Pac-12 basketball contains a lot of hot seat coaches this season

Jerod Haase is the foremost hot-seat coach in #Pac12 basketball, but there are several others who could get canned as well.

Hot hoops? More like hot seats. Pac-12 basketball has a number of coaching situations which could get very toasty. As we settle into late autumn and move toward December, Pac-12 coaching dramas could provide enough warmth to get you through the coming winter.

The foremost example of a hot seat in Pac-12 basketball is Jerod Haase at Stanford. He has been on the job for more than half a decade and still hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament. If he can’t break through this year, he will have even less leverage than he does now … and right now, he is not in a position of strength.

Jon Wilner of the Wilner Hotline has more details on Pac-12 basketball hot seats:

“The Pac-12 basketball coaching carousel was quiet last spring. That might not be the case in ’23,” Wilner began.

“We count five coaches with some level of job insecurity: Arizona State’s Bobby Hurley, Cal’s Mark Fox, Oregon State’s Wayne Tinkle, Stanford’s Jerod Haase and Washington’s Mike Hopkins.

“Don’t presume in each case that missing the NCAA Tournament will result in termination.

“The situations (and contract terms) are unique to each campus. But it could be a busy spring.”

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One reason why Pac-12 basketball could be a lot better this season

Optimistic about #Pac12 basketball? One component of the season could point the way to a surprisingly good showing for the conference.

Why might Pac-12 basketball take significant forward strides this season? There are many valid reasons and legitimate answers.

Jon Wilner of the Wilner Hotline pointed to one answer in particular:

“In our view, COVID severely impacted the Pac-12’s collective performance last season, even though the pandemic was largely contained,” Wilner wrote.

“How? The policies and protocols lingering throughout the spring and summer of 2021 undermined preparation and impacted performance when competition ramped up in November.

“The non-conference results were awful, and that affected success on Selection Sunday. But the past six months have allowed business to proceed as usual, and the Pac-12’s non-conference showing should be far stronger.

“We saw that exact scenario play out with football: The COVID hangover affected the Pac-12 at the start of the season — remember all the bad losses in September ’21? — but a full offseason in 2022 set the conference up for the current success with ranked teams and playoff contenders.”

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Trojans Wired previews the Pac-12 basketball season with Ducks Wire writer

.@Donald_Smalley of @Ducks_Wire joined our podcast to preview #Pac12 hoops. @IanHest produced the show.

The college basketball season is here. The season officially began on Monday, Nov. 7, but if you look at the schedule, Friday, Nov. 11 has a number of particularly interesting and attractive matchups. The slate features Michigan State versus Gonzaga in the Armed Forces Classic. That game will be played on an aircraft carrier.

USC football is obviously our main focus, but before UCLA week, we’ll bring you a lot of basketball content on Friday in conjunction with the launch of the new season.

Let’s give you our new Trojans: Wired podcast, in which the hosts welcome Ducks Wire writer and analyst Donald Smalley to preview the Ducks and the Pac-12 basketball season.

Ian Hest produced the show:

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Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Betting 2022-23: UCLA is favored to win the conference, but several other schools have realistic title shots

Previewing the Pac-12 men’s basketball season.

We’ve officially crossed into November, which means college basketball season is just around the corner.

Non-conference games have commenced and we’ll be eating, sleeping and breathing college basketball for the next handful of months, But first, we’ve got to preview what to expect from the Power 5 conferences as well as take a look at the mid-major landscape.

Pac-12 basketball is always one of those conferences that sneak up on people across the nation. The west coast tip-offs and the production from the games that follow usually escape the national media.

But the Pac-12 doesn’t escape us here at BetFTW. We give a primer on what to expect this season, including sleepers and players to watch, before making a conference-champion prediction.

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Pac-12 men’s basketball: Five predictions for the 2022-23 season

We predict these five things will come true in the Pac-12

One of the best phrases in sports can now be said: The offseason is over.

The 2022-23 college basketball season starts Monday. Gone are the exhibitions; in are the games where the results matter.

For its part, the Pac-12 has a lot of interesting storylines. While some key players like Bennedict Mathurin, Johnny Juzang, Peyton Watson and Jabari Walker left college for the pros at the end of last season, there are still quality veterans and a few highly-heralded freshmen eager to take their place among the elite of the conference.

Program-wise, it could prove to be a close race down the stretch for the title, as there are quite a few contenders in this deep conference.

With that, here are five predictions for the Pac-12 as we head into the 2022-23 college basketball season.

Pac-12 Preseason MBB Power Rankings: Dana Altman’s Ducks on the rise

UCLA and Arizona remain the top teams in the Pac-12 Conference, but the Oregon Ducks are right on their tail as the 2022-23 season begins.

The 2022-23 college basketball season is officially here, and the Pac-12 conference will once again have multiple contenders for deep runs in the NCAA Tournament.

Dana Altman and the Oregon Ducks had a disappointing 2021-22 campaign, but they return senior guard Will Richardson and add key contributors around him, including freshman center Kel’el Ware and transfer guards Keeshawn Barthelemy and Jermaine Couisnard.

