Tag: Pac-12 Conference

UCLA women’s team closing the gap in tight Pac-12 standings

The women’s Pac-12 race is heating up with March approaching.

The UCLA Bruins got back on the right track on Sunday.

After falling to Oregon State 79-77, the Bruins turned their attention to Oregon and dominated the Ducks 74-55.

While Oregon ranks last in the Pac-12 standings, a dominant performance was just what the doctor ordered as the Bruins notched another in-conference win. Now ranked 12th in the nation and fifth in the Pac-12, the Bruins are comfortably positioned for a March Madness and Pac-12 tournament run.

With four games remaining, all within conference play, the Bruins have a chance to jockey for better seeding in the Pac-12 tournament and take down nationally ranked #11 Colorado and #18 Utah. Only trailing top-seeded Stanford by three games, it is not impossible for the Bruins to catch the Cardinals.

A lot can change ahead of the Pac-12 tournament begins on March 6th. With the amount of parody in the conference this season, anything and everything seems possible.

But with how well the Bruins have played thus far this season, fans should feel confident that they will finish the season as strong as they started it.

UCLA ranks 14th in Jon Wilner’s Big Ten predictions

UCLA is ranked 14th by Jon Wilner in the early Big Ten predictions for the 2024 season.

The UCLA Bruins football season is still many months away. However, projections for the BIG 10 are only just beginning.

In a recent projection, Jon Wilner of the Mercury News (subscription required) has the UCLA Bruins ranked 14th in the BIG 10. The Bruins, now in the 18-team BIG 10, face an uphill battle in the conference.

With six teams in the BIG 10 finishing in the AP Top 25 at the end of the 2023 season, the Bruins lag behind their contemporaries.

In addition to a coaching change and a lackluster transfer portal and recruiting showing, the Bruins look to be the same team as they were last season, only in a more difficult conference.

Only ahead of Northwestern, Illinois, Purdue, and Indiana, the Bruins trail all their former Pac-12 opponents as well as the other notable heavyweights of the conference like Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State.

Although few expect UCLA to compete anywhere close to a BIG 10 title, the Bruins do have an opportunity to play spoiler in the conference. Playing teams close this season could result in some upsets, making them a team to watch out for next season in the BIG 0.

UCLA draws closer to #1 Arizona in Pac-12 standings

UCLA is making a run at a top spot in the Pac-12, believe it or not.

The UCLA Bruins are on a roll.

Following a sluggish start, the Bruins rebounded and are now winners of six straight and winners in eight of their last nine games. At 14-11 on the year and 9-5 in Pac-12 play, the Bruins continued their success against Colorado.

In their close 64-60 victory at home, the Bruins broke their tie for third in the Pac-12 standings. Now a half-game ahead of Oregon, the Bruins have sole possession of the #3 position in the Pac-12.

Trailing only Arizona and Washington State, two teams the Bruins face in upcoming games, leading the Pac-12 is not out of the question for UCLA as they approach the conference tournament.

Though still a longshot given how well Arizona and Washington State have played, the Bruins have a chance to either play their way to a Pac-12 tournament title or enter the conversation to qualify for March Madness on their own.

The Bruins’ date with #5 Arizona on March 7th is the perfect opportunity to turn some heads and have a signature win on the resume before the big dance.

UCLA guard Brandon Williams looking for revenge against Utah

Brandon Williams is looking for revenge as the Bruins face Utah this weekend.

Ahead of UCLA’s Pac-12 date with Utah this weekend, one player has their eyes on revenge.

UCLA lost to Utah in an embarrassing fashion in January on the road. In the near-historic beatdown, the Bruins lost 90-44. In the only game where UCLA failed to crack the 50-point threshold, things looked bleak for the Bruins. At 6-10, their high hope for a competitive season in the Pac-12 looked far-fetched.

But after a recent turnaround, winning five straight and seven of their last eight, the Bruins find themselves comfortably in the mix for good seeding in the Pac-12 tournament and potentially an NCAA tournament bid.

