Tag: Pac-12 Conference

UCLA Bruins softball sweeps Oregon, to face Oregon State next

The Bruins face Oregon State next.

The UCLA Bruins softball team is on a roll. At 20-8, riding a three-game win streak, the Bruins have proven their worth at the #12 spot in the nation. With wins over previously-ranked Oregon, the Bruins are riding high.

At 6-2 in the Pac-12 standings, the Bruins rank third in their conference. Trailing only #22 Washington and #2 Stanford, the Bruins still have some tough competition to contend with in their pursuit of a Pac-12 title. 

This Friday, the Bruins have an opportunity to add to their in-conference win totals as they turn their attention to Oregon State. 

The Beavers, who sit at 15-19 on the season, should be a fairly easy opponent for the Bruins to best. With a winnable series in front of them, the Bruins must take advantage of their momentum. 

Stanford will be the true test for the Bruins this season. With their series set to tee off later this month, wins against the Cardinal would be massive.

But in the meantime, the Bruins need to take care of business on the road against Oregon State on Friday, where another series win could have them drawing even with Stanford in the Pac-12 standings.

JuJu Watkins, USC win but Colorado loses in Sweet 16

USC and Oregon State are the last two pac-12 teams standing.

The Pac-12 Conference has two teams remaining in the women’s bracket after three teams fell in the Sweet 16. Stanford and UCLA ended up losing their respective games, and Colorado also lost to Iowa on Saturday.

The two winners were USC and Oregon State, and the Beavers face 1-seed South Carolina in a daunting matchup.

Here’s how everything unfolded for the other teams on Saturday:

JuJu Watkins leads USC over Baylor 

The Trojans barely defeated  5-seed Baylor on Saturday. Once again, it was the JuJu Watkins show as she scored 30 points with six rebounds and four assists. Rayah Marshall added an 11-point, 16-rebound double-double as USC got the 74-70 win. They face UConn on Monday night. USC is playing in its first Elite Eight since 1994, and Watkins is a huge reason why.

Colorado loses to Caitlin Clark

The Buffs didn’t advance and Caitlin Clark again proved to be one of the best players we have seen in this generation. Clark dropped 29 points with 15 assists as Iowa got an east 89-68 win.

Final Pac-12 haul is $20 million as Arizona falls to Clemson in March Madness

The final Pac-12 units haul is $20 million after the March Madness success.

The Pac-12 Conference men’s basketball run came to an end as Arizona fell to Clemson on Thursday night in the Sweet 16.

Suddenly, the Pac-12 as we know it is diminishing as only Oregon State and Washington State remain in 2024. Both programs have cashed in big time on the success of the Pac-12 during March Madness, and things have certainly been a talking point amid all the expansion and realignment talk.

The final haul for the Pac-12 Conference in the men’s NCAA Tournament is approximately $20 million, as John Canzano reported after Arizona’s run came to an end.

All of Washington State, Colorado, and Oregon made the Big Dance along with Arizona, and all four teams advanced to the Round of 32, bringing even more revenue into the Pac-12’s pockets.

Now, Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah are off to the Big 12 Conference. Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington are headed to the Big Ten and Stanford and Cal are going to the ACC.

Times are changing, but not before the Pac-12 receives one more huge check.

Pac-12 Conference run comes to an end in men’s basketball with Arizona upset

Arizona’s loss to Clemson in the Sweet 16 ends the Pac-12 men’s run.

The Pac-12 Conference men’s basketball run as we know it has officially come to an end. Four teams made the Field of 68 and all four moved on to the Round of 32.

However, Arizona was the only team in the Sweet 16, and they suffered a crushing upset loss to Clemson that has put Tommy Lloyd in the spotlight.

The Clemson Tigers defeated Arizona by a score of 77-72 as Clemson advanced to their First Elite Eight in 44 years.

With that, and with Oregon State and Washington State being the only two programs not leaving the Pac-12, the conference as we know it has played its final basketball game.

It was another early exit for Arizona, and although the conference as a whole struggled from the men’s side of things, Arizona had bigger goals and aspirations.

The last team from the Pac-12 to make a Final Four? The UCLA Bruins in 2021 and they will live in the history books.

Oregon State advances, Stanford eliminated in Pac-12 women’s March Madness roundup

Oregon State advances to the Elite Eight, but Stanford falls short.

The Pac-12 Conference had five teams remaining in March Madness as they began the Sweet on Friday. The men’s teams are all out after Arizona’s stunning loss to Clemson brought Tommy Lloyd into the forefront.

On Friday, two women’s teams played. The first game of the day was 3-seed Oregon State against 2-seed Notre Dame. The game was full of debate as Irish star Hannah Hidalgo had to miss time during the game to have her nose ring removed.

Yet, the Beavers walked away with a tough, hard-fought 70-65 win to advance to the Elite Eight and make Scott Rueck’s season that much more impressive. Timea Gardiner had 21 points and 11 rebounds for Oregon State as Raegan Beers added an 18-point, 13-rebound double-double of her own.

The other game of the day was Stanford losing to NC State as the Wolfpack had both teams advance to the Elite Eight. The men’s team defeated Marquette.

Stanford lost 77-67 despite Kiki Iriafen dropping 26 points and 10 rebounds and Cameron Brink adding 13 points with nine rebounds and seven blocks.