Meanwhile, both Arizona and UCLA lost significant contributors from last year’s squad, but both are still going to be dangerous after making key additions in the offseason.

Outside of the top three the Pac-12 is a bit of a crapshoot. Perhaps Stanford will step up under sophomore Harrison Ingram and push for a tournament berth? Or maybe Mike Hopkins finally put together the winning formula in Seattle for the Huskies? Heck, Arizona State might be a surprise contender after adding multiple big-time contributors via the transfer portal.

Here is a first look at the Pac-12 men’s basketball power rankings before the first official games of the 2022-23 season:

Oregon’s Will Richardson named to preseason All Pac-12 First Team

Oregon Ducks point guard Will Richardson was one of ten players selected for the preseason All Pac-12 first team.

The college basketball season is only a few short weeks away from getting underway, with the Oregon Ducks taking on Florida A&M on November 7 to begin the campaign.

The Pac-12 recently revealed their all conference selections, and fifth year senior point guard Will Richardson was the lone Duck on the 10-man squad.

Richardson was joined by a handful of the conference’s best performers from a year ago, with a few up-and-comers on the list as well.

Oregon is ranked No. 21 to start the season, and Richardson’s outside shooting and facilitating is a big part of their expected success this season.

Freshman big man Kel’el Ware is going to be a big hinge for Dana Altman’s team as well, although incoming freshman are rarely in consideration for preseason all conference awards.

For Oregon to reach their ceiling as a top ten team in the country, they’ll need the best out of Richardson and Ware – along with role players N’Faly Dante, Quincy Guerrier, and transfer guards Jermaine Couisnard (South Carolina) and Keeshawn Barthelemy (Colorado).

The Pac-12 preseason first team is littered with talented players from all over the conference, including two each from UCLA, USC, and Stanford.

Without further ado, here is a look at the entire Pac-12 preseason first team:

ESPN’s Pac-12 basketball preseason projections; USC likely to be an NCAA Tournament team

ESPN has mapped out its preseason projections for #Pac12 hoops. Before #USC football returns on Oct. 29, take a look at the MBB landscape. The season starts Nov. 7.

The 2022-2023 college basketball season is right around the corner. There are plenty of talented teams once again in the Pac-12.

The USC Trojans saw Isaiah Mobley and Chevez Goodwin leave Los Angeles, but there are still a lot of positive components on Andy Enfield’s newest team.

With the season beginning, let’s examine the Pac-12 preseason predictions, courtesy of ESPN.

To nobody’s surprise, the UCLA Bruins are the favorites to win the Pac-12 Conference. Jaime Jaquez Jr. is the consensus conference player of the year after he decided to wait one more year to enter the NBA.

Here’s the projections for the 2022-2023 season, with each team listed in the projected order of finish in the standings:

2022-2023 USC basketball schedule

Basketball season begins on Monday, November 7. #USC hoops is almost here.

USC doesn’t play football this weekend, so let’s take some time to look at USC’s upcoming basketball schedule. The season is just two and a half weeks away. With USC football commanding attention again — at a level not seen since 2017 — basketball will fade into the background this fall, whereas it was a main attraction for USC fans in recent years while the football program floundered.

The schedule still has too many cupcake games. There’s just no reason to play Alabama State, which will be a drag on computer ratings, when USC could play an opponent 100 spots better in the rankings and still have a relatively manageable opponent. Andy Enfield still plays it way too safely with several nonconference games. However, full credit to Enfield for beefing up the schedule with Auburn and also Vermont. Those are the kinds of tests USC needs more of in nonconference play. The schedule is a clear improvement from last season.

The Battle 4 Atlantis is a very exciting and important addition to this year’s nonconference schedule. If USC can beat BYU in Game 1 in The Bahamas, it might draw Tennessee in the semifinals, which would boost the strength of schedule.

Here’s a look at the full USC hoops schedule for the coming season, which starts on Monday, Nov. 7:

USC basketball: Pac-12 schedule is favorable, but not helpful in building a national brand

#USC hoops learned about its 2022-2023 #Pac12 schedule on Sept. 15. The actual schedule isn’t bad, but playing UCLA twice in January? That’s not good.

USC is trying to build a national basketball brand under Andy Enfield. The Trojans made the Elite Eight in 2021 and are trying to leverage that achievement into sustained national staying power.

Obviously, winning games and making NCAA Tournaments will build and sustain a brand and an identity, but what also helps a program is having big matchups on the biggest stage when the largest amount of people will be watching. With that point in mind, the 2022-2023 Pac-12 basketball schedule, released on Thursday, is a mixed bag for the Trojans.

The good news: The Trojans should get off to a good start in league play. Cal, Oregon State, and the Washington schools represent USC’s first four conference opponents. The December-January portion of the schedule eases USC into the flow of the Pac-12 season.

The bad news: USC plays UCLA on Jan. 5 and 26. The Trojans and Bruins have a spicy rivalry in Los Angeles. Playing one of the games near the end of the season is good for publicity and generating interest in the Trojans’ basketball brand. Playing UCLA twice in January cuts against that goal. The Jan. 5 game at Pauley Pavilion is absurdly early for a USC-UCLA game at a time when both programs are relevant and competitive.

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