LAS VEGAS -- Looks like David Garratt and Marx Madness have tied as winners for our Pac-12 prediction “contest,” though I’d penalize Marx Madness slightly for posting his picks on Nov. 12 (after exhibitions had begun). Not that there’s a prize or anything anyway…
Both had low scores of 20 points, despite both picking Arizona as the winner. Each pick is penalized a point for each line it is off from the official Pac-12 Tournament seeding (i.e. picking UCLA fifth cost five points because the Bruins finished with the No. 10 seed, and picking Utah second costs no points because the Utes finished second). The total points are then added up and low score wins.
Mark Greene had 21 points but didn’t pick a No. 12. I inputted UCLA there and he came up with 21. Worked out pretty well, considering the Bruins typically cost everyone the most because they finished so far off their expected 5-6 range.
I had 22, just a point better than the result of the Pac-12’s official media poll.
Would like to automate this next year somehow to make it easier for everyone.
The final finish in Pac-12 seedings was:
1. OREGON
2. UTAH
3. CAL
4. ARIZONA
5. COLORADO
6. OREGON STATE
7. USC
8. WASHINGTON
9. STANFORD
10. UCLA
11. ASU
12. WSU
Here were David’s picks:
1. Arizona
2. Utah
3. Oregon
4. California
5. Colorado
6. UCLA
7. Stanford
8. USC
9. Oregon State
10. Arizona State
11. Washington
12. Washington State
Marx Madness explained his picks it this way:
1. Arizona – Go Cats!
2. Oregon – Because Altman said his team would be disappointed to finish as low as the media poll predicted. Why should I doubt him?
3. Utah – Defense and more defense. That’s how you challenge for the title.
4. UCLA – Good talent and depth.
5. Cal – I’m not drinking the Kool-Aid. What has Cuonzo Martin ever done as a coach? Sean Miller has never made the Final Four and Cuonzo has never done…anything of note. Jaylen Brown is a stud scorer and he does not play defense. Neither does Cal.
6. Oregon State – I want to pick them higher but how?
7. Colorado – Should be better than last year.
8. Washington – Why not? Mix 8-11 in any order.
9. USC – Where have you gone, dunk city?
0. ASU – No comment. If you can’t say anything nice…
11. Stanford – I hate to say good-bye to Johnny Dawkins.
12. Washington State – The only safe pick.
Here were my picks:
1. Arizona
2. Oregon
3. California
4. Utah
5. UCLA
6. Oregon State
7. Colorado
8. Stanford
9. USC
10. Washington State
11. Washington
12. Arizona State
And those of the media poll (which included my picks):
(with overall point totals and first-place votes in parentheses, so you can see how tightly the race was forecast at the top).
1. Arizona (18) 406
2. California (9) 378
3. Utah (7) 360
4. Oregon (1) 338
5. UCLA (1) 304
6. Oregon State 235
7. Colorado 188
8. Arizona State 165
9. Stanford 145
10. USC 111
11. Washington 96
12. Washington State 65
Xavier's Chris Mack was named national coach of the year by the US Basketball Writers Association, and there might be nobody prouder of him than Sean Miller.
Mack, of course, was an assistant to Miller at Xavier before Miller took over the Wildcats in 2009. Mack then took over as Miller's successor, and guided the Musketeers to a 14-4 record in the Big East this season.
"I would think if right now at Xavier in the Big East, if you would have the record that he has that he’s certainly a great candidate to be that and hopefully he’ll win it," Miller said earlier this week.
Even if Arizona winds up with less than a preferred 1-4 NCAA tournament seed, the Wildcats still could play in Denver or Spokane, Wash., even though they were shipped to Tulsa, Okla., as a No. 5 in 2011.
Oklahoma AD Joe Castiglione, chairman of this year's NCAA selection committee, said on a conference call today that geography and conference affiliation affect many of the decisions it makes, even past the four-seed line.
"The first thing we try to do is keep as many teams as close to home as possible and respect the overall seed list and utilize that to determine the choice of the team and where they will be assigned," he said. "Geography is first but we may have to lose teams based on the possibility of rematches."
It appears Oregon is a near-lock to be assigned to Spokane, while Utah could similarly be a likely pick for Denver, but Cal and Arizona's location fate appears uncertain heading into the Pac-12 Tournament.
UA fans who will be attending the Wildcats' game on Thursday can see twin tap dancers bring a touch of hip-hop to their routine at halftime. The Pac-12 released its full entertainment schedule today.
A reminder that Cox Arizona subscribers can catch today's WSU-Colorado game on channel 70 (SD) or 1070 (HD). It is a special accommodation since Cox carries only Pac-12 Arizona and thus is not normally scheduled to carry Pac-12 Tournament games not involving UA or ASU.