One Bruin, Brandon Williams, is looking forward to their rematch this Sunday.

Williams’ sentiment is likely shared by the entire locker room. Williams, who scored only two points coming off the bench on 1-2 shooting with a rebound, was one of many who struggled against the Utes in January.

And with both teams jockeying for positioning in the standings, there is a lot on the line for both teams. Should the Bruins win, they would draw closer to the overall #2 seed in the conference, potentially leapfrogging Oregon and Washington State. With a loss, the Bruins could fall back to the #5 seed in the conference.

The Pac-12 championship is less than a month away, and with the Bruins playing only conference members to close out the year, every game counts. With revenge on the mind, the Bruins look to keep rolling at home against Utah.

Pair of Bruins played in women’s Olympic qualifier

Lina Sontag and Angela Dugalić played for the Olympic qualifiers.

Two UCLA Bruins women’s basketball players received big honors over the past weekend regarding Olympic qualifiers. 

Sophomore Lina Sontag of Germany and senior Angela Dugalic of Serbia represented their countries in the qualifying rounds of the FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament. The qualifier, taking place in Belém, Brazil, offers the opportunity to earn a bid in the upcoming 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, so it is an important step for team’s hoping to get an opportunity to play in the Olympics. 

With Dugalić averaging nine points, seven rebounds, and almost two assists a game, the Bruins had to play without them against the Arizona schools but were still able to get two wins against them the past weekend.

The two even faced off against one another on February 8 in the qualifying round.

Thankfully, Sontag and Dugalić will return in time for a top-25 showdown against PAC 12 opponent #17 Oregon State on Friday night.

 

 

Former Pac-12 teams still to play in Pac-12 bowls

The departing Pac-12 teams will still play in the Pac-12 bowl games if they don’t make the playoff.

Though the Pac-12 will not live on as it used to, some of its most beloved bowls games will.

The mass exodus of Pac-12 teams to larger and, in many ways, more lucrative conferences already feels like old news. The only two schools that remain in the conferences are Washington State and Oregon State, creating what some have facetiously referred to as the “Pac-2.”

But bowl games with connections to the Pac-12, such as the Alamo, Holiday, Las Vegas, Sun, Los Angeles, and Independence Bowls, will continue to feature former Pac-12 teams. With the deal set to continue until 2025, there will still be some recognizable Pac-12 faces in historically Pac-12 bowls for the time being, per Brett McMurphy of The Action Network.

The 10 schools leaving the Pac-12 likely will still play in Pac-12 affiliated bowls the next two seasons and not in bowl tie-ins with their new conferences, sources told Action Network.

The former Pac-12 schools are not expected to play in bowls with their new conferences for multiple reasons, conference and bowl sources told Action Network.

The six Pac-12 bowl tie-ins in 2024 and 2025 are the Alamo, Holiday, Las Vegas, Sun, Los Angeles, Independence (in 2024)/ESPN event bowl (in 2025). The Rose Bowl, now part of the College Football Playoff rotation, is no longer tied to the Pac-12.

Omitted from the list is the Rose Bowl, which now resides in the College Football Playoff.

How this shakes out in the future, however, after 2025 remains to be seen.

With programs in the Pac-12 still likely interested in maintaining their stake in certain bowls, things could get prickly when the contract expires. With Pac-12 teams now spread across the BIG 10, BIG 12, and ACC, untangling their alignments will be no easy chore.

And for UCLA, given the current state of the team and the daunting task of taking on BIG 10 foes, it could be a while until they see a former Pac-12 bowl in the future.

Pac-12 men’s basketball report: Utah sneaks past Oregon, bubble teams fail to make statements

In late January, the Pac-12 has only one threat to make the Sweet 16: Arizona. No one else is a major contender.

The Pac-12 men’s basketball results have not been as good as many in the conference have hoped for. On Sunday, Utah snuck by Oregon, 80-77, in a close game between teams fighting for a spot in the NCAA tournament.

One encouraging thing for Dana Altman’s team was the play of N’Faly Dante, who did all he could to get the win for the Ducks (h/t Miles Dwyer of Ducks Wire).

