The 2012 Pacific Life Pac-12 men’s basketball tournament begins today and runs through Saturday afternoon at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Considering the Pac-12 was viewed to have a down season, this week will be crucial for most every team with hopes of reaching the NCAA Tournament. Last year, Washington, Arizona, and UCLA made it to the big dance, while USC lost to VCU in the “First Four” round. The conference certainly doesn’t expect to get that many bids this March, so a top-two finish is nearly a must.
Here’s a quick look at which teams will be getting underway today. @@http://www.pac-12.org/ABOUT/Tournament.aspx@@
No. 8 Washington State vs. No. 9 Oregon State, Noon (FSN)
The Beavers (17-13) enter the tournament on a two-game winning streak, having defeated Utah and Colorado in Corvallis this past weekend. Washington State (15-15) split its final regular-season series on the road against the L.A. schools. The Cougars won both matchups with Oregon State this season. The first game of the Pac-12 tournament will feature a pair of first-team All-Pac-12 performers in Oregon State’s Jared Cunningham and Washington State Brock Motum. Cunningham was also tabbed to the conference’s all-defensive team, while Motum was chosen as the most improved player of the year.  @@http://www.osubeavers.com/sports/m-baskbl/stats/2011-2012/teamcume.html@@
No. 5 UCLA vs. No. 12 USC, 2:30 p.m.  (FSN)
The Bruins (18-13) are coming off two quality wins over the Washington schools at home last weekend and won four of their last six to end the regular season. UCLA senior guard Lazeric Jones was named the conference’s player of the week for his efforts against the Huskies and Cougars, where he averaged 19 points, 4.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds and two steals. Jones garnered second-team All-Pac-12 recognition this season. Meanwhile, USC (6-25) lost 18 of its last 19 to end the season. Its lone win came at home against Utah. UCLA won both regular season matchups by an average of 14.5 points per game.  @@http://www.usctrojans.com/sports/m-baskbl/sched/usc-m-baskbl-sched.html@@ @@http://pac-12.org/BasketballM/Tabid/1449/Article/147292/UCLAs-Jones-Named-Player-of-the-Week.aspx@@
No. 7 Stanford vs. No. 10 Arizona State, 6 p.m. (FSN)
After promising starts to the 2011-12 season, both the Cardinal and the Sun Devils fell off noticeably once the conference schedule picked up. Stanford (19-10) won 10 of its first 11 games, but finished just one game above .500 in conference play. Stanford senior Josh Owens made the All-Pac-12 second team. Stanford lost to Utah in the final regular season game of the year. Not much went better for Arizona State (9-20), which lost three of five to end the year. The Sun Devils lost their only matchup with the Cardinal, 68-44, back on Feb. 2. @@http://www.gostanford.com/sports/m-baskbl/stats/2011-2012/teamcume.html@@
No. 6 Colorado vs. No. 11 Utah, 8:30 p.m. (FSN)
The Buffaloes (19-11) were competitive in their first year in the conference with a trio of all-league performers in sophomore forward Andre Roberson (first team and all-defensive team), senior guard Carlon Brown (second team) and Spencer Dinwiddie (all-freshmen team). Colorado won both meetings with the Utes (6-24) this season, including a 40-point dismantling on Dec. 31. Utah lost 10 of its last 11 to end the year and put together arguably its worst performance against Oregon in the Pac-12 finale. @@http://www.cubuffs.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=600&SPID=257&SPSID=3889@@