Tag: Pac-12 Conference

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.

Sliding Bruins swept by Cal in three games

UCLA swept by Cal in rough weekend.

The UCLA Bruins kicked off their Pac-12 Conference play in Berkley, California, over the weekend and went home empty-handed.

Swept by the Golden Bears, the Bruins went down quietly in three straight games, extending their losing streak to a whopping six games.

Losing on Friday 7-11, Saturday 1-4, and Sunday 5-6, the Bruins are now 0-7 on the road this season. Now 5-9 on the season, the Bruins sit at the bottom of the Pac-12 standings and look for any answers they can find as they flounder early in the season.

The Golden Bears walked off on the Bruins on Sunday’s matinee as the graduate transfer, right-handed reliever Rashad Ruff, allowed a three-run home run to send the Bruins back to Westwood.

The Bruins need to reset and begin to find an answer to their road woes. Though their season is long, losing momentum this early can lead to habitual losing for teams in a similar spot.

As they kick off an eight-game homestead, the Bruins can hopefully regain their footing and confidence to end their losing streak and string together some wins.

With two Pac-12 series on the horizon, facing Washington State and USC, the Bruins have a chance to do so.

Utah, Washington State on bubble watch ahead of Pac-12 tournament

There is a lot of bubble action for the upcoming Pa-12 tournament.

The Pac-12 Conference men’s tournament is now officially locked in for seeding purposes. As of right now, it looks like one lock to make the NCAA Tournament, and that is the Arizona Wildcats.

There could be changes coming, especially with a couple of teams on the bubble. One of them is Washington State which made a movement recently but then also lost it by losing to Washington.

Justin Williams of The Athletic mentioned the Cougars on his Pac-12 bubble watch:

Movement: The Cougars finally give Arizona some company among the locks, having won 10 of 11 and at 6-3 in Q1 games. Colorado remains an anomaly with a top-30 NET yet just one Q1 win and is neck-and-neck with Utah on the bubble. Oregon remains just beyond the bubble, but home wins against Colorado and Utah this week could change that calculus entering the Pac-12 tournament.

Williams also spoke about Utah, who now enters the tournament as a 6-seed and needs help, but a few wins could put the Utes right on the bubble ahead of Selection Sunday. Here’s what Williams wrote about Utah:

The Utes are straddling that “last four in/first four out” line. They need to win the last two on the road at Oregon State and Oregon and hope the Ducks take down Colorado on Thursday, in addition to scoreboard-watching the rest of the bubble teams around the country. If Utah remains in fifth place in the Pac-12 standings entering next week, it likely needs to get two more in the conference tournament. Otherwise, its NCAA Tournament fate will be determined by games outside its control.

This was written before the regular season ended, and Utah lost both games against the Oregon programs, which hurts big time. Still, a string of wins in Las Vegas could change things considerably.

UCLA’s first BIG 10 media day set in Indianapolis

Big Ten media days should be fun with lots of new faces.

There has been so much talk about the recent Pac-12-BIG 10 merger that occurred this off-season. For the UCLA Bruins, their first media day in the conference has been set.

In Indianapolis, Indiana, on July 24th, the Bruins, paired with Michigan State, Nebraska, Iowa, Penn St., and rival USC, will all appear for their first media day.

With a busy off-season for the team, with coaching additions, subtractions, and conference realignment, July 24th will be the first time for UCLA to speak as a member of the BIG 10 alongside some long-time members.

Though the competition has gotten markedly better for the Bruins, now in the BIG 10, it provides a better opportunity to showcase their program and fight for bigger and better notoriety.

Despite the fact that UCLA is a successful program, they will need to prove their worth in the BIG 10 this season.

With six programs in the BIG 10 ranking in the final AP Top 25 at the end of the 2023 season, the Bruins have their work cut out for them.

But with difficulty comes opportunity. The Bruins face a tougher slate of teams but put themselves in a position to play spoiler to their BIG 10 foes in 2024.

UCLA a 5-seed in Pac-12 tournament

UCLA is a 5-seed in the tourney.

The UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team needs a miracle if they want to play in the NCAA Tournament. After beating Arizona State in the season finale. the Pac-12 Conference tournament bracket is officially set.

Arizona, Washington State, Colorado, and Oregon are the top four seeds, respectively, and all don’t play until Thursday.

UCLA is a 5-seed and plays Oregon State with a quarterfinal matchup likely coming against Oregon, assuming Mick Cronin’s team can get past the Beavers on Wednesday.

The Bruins are in the same portion of the bracket as Arizona, so it will be a difficult road for them if they want to stun everybody and win the title.

The tournament begins on Wednesday with four games and continues on Thursday with four more games. It’s an unlikely road for the Bruins, and they were so close to getting a first-round bye.

The title game is on Saturday night and Selection Sunday will be on March 17.

UCLA locker room focused after win over Utah

Cori Close’s team was FOCUSED after beating Utah.

The UCLA Bruins women’s basketball team began its Pac-12 Conference tournament with a 67-57 win over Utah on Thursday night.

It was expected, and the outcome that should’ve happened for a Bruins team hoping to get a 1-seed, as they were in the latest bracketology.

After the Bruins moved by Utah for the second time in the past month, Cori Close’s team was nothing but focused in the locker room. It is the right way to act, especially with JuJu Watkins and the USC Trojans on tap for the third time this season, this time on a neutral court with a trip to the Pac-12 title game on the line.

It was all focus for the Bruins after the game and a tough matchup against two top-10 teams on Friday night with the winner of Stanford and Oregon State awaiting.

All eyes will be on USC-UCLA Part 3 with the winner moving on, and UCLA looked as focused as ever.

Pac-12 Women’s Tournament Watch: Quarterfinal round

Pac-12 quarterfinal round is set.

The Pac-12 Conference women’s basketball tournament began on Wednesday and everything went as expected. All four teams that were favored got victories and moved on to the quarterfinal rounds.

Colorado crushed Oregon in a non-contest, 79-30. Yes, the Ducks really scored just 30 points.

Cal beat Washington State in another blowout as the Golden Bears won by 21 points, 65-44.

Arizona and Washington was the closest game of the day with the Wildcats winning by eight points in a 58-50 final. The last game of the night, which is most important to UCLA fans, was Utah defeating Arizona State, 71-60.

Now the quarterfinal round is set and is as follows:

  • Colorado vs. Oregon State: 12 PM PST
  • Cal vs. Stanford: 2:30 PM PST
  • Arizona vs. USC: 6 PM PST
  • Utah vs. UCLA: 8:30 PM PST

No surprises as of yet, but Pac-12 columnist John Metcalfe had a surprise choice with Oregon State and UCLA in the title game.

The Bruins face Utah for the third time this season in what could be a terrific game, and there are two games with top-25 matchups, including Oregon State and Colorado.