“In the second half, the Ducks started running their offense through N’Faly Dante. After scoring just 2 points in the first half, Dante went for 21 in the second half. Dante also played 29 minutes in Sunday’s game, the most since his injury.”

Dante played in just his third game since returning from injury, and he showed every bit why the Ducks are excited about his potential.

He finished the game with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists in a losing effort.

Oregon’s loss at Utah is not a bad loss, but it represents the failure to add a quality win to the resume. By losing to both Colorado and Utah over the past few days, Oregon remains a bubble team relative to the NCAA Tournament. With Washington State losing at Cal on Saturday, the Pac-12 did not have a good weekend in terms of boosting its number of NCAA Tournament bids. The maximum number looks like four teams, and it’s possible that the Pac-12 will get on three bids. Other than Arizona, not one team looks likely to be a higher seed in a first-round game. In other words, only one team in the conference looks likely to have a seed higher than No. 9. That means the Pac-12 has only one serious threat to make the Sweet 16, let alone the Final Four. That’s a huge disappointment in late January.

Next up for Oregon is a game against Arizona State. Utah next faces Washington State.

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First four-team playoff and last four-team playoff both had Big Ten vs Pac-12 for the national title

2014 season: Ohio State-Oregon championship game. 2023 season: Michigan-Washington. How about that?

Time is a flat circle. Have you heard that saying before?

Well, it’s true. In the 2014 season, when the four-team College Football Playoff began, it was Ohio State and Oregon facing off in the national championship game in January of 2015. The Cardale Jones-Ezekiel Elliott duo led the Buckeyes past Marcus Mariota and the Ducks in the national title game.

Now, with the final four-team playoff field reduced to two teams, it is another Big Ten matchup with the Pac-12: Washington against Michigan for the title.

Ohio State had plenty of NFL talent in that 2015 national championship game: Curtis Samuel, Michael Thomas, Eli Apple, and the others mentioned previously. Oregon had Mariota and Royce Freeman, but the Buckeyes got the win.

This time, both Michigan and Washinton are loaded with future NFL players, plus a head coach in Jim Harbaugh who is a popular pick to go to the NFL once this season comes to an end.

Nearly a decade later, and in the final four-team College Football Playoff field, the Pac-12 and Big Ten face off again.

Time is a flat circle, and the SEC is actually going to watch the title game without anyone in the hunt, as was the case nine years ago.

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Battle of mid: Cal faces Texas Tech in Independence Bowl meeting of 6-6 programs

Cal got to a bowl game, which is surprising enough in its own right. Can the Bears now beat Texas Tech?

The second Pac-12 bowl game on the slate is just a couple of hours after the UCLA-Boise State L.A. Bowl kicks off on Saturday.

This bowl is Cal against Texas Tech in the Independence Bowl. Both programs finished with 6-6 records, but Justin Wilcox leading this Golden Bear team to a bowl game is quite surprising. It took a 33-7 blowout of UCLA in the final week for the Bears to become bowl-eligible.

Cal was 3-6 at one point and won three straight against Washington State, Stanford, and UCLA to close things out. The win over the Cougars was their biggest of the season, a 42-39 final.

Running back Jaydn Ott was the star of the show again for Cal this season, rushing for 1,261 yards with 11 scores and averaging 114 yards per game.

Texas Tech was 3-5 entering its 2023 off week. The Red Raiders won three of the last four games to become bowl-eligible, with the one loss coming to Texas on the road in a 57-7 blowout against the Big 12 champions.

Running back Tahj Brooks had 1,443 yards with nine scores. He recently announced his decision to return for one more year in a huge boost for the Red Raiders.

Behren Morton threw for 1,498 yards with 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions for Texas Tech. He threw five interceptions combined over the final three games, so that could be an issue for Tech.

The Red Raiders are slight favorites in this game, but Justin Wilcox winning a bowl game at Cal should be more than enough to keep him around in Berkeley for one more year as the Golden Bears head for the ACC.

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