3 at 9 p.m.
Game 8: No. 3 Colorado Buffaloes vs. Winner of Game 4 at 11:30 p.m.
Semifinals (March 3)
Game 9: Winner of game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6 at 9 p.m.
Game 10: Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8 at 11:30 p.m.
Championship (March 5)
Game 11: Winner of Game 9 vs. Winner of Game 10 at 5 p.m.
Predictions for PAC-12 Tournaments:
Men’s Tournament: UCLA Bruins
This tournament is stuck between two teams, UCLA and Arizona. They are easily the two best teams in the conference and should be able to get through it with ease, but UCLA is such a likable team this year. They only lost the Wildcats by eight points and they are currently on a nine-game winning streak. What is not to love about the Bruins this year as they look to not be a dark horse for the PAC-12 but for the NCAA tournament as well.
Women’s Tournament: Stanford Cardinal
At first, it seemed like Stanford was going to run away with this tournament but over the last couple of games, things have changed. Utah went on a run to end up with the number one seed in the tournament, leaving the Cardinal in the dust left to be in their shadow as a two-seed. Come to the tournament, Stanford will be hungry to win this tournament, especially after losing out to Utah. It will be close if the two teams see each other again, but Stanford will reign supreme for the third time in a row.
Contact Dane Massey with comments at dtmassey@bsu.edu or on Twitter @danemassey22.
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