Why Is the Pac-12 So Bad at Basketball?
Photo: pac-12.com
I like to write about open-ended topics and take a stance one way or the other. Many of my articles present questions where I always take a side and present my argument. This article is a little different. This time I have presented another question, but unlike other times, I have no answer. Why is the Pac-12 so bad at basketball? I’m not sure anybody has an answer to that one. But the fact of the matter is they are very bad at college basketball this year, and even if you are an avid fan of the Pac-12, you can’t deny it.
Photo: Elaine Thompson/AP
As a college basketball fan that considers myself pretty knowledgeable about what’s going on across college basketball, I was surprised to notice that there is no Pac-12 team in the top-25 AP ranking. I was writing my weekly “College Basketball Games to Keep an Eye On” article and noticed I wasn’t highlighting any Pac-12 games. Then I checked the rankings and noticed not a single team from the conference is in the top-25. In fact, only one team (Washington) is even getting a vote to be in the top-25.
Just like their football team, the Washington Huskies’ basketball team is dominating the Pac-12. They are 7-0 within conference play and 16-4 overall. If they don’t slip up this week to either of the Los Angeles universities, they will probably break into the AP ranking next week. I’ll acknowledge they are a very solid team, but would put quite a bit of money on the prediction they won’t make it past the first weekend in the NCAA tournament. They have lost all their big games this year, losing to Virginia Tech by 12, Auburn by 22, and Gonzaga by two. And with their weak conference, they won’t be nearly as battle tested as teams from other conferences will.
What about the proud program of UCLA? They are only 4-3 in conference and 11-9 overall. The program with such a rich tradition of winning has really fallen off. Sure, they will have good years every 7-8 years or so, but UCLA is not what it used to be. What happened to Arizona? Like UCLA, they have a great tradition of winning, but doesn’t make any noise across the college basketball landscape anymore. They are not a bad team, at 14-7 and 5-3 in the conference, but are far from a good team. As mediocre as UCLA is, the Bruins are coming off a 90-69 win over the decimated Wildcats.
Photo: Richard Mackson/USA Today Sports
The Oregon Ducks have made a lot of noise in recent years, even making a final four in 2017 and coming within a point of reaching the championship game. But they have a losing conference record and are just 12-8 overall. Stanford has had some very good years in the past, but is right behind Oregon in the conference standings at 3-5. The California Golden Bears are currently the laughing stock of the college basketball world. They have yet to win a game (0-8) in the worst Power 5 conference in the NCAA. After Washington, the two teams tied for 2nd place are USC and Utah at 5-2 in the conference. But both teams have eight losses on their overall record. That tells you everything, that the 2nd place teams in a major conference have eight losses on the season already.
Like I stated, I have no answer to why the Pac-12 is so bad in college basketball. My best guess is that it just goes in cycles and the Pac-12 is currently in a very bad stretch of this cycle. Whatever the reason is, it needs to change quickly. I am an ACC fan, but also a college basketball fan, and for college basketball to be at its best, it needs parity. It needs at least three very good teams from each Power 5 conference. If you have any thoughts as to what the problem is with the Pac-12, please leave a comment or reply via twitter. I would love to hear your thoughts.
Garett