That’s right- the Pac-12 women’s basketball tournament kicks off today in Seattle. Keep checking Pac-12.com throughout the day for score updates and much more. There should be a lot of intrigue in the Emerald City this weekend, because as the Daily Camera puts it, the Pac-12 women’s tournament is not so clear cut.
There was plenty of craziness to go around in the men’s basketball scene last night, starting with Washington State’s 73-61 upset of No. 23 UCLA thanks to double-doubles from Brock Motum and Dexter Kernich-Drew. Having lost 19 in a row at home to UCLA and nine in a row overall, the streaks are finally over for Washington State.
The Golden Bears came into the night as perhaps the hottest team in the nation, but Stanford rolled past Cal 83-70, likely ending the Bears’ Pac-12 title hopes. ‘Twas a heck of a second half from Stanford, and the Card concluded the conference season with two straight wins to get to .500. And oh yeah, things got a little frisky at the end there…
Seems like things are picking back up again for the Dawgs, as the Washington men got past USC 65-57 for a third straight victory. Now if Washington beats UCLA on Saturday, the Huskies will have started and ended the conference season on four-game winning streaks. If it wasn’t for that 2-8 stretch in the middle of the conference season…
Two games going on tonight, including one that could have a major say in the Pac-12 title race. Colorado welcomes Oregon to the Coors Events Center, and after beating the “Fighting Altmans” by one in Eugene and by one the previous time before that in the Pac-12 tournament, the Buffs are expecting another thriller against the 19th-ranked Ducks.
Oregon was picked to finish 7th in the Pac-12 men’s basketball preseason poll, but with one win on this Mountain trip, the Ducks can clinch at least a share of first place in the Pac-12. With UCLA and Cal losing, it was some Wednesday for the Ducks, who just now need to take advantage of the situation. And, with the way the senior has been playing all year, some coaches have suggested that E.J. Singler could be the Pac-12 Player of the Year.
The other game tonight takes place in Salt Lake City, as Utah looks to get defensive in its rematch with Oregon State. Last time in Corvallis, the defensive-minded Runnin’ Utes gave up 82 to the Beavers for Oregon State’s second victory in conference play.
Oregon State and Utah are both coming into this game with 3-13 conference records and four-game losing streaks. Thus, these teams aren’t worried about momentum- the Beavers and Utes just want to play better.
So perhaps Cal lost out on its chance for a share of the Pac-12 title last night, but it was Senior Night at Haas Pavilion, so let’s celebrate senior Robert Thurman, rush the court-style.
Have you seen those new uniforms to be worn by some teams come tourney time? The Bruins are one of those teams, and Shabazz Muhammad and Larry Drew II showed off UCLA’s new sleeved uniforms in this photo.
Back to the women’s tournament- Arizona will be one of eight teams playing today in Seattle, as the Wildcats have a 6-11 matchup with Utah at 2:30 p.m. PT. Make sure you catch of glimpse of Davellyn Whyte, the Wildcat senior who is wrapping up her career as an all-time Arizona great.
For non-basketball items, I’d suggest reading this Arizona State athletic department feature on women’s water polo player Ao Gao lending her experience to the Sun Devils. The Chinese Olympian has quite a story.
The 2013 football season can’t come soon enough for USC, and with spring practice beginning, there are changes at Southern Cal as the Trojans try to move past 2012.
