Aside from the Arizona Wildcats winning the regular season, the PAC-12 was one of the most unpredictable conferences in the country this year. UCLA and USC started the season as a mess. Oregon underachieved, Arizona State was dysfunctional, and Utah was stapled to the floor. This year’s tournament is one of the most unpredictable in memory. Let’s dive into it with our 2024 PAC-12 tournament preview with picks and best bets.
The 2024 PAC-12 conference tournament starts at 12 PM Pacific time on March 13th in Las Vegas and runs through March 16th. Make sure you get our PAC-12 tournament picks and best bets before tip-off!
2024 PAC-12 Tournament Preview, Picks, and Best Bets
The Favorite: Arizona -160
Arizona is by far the best team in the PAC-12 this year. The Wildcats are safely in as an at-large bid, so they have no excuse to really go all out to win this tournament. Arizona knows they’re a top two-seed in The Big Dance. They can sleepwalk through this and still get in.
They’re bound to run into at least one hungry team that wants to steal a tournament bid. This is too chalky to put a heavy wager on. If you need to bet on this tournament, look elsewhere.
Other Contenders
Just about everyone except Arizona is a legitimate contender for the PAC-12 tournament. Washington State and Colorado are the only two teams that have a March resume, and the Buffaloes are looking a little bubble-y.
Washington State is safely in, but a win or two in the tournament could help their resume. Colorado is in a similar situation. Their resume is strengthened by a couple of wins, but they don’t have to win the tournament to get in.
Of the two teams, Colorado has +500 odds and looks like the better bet. The Buffaloes are riding into the conference tourney on a six-game winning streak.
Colorado will get either Cal or Stanford in the semifinals. The Buffaloes split with Cal and won their only game against Stanford. They’ll probably see Wazzu in the quarterfinals. Colorado split with Washington State. A neutral site game between the two teams is essentially a 50-50 game.
The Buffaloes got drilled by Arizona twice, but tournament games on a neutral site are a different animal than regular season games. It would be exceptionally Arizona to lose to a team that they wrecked twice in the regular season.
Oregon is at +1000. The Ducks have the athletes to compete at power conference level, but they’ve struggled with consistency all year. They also went 1-3 in neutral site games and 6-5 in true road games. That’s 5-5 if you don’t count their win against Florida A&M.
The Dark Horse: USC +2500
Honestly, this is another spot that could have just about any team from the lower half of the odds list. USC is riding a three-game winning streak into the tournament, and the Trojans are definitely playing better ball right now than they were in November.
USC has the talent to compete with just about anyone in the PAC-12, and their draw isn’t terrible. The Trojans get Washington in the first round. They just beat Washington in Seattle in their only match-up of the year. This is winnable.
The Trojans will face Arizona in the semifinals—the same Wildcats they beat on the last day of the season. If they win against Arizona on a neutral site, they can move on to the final. They’ve played Colorado and Washington State tough recently, and they have a win over Utah.
The PAC-12 has become known for random teams running through the conference tournament and getting into The Big Dance. They can make it through their side of the bracket, and the final is essentially a 50-50 game at this stage of the season. At 25-to-1, the Trojans are worth a sprinkle.
Even More College Basketball Content
SGPN has you covered with all the best college basketball content. Our team of degens, experts, and handicappers have been diving deep to know all the teams in advance of March Madness.
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