Pac-12 in NCAA Tournament: Three Teams In as Expected, and Arizona Gets a No. 1 Seed

USC has to travel across the country, while UCLA stays on the West Coast

No. 1 seeded Arizona and No. 4 UCLA are staying on the West Coast for their opening games of the NCAA tournament, but USC, which received a No. 7 seed, has to travel across the country to play its opener in Greenville, S.C.

Perhaps that's the Trojans' penalty for finishing third in the Pac-12 standings and failing to reach the title game of the conference tournament.

As expected, Arizona, UCLA and USC were the only three Pac-12 teams selected to play in March Madness this year. It's the third time in the past four NCAA tournaments (there was no tournament in 2020) that only three Pac-12 teams received NCAA tournament bids.  Colorado, which finished fourth in the Pac-12, did not get a NCAA tournament berth and apparently was not close to getting one despite its 21-11 record.

The Pac-12's total of three NCAA berths pales in comparison to the Big Ten, which got nine NCAA berths, including at-large bids to Rutgers (18-13), Michigan (17-14) and Indiana (20-13, 9-11 in the Big Ten).

The SEC, Big 12 and Big East each got six NCAA tournament berths and the ACC got five. The Pac-12 was not even the leader in the West, as the Mountain West got four teams into the NCAA tournament and the West Coast Conference matched the Pac-12 with three bids.

All three Pac-12 teams are favored to win their opening games, but USC is just a 1-point favorite in its game.

Here's how things break down for the Pac-12 teams:

Arizona

The Pac-12 has a national title contender in Arizona, which received the No. 2 overall seed (behind Gonzaga) and the No. 1 seed in the South Region (San Antonio). 

Draft Kings lists Gonzaga as the favorite to win the tournament at 7-to-2 odds, but Arizona is next at 11-to-2 with Kentucky third at 8-to-1.

However BetOnline.ag has Kentucky as the No. 2 favorite. According to that site, Gonzaga is 4-to-1, Kentucky 6-to-1 and Arizona 7-to-1.

The Wildcats' biggest concern may be the health of point guard Kerr Kriisa, who missed the final two games of the Pac-12 tournament with a sprained ankle. He is listed as questionable for the opening week of the NCAA tournament, but coach Tommy Lloyd said Saturday there is "a real possibility” that Kriisa will play this week.

The Wildcats (31-3) won both the regular-season and conference tournament titles and will open postseason play on Friday in Portland, Ore., against the winner of a First Four game between Horizon League tournament champion Wright State (21-13) and Northeast Conference regular-season and tournament champion Bryant (22-9)

Assuming Arizona gets by one of those 16th-seeded team, the Wildcats would then face the winner of a game between No. 8 seed Seton Hall, a 21-10 team that finished tied for fifth in the Big East, and No. 9 seed TCU, a 20-12 team that placed fifth in the Big 12 but beat Texas Tech and Kansas in consecutive games late in the season.

The biggest threats to Arizona in its region are No. 5 seed Houston, a potential Sweet 16 opponent, as well as No. 2 seeded Villanova and No. 3 seeded Tennessee, which is riding a seven-game win streak that included wins over Auburn and Kentucky. Arizona lost to Tennessee 77-73 on Dec. 22 of this season.

The Wildcats were ineligible for postseason play last year.

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UCLA

All the players who started for UCLA in its run to the Final Four last year are back and healthy this time around.

UCLA (25-7) lost to Arizona in the Pac-12 finals but still landed the No. 4 seed that was predicted for the Bruins a week ago. 

It begins postseason play on Thursday in Portland, Oregon, against Akron, a 24-9 team that finished third in the Mid-America Conference but won the MAC tournament. The Zips lost by just a point to Ohio State in their season opener, but they had bad losses to Northern Illinois and Western Michigan late in the season before ending on an eight-game winning streak that concluded with wins over Toledo and Kent State, the top two teams in the MAC.

UCLA is a 13.5-point favorite against Akron.

If the Bruins win their opener as expected they will probably face No. 5 seed Saint Mary's, which beat Gonzaga by 10 points on February 26 and finished with a 25-7 mark. 

The Bruins could face No. 1 seed Baylor in the Sweet 16 and might have to beat No. 2 seed Kentucky in the Elite Eight to get to the Final Four again.

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USC

The Trojans (26-7) have just two starters back for the USC team that reached the Elite Eight last year -- Drew Peterson and Isaiah Mobley -- but the Trojans have a knack for winning close games, going 6-0 in games decided by three points or fewer this season.

The seventh-seeded Trojans have to travel to Greenville, S.C., for a first-round game against No. 10 seed Miami-Fla., which is 23-10, finished fourth in the ACC and beat Duke at Cameron Indoor Arena in January. At least the Trojans don't have to play until Friday after making the long trip to South Carolina.

The Trojans are 1-point favorites over Miami, and if USC wins its opener it would probably face No. 2 seed Auburn, which won the Southeastern Conference regular-season title and was ranked No. 1 early last month but lost three of its last six games. 

The Trojans are in the Midwest Region, where Kansas is the No. 1 seed and would not face USC until the Elite Eight game.

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Cover photo by Stephen R. Sylvanie, USA TODAY Sports

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Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

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