Gold: The 6 biggest games of the final week of the Pac-12 regular season
With just one week left in the Pac-12 regular season, the wall is closing in on most of the league, while the top third of the conference tries to solidify its NCAA Tournament standing, if there is one.
Fortunes can change as February’s follies turn into March Madness, and for the Pac-12 teams in the running, this week most certainly matters.
Here’s a look at the half-dozen most important games of the final week of the Pac-12 regular season …
Arizona at UCLA, Saturday, 7 p.m., Pauley Pavilion (ESPN)
After dropping 1 of its 2 conference losses at Arizona in a 58-52 decision back on Jan. 21, UCLA is seeking revenge in one smashing regular-season finale at Pauley Pavilion. The scheduling gods don’t always favor us like this, offering a matchup between the two legendary programs on the west coast to close out a long and arduous regular season. These are the last two Pac-12 teams to win a national title, though its been more than a quarter century for both Arizona (1997) and UCLA (1995). Both have their eyes on the prize once again this year.
Arizona State at USC, Saturday, 8 p.m., Galen Center (FS1)
This one could go down as a win-and-your-in battle between a pair of 2nd-tier Pac-12 teams. Coming off the most thrilling game of the regular season, a buzzer-beater heave by Desmond Cambridge Jr. that gave the Sun Devils a critical upset win over the hated Wildcats in Tucson, Arizona State needs a grand finale for any chance a March Madness bid. Entering the final week at 11-7 in conference play, things are lined up right in front of ASU and Bobby Hurley. Standing in their way is a talented USC team that notched its 21st win of the season. The Sun Devils are going to have to put the clamps on scorching Boogie Ellis, the talented Trojans guard who has scored 92 points in his past 4 games.
Arizona at USC, Thursday, 6 p.m., Galen Center (ESPN)
Starting to sense a pattern here?
With the league’s 4 top teams each trading blows this weekend, there is room for plenty of fireworks. The Trojans can bump themselves up at least a rung or two in the Tournament seedings with a major quality win over the Wildcats, who just need to stem the tide after a gut-check loss to Arizona State. A loss for Arizona would put a top-3 seed in real danger.
Arizona State at UCLA, Thursday, 6 p.m., Pauley Pavilion (ESPN)
Oh now you’re just being ridiculous. But what else can you possibly expect? The Sun Devils have a huge opportunity to score what would be an even more important than Saturday’s upset of Arizona with a win at Pauley Pavilion. Mick Cronin’s Bruins have been flawless at home this season at a perfect 15-0, so while winning at the House That Wooden Built will be a monumental task, the rewards would be huge.
Unfortunately for the Sun Devils, the Bruins truly appear to be rounding into form. Freshman guard Amari Bailey added yet another conference freshman of the week award after helping lead UCLA to a pair of wins last weekend. Three weeks ago, he put up a season-high 24 points at Oregon State.
Utah at Colorado, Saturday, 2:30 p.m., CU Events Center (Pac-12 Network)
The Utes aren’t exactly mathematically eliminated from the NCAA Tournament at 17-13 and 10-9 in Pac-12 play, but a win in the regular-season finale against mountain state rival Colorado would be a nice feather in Craig Smith’s cap for his second regular season. Nudging even 1 game above .500 in league play sets a good standard, and if the Utes can pull off a couple wins in the Pac-12 Tournament, even sniffing a 20-win season in Year 2 is a big achievement.
Stanford at Oregon State, Thursday, 6 p.m. Gill Coliseum (Pac-12 Network)
This game feels important for all the wrong reasons. In one corner, you’ve got Jerod Haase, the former Kansas star who took over for Johnny Dawkins in 2016-17 and has not led the Cardinal to the NCAA Tournament once in his tenure. Despite some solid recruiting classes, Haase just hasn’t been able to put it all together in Palo Alto, where he has compiled a 110-107 record.
Wayne Tinkle, on the other hand, was able to put it all together, but it has since fallen apart. The Oregon State head coach took the Beavers to the Elite 8 as recently as 2021, but the program collapsed last year in a 3-28 season. At 10-19 and 4-14 in conference play this year, it’s another woeful season with few prospects ahead.