Oregon State now faces South Carolina on Sunday to earn a trip to the Final Four.

Pat Chun leaves Washington State to become Washington’s new AD

Pat Chun is the new AD at Washington.

The Pac-12 shuffle continues on Tuesday Now, this time it is Washington State athletic director Pat Chun leaving to become the new AD at Washington in a massive move, per Pete Thamel of ESPN. It is a six-year deal.

‘The University of Washington is finalizing a six-year deal to hire Pat Chun, the athletic director at rival Washington State, as the school’s new athletic director, sources told ESPN on Tuesday.’

Troy Dannen left Washington to become the new AD at Nebraska in another stunning turn of events, so Washington acted quickly to find the next man for the job.

Chun was at Ohio State for 15 years and now returns to the Big Ten Conference as the Huskies and others join in 2024. Oregon, UCLA, and USC are also leaving the Pac-12 to go to the Big Ten next season.

Chun also spent time at Florida Atlantic before going to Washington State.

Pac-12 Report: Washington State, Oregon bounced from March Madness in Round of 32

Washington State and Oregon’s March Madness trip comes to an end.

The Pac-12 Conference saw all four teams advance to the Round of 64 in the men’s tournament. However, things were much different on Saturday as the Pac-12 saw two teams end their season.

After Colorado’s thrilling win over Florida on Friday in the Round of 64, both Washington State and Oregon fell short of a Sweet 16 trip on Saturday.

Oregon fell to Creighton in double overtime in another thrilling game, but the Blue Jays scored 15 points in the second overtime period to cruise to an 86-73 victory. Jermaine Couisnard had 32 points for the Ducks after a 40-point outing in the first round, but it wasn’t enough as Creighton moved on.

Iowa State put an end to Washington State’s season as the Cyclones won 67-57. The Cougars began the March Madness trip with a win over Drake in a comeback but didn’t have enough firepower against the Big 12 tournament champions.

It was all tied up at the half but Iowa State had too much down the stretch and Washington State’s impressive season came to an end.

The lone winner on Saturday was Arizona, who cruised to a 78-68 win over Dayton. The Wildcats next face the winner of Clemson and Baylor.

Pac-12 report: Washington State, Oregon, Arizona all advance on Day 1 of March Madness

All of Oregon, Arizona, and Washington Sate advanced on Day One.

The Pac-12 Conference has gotten off to a great start on the first day of the NCAA Tournament.

With four teams in the field, all three Pac-12 teams began the first day of March Madness with victories.

The first Pac-12 team to get the victory was 2-seed Arizona over 15-seed Long Beach State, Plenty had been discussed about Dan Monson, the Long Beach State coach who was fired and then went on to win the Big West tournament.

However, the Wildcats made easy work with an 85-85 victory.

Next up was Oregon upsetting South Carolina. The Pac-12 tournament champions have been March Madness darlings with Dana Altman running the show and they made easy work of 6-seed South Carolina with an 87-73 victory.

It was the Jermaine Couisnard show as he had 40 points and six assists on a huge performance for the Ducks. They next face Creighton with a trip to the Sweet 16 in-store.

The final Pac-12 game of the day was Washington State moving past Drake. It was a back-and-forth game but the Cougars took the lead with less than two minutes left and they were able to get the 66-61 victory. Washington State faces 2-seed Iowa State on Saturday.

Colorado faces Florida on Friday as there is a path for all four teams to advance.

UCLA baseball wins first Pac-12 series over Washington State

UCLA got the job done against Washington State on the diamond.

The UCLA Bruins got back in the win column this weekend.

Following a seven-game losing streak, the Bruins picked up their first wins in the Pac-12 Conference at home against Washington State. Winning the first and third games of their weekend series, the Bruins improved to 2-4 in the Pac-12 and 7-11 overall.

On Friday, starter Luke Jewett went six innings, allowing six hits and only one run. A four-run sixth inning for the Bruins would be enough to hold the lead and snap the losing streak.

Then, on Sunday, after falling 12-5 to the Cougars, the Bruins bats got hot. A four-run first inning set the tone for the Bruins and helped them cruise to a 9-4 win.

The Bruins’ series win over Washington was a welcome sign to UCLA fans. In desperate need of momentum and to stop the bleeding of their losing streak, UCLA picked up conference wins and regained some confidence.

That said, UCLA must maintain this momentum and keep the ball rolling. With another Pac-12 game this weekend against USC, the Bruins have a chance to not only knock off a rival but continue to stack wins.

Utah earns No. 2 seed in NIT

Utah is playing UC Irvine in the NIT.

The Pac-12 Conference got four teams into the field for the men’s NCAA Tournament. Oregon’s stunning run in the conference tournament gave them a spot and Colorado, Washington State, and Arizona are the other schools.

The women’s side was much more promising with them having a few Final Four contenders, although the UCLA Bruins got a horrible draw being in the same region as Iowa and LSU. 

The Utah Utes men’s team accepted an NIT bid as a 2-seed and will host UCI on Tuesday. The other top seeds in that region include Villanova (1), Iowa (3), and UCF (4).

Utah entered the Pac-12 tourney as a bubble team to watch, but a 14-point loss to Colorado put that conversation to bed.

The good news is that the Utes are still playing postseason basketball and have another home game for the fans. The game is on Tuesday night against UC Irvine.