Can UCLA basketball win the Pac-12 tournament?

Please consider they were outhustled and outworked by an Arizona team that they bullied in Tucson a couple of weeks ago.

“Honestly, we wanted OR to win because we want that payback for what they did to us”, Comanche added.

Arizona, Oregon and UCLA have spent the past two months dominating a conference with an unprecedented lack of parity.

But instead of rolling over and playing out the string on the final minutes of the season, Hurley’s team went to work.

The Golden Bears, who most bracketology experts believe must make a run to the Pac-12 Tournament championship game in order to secure an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament, faced a tight opening Pac-12 Tournament game against last-place Oregon State.

The season series: Arizona and OR played only once this season because of the Pac-12’s unbalanced schedule and, based on that one matchup, maybe that was just as well for the Wildcats. (Even that wouldn’t guarantee anything.) Cal might be able to get there with a deep run, but also has no guarantees.

By adjusted efficiency, the Pac-12 was the worst of college basketball’s power conferences this year.

The loss also broke Arizona’s 21-game home court winning streak and dropped them into a tie for OR and, eventually, the No. 2 seed in the Pac-12 tournament because of the Ducks’ victory in Eugene in their only meeting this year.

No. 22 Notre Dame 77, No. 16 Florida State 73: Steve Vasturia and Bonzie Colson each scored 18 points and Notre Dame knocked off Florida State to advance to the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament title game.

There’s been relatively little drama.

That’s because, barring a surprise, we’ll get OR against either UCLA OR Arizona again. “I wish we could have won in regulation, but he knew we could get it done and so did we”.

Asked Thursday about the new site of the Pac-12 Tournament, Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, he hesitated. The Pac-12 victor would seem deserving of a No. 1 seed, inasmuch it will be one of six teams with four or fewer losses. They finished 27-4 overall and 16-2 in the conference, sharing the crown with Arizona. Chances are their season will continue in the NCAA Tournament, but it’s up to the selection committee now. UCLA 4. Utah 5.

Consecutive drives to the hoop, and ensuing layups, by McLaughlin at the 7:14 and 6:48 marks cut UCLA’s lead to 65-60.

Colorado can’t afford to get off to another slow start against Arizona in the quarterfinals or risk getting blown out. The Buffaloes were disjointed on offence, unable to stop Washington State on defence. No. 9 Stanford, 3 p.m., Pac-12 Networks Game 2: No. 5 Cal vs. The first-team All-Pac-12 player drilled 4 of 7 against Colorado. Game 1 victor, 3 p.m., Pac-12 Networks Game 6: No. 4 Utah vs.

No. 5 OR will play unranked Cal in the other semifinal. Whoever wins the Pac-12 tournament will have a compelling argument to be a No. 1 or at least No. 2 seed in the tournament.

To beat them, Miller said, the Wildcats will not only have to defend the 3-point shot but also execute aginst a different type of zone defense than UCLA threw at them: OR runs a switching match-up zone that somewhat resembles a man-to-man.

The regressing Bruins lost to relentless Arizona, 86-75, in the Pac-12 semifinals and now will stumble into the sport’s fabled March Madness with November uncertainty. Oleka averages just under a double-double, pulling down 9.8 rebounds per game.