After Arizonaβs impressive win over Washington in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas last week, who knew that the Wildcats wouldnβt play another game this season? But over the next 24 hours, first the Pac-12 Tournament announced fans wouldnβt be allowed to attend games for the rest of the event β¦ then the entire tournament was canceled β¦ and then, the cruelest news of all, the NCAA Tournament was called off due to the coronavirus.
UA players and fans will always be left to wonder “what if?” So what better website than whatifsports.com to simulate the matchups that could have happened the rest of the week in Las Vegas.
(Coming this weekend: The Star plays out the NCAA Tournament).
QUARTERFINALS
No. 1 Oregon 73, No. 8 Oregon State 69
The Ducks seem in control with a 39-30 halftime lead but their Civil War rivals make things interesting and almost send the top seed packing.
Payton Pritchard scores 24 for Oregon and hits a 3 with 3:22 left to put the Ducks up for good.
Oregon State trails 72-69 in the final seconds but Tres Tinkle misses a 3 with two seconds left.
Shakur Juiston adds 16 for Oregon and hits one of two free throws with a second left to wrap up the scoring and send the Ducks (25-7) into the semifinals.
No. 5 Arizona 87, No.Β 4 USC 75
The Wildcats click on offense for the second straight day, as the heralded freshman trio pours in a combined 50 points in the win over the Trojans. Zeke Nnaji leads everyone with 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting and grabs seven rebounds. Josh Green adds 14 points and NicoΒ Mannion adds 12. He hits just 3 of 10 shots but dishes out nine assists in helping UA advance to the semifinals against top-seeded Oregon.
The Trojans score the gameβs first five points but UA answers with seven straight, and the teams go back-and-forth for the first half. Arizona (22-11) leads 45-41 at halftime and 47-45 early in the second half before slowly building the lead to 61-56 with 10 minutes left.
A six-point burst over 1:10 on two Mannion free throws, a Stone Gettings bucket and a Nanji dunk followed by a loud yell give UA a 67-56 lead as "McKale North" gets as loud as it has all game. The Trojans never get closer than nine after that.
Arizona forward Zeke Nnaji (22) throws down a big two-hander over the USC defense in the first half of their Pac12 game at McKale Center, February 6, 2020 Tucson, Ariz.
Both teams shoot just under 50 percent, but UA outrebounds the Trojans 39-30 and commits six less turnovers (16-10) in avenging a loss to USC in Los Angeles on Feb. 27 when the offense went ice cold.
The Trojans finish the regular season 22-10 but appear to be in good shape to earn an NCAA Tournament bid.
No. 2 UCLA 69, No. 10 California 45
The dayβs only blowout sees the Bruins (20-12) go up 37-27 at halftime and then hold the Golden Bears to 18 points over the final 20 minutes.
UCLAβs lead never dips below 14 over the final 15:37 as Jaime Jaquez scores 14 to lead the Bruins, who enter the game on the NCAA Tournament bubble.
Cal is held to 32.1% shooting in ending its season at 14-19.
No. 3 Arizona State 75,Β No. 11 Washington State 71
The Sun Devils almost let a big lead slip away before their defense controls the game late in advancing to the semifinals.
ASU leads 47-37 at halftime and later 61-49 before a 17-4 run by the Cougars, who upset Colorado the day before.
Arizona State guard Remy Martin (1) passes as Washington State guard Noah Williams (24) defends during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, March 7, 2020, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)
WSU is held to just five points over the final six minutes. Remy Martin, who ties for the team lead with 18 points, puts the Sun Devils (21-11) up for good at 70-69 on a free throw with 3:25 left.
Every point after that is a free throw as both teams go cold down the stretch.
Romello White also scores 18 for ASU while Isaac Bonton pours in 27 for WSU (16-17).
SEMIFINALS
No. 1 Oregon 87, No. 5 Arizona 85
Late-game heartbreak for the third straight time for UA against Oregon this year.
The Wildcats lead 42-36 at halftime after scoring the final seven points of the first half, including a 3 by Dylan Smith with four seconds left.
UA builds its lead to 63-53 midway through the second half as the noise from the large UA crowd seems to rattle the Ducks.
But just when it looks like UA is headed to Saturday night's title game, the Oregon offense comes alive by scoring a whopping 34 points over the final 10 minutes.
Pritchard scores just 13 total points and Juiston has only two, but the other Ducks canβt miss. Anthony Mathis scores 18, while NβFaly Dante has 16 and Will Richardson adds 15.
Pritchard does have a big basket, hitting a 3 with six minutes left to bring Oregon within two. Richardson then ties it at 73 with a bucket on the next possession.
Oregon later takes an 85-79 lead with 30 seconds left, but Smith wonβt let the Cats go without a fight. He hits a 3 to cut it to 85-82 and on the next possession again connects from deep to make it 86-85 with nine seconds left.
Arizona's Nico Mannion, drives against Oregon's N'Faly Dante during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Thomas Boyd)
The Ducks hit only one of two free throws with five seconds remaining, but UA turns the ball over before getting up a potential game-winning shot.
Smith finishes with a team-high 19 points. Four other Wildcats (Nnaji 16, Mannion 15, Green 12, Gettings 10) score in double figures.
Oregon shoots 53.3% to UAβs 50.0 as the Ducks (26-7) advance to the title game. The Wildcats are doomed at the free-throw line, hitting only 14 of 23 (60.9%).
Ducks mascot Puddles steers clear of Wilbur T. Wildcat after the game, as the fire in Wilbur's eyes suggest the outcome will be different if there is a fourth meeting between the teams.
Arizona finishes the regular season 22-12 and with its strong showing in the conference tournament, waits to see how high its NCAA Tournament seed will be.
No. 2 UCLA 94, No. 3 Arizona State 85, OT
The Sun Devilsβ hopes of advancing to the conference title game vanish as they go ice cold in the extra period, hitting just 1 of 9 shots in being outscored 11-2.
UCLAβs Jaquez hits a 3 with 14 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 83. Martin misses a shot at the end of regulation.
Five Sun Devils score between 11-14 points in the back-and-forth game, which is tied at 41 at halftime.
Arizona State guard Rob Edwards (2) drives against UCLA guard Chris Smith (5) during an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
Jaquez and Jalen Hill both score 17 for the Bruins (21-12), who move on to face Oregon in the championship.
ASU, with a 21-12 record, might have a nervous Selection Sunday, but the Sun Devils will most likely hear their name called.
CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 2 UCLA 71, No. 1 Oregon 61
The Bruins make sure their Selection Sunday is drama free by cutting down the nets in Vegas and clinching an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
UCLA takes charge in the first half, going on a 15-2 run to take a 37-22 lead and then upping that advantage to 47-31 by halftime.
Richardson has 26 points for Oregon, but Pac-12 player of the year Pritchard struggles for the second straight day and scores just nine.
Jaquez has 17 points and Chris Smith adds 16 as UCLA (22-12) wins the Pac-12 Tournament title for the first time since 2014.
Richardson's 3 with 1:50 left is the final scoring of the game, and marks the closest Oregon gets in the entire second half.
The Ducks finish 26-8 but canβt add the tournament title to their regular-season crown.
UCLA first-year coach Mick Cronin waves the net at his fans after cutting it down, and leaving the rest of the Pac-12 to worry if this is just the start of a multi-year Bruins run.
UCLA head coach Mick Cronin gestures during an NCAA college basketball game against Arizona State Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
