When Pac-12 basketball schedules were finalized last summer, Saturday’s Arizona-Oregon showdown looked like a battle for first place between two Final Four contenders.
It still does.
In fact — even after some unexpected early season twists — things at the top of the Pac-12 have largely settled into their expected place at the halfway point of conference play.
Oregon, which was predicted to finish first, can at least pull into a tie for first with the tiebreaker in hand if it beats ASU and UA this week at home.
Arizona, which slogged through injuries and the Allonzo Trier PED saga to rise to the No. 5 AP ranking, is in first place with five of its final nine games away from McKale Center.
UCLA, whose high-powered offense vaulted the Bruins to an early defeat of then-No. 1 Kentucky and to a No. 2 ranking, has slumped to third place after losses to UA and USC.
Then there’s Cal, which was picked fourth, and is in a three-way tie for third with UCLA and Utah at 6-3.
“I really thought before the year started that UCLA and Oregon were gonna be very, very good teams,” UA coach Sean Miller said. “But there’s a lot of quality players in our conference and some great young talented players.”
If there’s a surprise in the Pac-12 at the turn, it’s at the bottom. Washington State, picked last after a 1-17 season in 2015-16, is in seventh place with four wins already. And Colorado, picked fifth because of a deep, veteran roster, went 0-7 before sweeping the Oregon schools at home last weekend.
Then there’s Oregon State, which looked on the upswing after making its first NCAA Tournament in 26 years last season but will host the UA on Thursday with an 0-9 conference record.
While the Pac-12 overall appears to have legitimate Final Four contenders in the UA, Oregon and UCLA, Miller says Cal, Utah and USC also are in contention for NCAA Tournament bids. ESPN’s Bracketology, however, has only four, putting Utah and Cal just outside its projected bracket for now.
“I hope that all six make it,” Miller said. “The ball has to bounce our way in some cases for all six to make it, but … I think our conference is still very much alive to make that happen.
“As a coach, you want the most teams possible to enter the NCAA Tournament. That’s healthy for our future, that’s healthy for our conference, and we have a really strong conference at the top this year.”
Here’s a brief look at each team at the midway point of conference play:
