(Photo: Dominic Cotroneo/WCSN)
As the Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament approaches, teams are prepping for one last chance to show their worth for an NCAA Tournament bid. This season, the Pac-12 is as deep as it’s ever been, with the top five seeds in the conference set to make the NCAA tournament regardless of how the Pac-12 tournament unfolds.
Arizona State sits at the No. 2 seed, meaning that they will have a first round bye and play the winner of the No. 7 Washington State/No. 10 Oregon game on Thursday.
With a field this deep, anything can happen (see USC in the 2014 Pac-12 Tournament), but here is a preview of each of the top four seeds in the tournament as they get set to take one last shot at glory in Seattle.
1. Oregon State (26-3, 16-2 Pac-12)
Key Win(s): Arizona State (twice), North Carolina, California, Washington
Oregon State has been even more dominant than anticipated this year.
The Beavers have gone from being picked to finish third in the conference in the preseason to making history as they clinched their first ever Pac-12 regular season title behind a 16-2 conference record.
The Beavers are the favorites in this tournament, but they have been upset by both Stanford and Washington in recent weeks, so nothing is guaranteed. Plus, they made it all the way to the tournament final last season, but were upset by USC. Like I said, anything can happen.
Oregon State will face the winner of the no. 8 USC/no. 9 Colorado game.
2. Arizona State (26-4, 15-3 Pac-12)
Key Win(s): Stanford (twice), California, Northwestern, Washington
Arizona State has exceeded expectations more than any other team in the conference this year.
After being picked to finish seventh in the conference, the Sun Devils went on an absolute tear, starting the season 18-1, then only losing conference games to Oregon State twice and a buzzer-beater loss to Cal.
Arizona State lacks the star-power that some of these other teams have, but work well together as a team, making them extremely dangerous in this tournament.
Arizona State will face the winner of the no. 7 Washington State/no. 10 Oregon game.
3. Stanford (21-9, 13-5 Pac-12)
Key Win(s): UConn, Oregon State, California
Stanford has had a sub-par season by their standards, but by no means are the Cardinal out of contention.
This year was the first time in 14 seasons the Cardinal haven’t won at least a share of the Pac-12 regular season title, but Stanford is still an extremely talented team with the potential to beat anybody in this tournament, as it showed in its victory over Oregon State and early season victory over perennial powerhouse UConn.
With talent like Amber Orrange and a seasoned coach like Tara VanDerveer, Stanford has as good a chance as anybody to make a run in this tournament.
Stanford will face the winner of the no. 6 UCLA/no. 11 Arizona game.
4. California (21-8, 13-5)
Key Win(s): Arizona State, Stanford, Washington
Cal was predicted to take the regular season conference title in the preseason, but failed to live up those lofty expectations.
The Golden Bears have struggled at different points in the season, but overall have still looked like a solid team, splitting series with Arizona State, Stanford and Washington. They have the Pac-12 Player of the Year in senior forward Reshanda Gray and are one of the biggest and most athletic teams in the conference.
Cal has lost three of its last five including a big loss against Oregon State that solidified the Beavers as conference champs, but seniors Gray and Brittany Boyd will look to right the ship with a big showing in the conference tournament.
Cal will face the winner of the no. 5 Washington/no. 12 Utah game.
The Rest:
No. 5 Washington (22-8, 11-7 Pac-12) Key Win(s): Oregon State, California, Texas A&M
No. 6 UCLA (12-17, 8-10 Pac-12) Key Win(s): USC (twice)
No. 7 Washington State (16-13, 7-11 Pac-12) Key Win(s): Washington
No. 8 USC (15-14, 7-11 Pac-12) Key Win(s): California
No. 9 Colorado (13-16, 6-12 Pac-12) Key Win(s): Washington State
No. 10 Oregon (13-16, 6-12 Pac-12) Key Win(s): Stanford, Washington State
No. 11 Arizona (10-19, 3-15 Pac-12) Key Win(s): Stanford
No. 12 Utah (9-20, 3-15 Pac-12) Key Win(s): Washington
Prediction:
This tournament is as deep as it has ever been, and multiple teams have the potential to go all the way this year. With that being said, I do still believe that this will come down to the No. 1 and the No. 2 seed in the final. In a close championship game, Oregon State will win the Pac-12 tournament over Arizona State.
Bold Prediction:
No. 5 Washington will beat No. 4 California in the quarterfinals, making it to the semifinals where they’ll face No. 1 Oregon State.
