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NCAA Tournament bracketology projection predicts just two Pac-12 teams in March Madness

jeremy cluff, arizona republic
·4 min read

The Pac-12 Conference doesn't appear to be going out with a bang in its final season of men's basketball.

According to a recent bracketology projection for the upcoming NCAA Tournament, the "Conference of Champions" might only get two teams in the March Madness field.

Not exactly ideal.

Entering Pac-12 men's basketball games this week, Arizona is 17-5 overall and 8-3 in the conference.

Washington State and Oregon are both 7-4 in conference play, with the Cougars 16-6 overall and the Ducks 15-7.

Four other teams have a winning record in Pac-12 games, with Colorado, Utah, Stanford and UCLA all 6-5. The Buffaloes and Utes are both 15-7 overall, while the Cardinal are 11-10 and the Bruins are 11-11.

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Arizona is currently ranked No. 8 in the country in the USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll, the lone conference representative in the Top 25.

The Wildcats appear to be a lock for the NCAA Tournament, with Arizona currently a No. 2 seed in the latest USA TODAY Sports projection, with the team predicted to be the conference's automatic qualifier by winning the Pac-12 Tournament after the conclusion of the regular season.

Utah is interestingly the only other Pac-12 team currently in the field, according to USA Today Sports' projection. It has the Utes as a No. 10 seed in the tournament.

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Big 12 Conference leads NCAA Tournament projections

Interestingly, the Big 12, the conference that Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado will join next season, currently has 10 teams projected to make the tournament in USA TODAY Sports' projections: Texas, Baylor, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Kansas, TCU, Houston, BYU, Texas Tech and Cincinnati.

All but Oklahoma and Texas (who are leaving for the SEC), will be in the Big 12 next season, making that truly a power conference in men's basketball.

The SEC is currently scheduled to have eight teams in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, according to USA TODAY Sports, while the Big East and Big Ten each have six teams projected to make the field and the Mountain West has five teams.

The ACC currently has four teams in March Madness, with the American Athletic and Atlantic 10 joining the Pac-12 with two teams projected to play in the NCAA Tournament.

That's not exactly a way for the Pac-12 Conference to go out with a bang, right?

Could the Arizona Wildcats and Utah Utes be the only Pac-12 men's basketball teams to make the NCAA Tournament in 2024?
Could the Arizona Wildcats and Utah Utes be the only Pac-12 men's basketball teams to make the NCAA Tournament in 2024?

Other Pac-12 Conference NCAA Tournament projections

ESPN has a slightly better view on the Pac-12's tourney chances right now, giving the conference three teams in the field with Arizona a No. 2 seed, Utah a No. 8 seed and Washington State a No. 11 seed in a First Four game.

In its "Bubble Watch," that site has Arizona as a lock and says that Utah should be in the field. It lists Colorado, Oregon and Washington State in a "work to do" category.

FOX Sports also has the Pac-12 currently landing three teams in March Madness with Arizona a No. 2 seed, Utah a No. 10 seed and Washington State a No. 12 seed in the First Four.

NCAA.com also has Arizona (No. 3), Utah (No. 10) and Washington State (No. 12) as the Pac-12's tournament representatives.

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Interestingly, CBS Sports is higher on the conference in its projection, putting Arizona as a No. 2 seed, Utah as a No. 8 seed, Washington State as a No. 9 seed and Colorado as a No. 11 seed, with Oregon as its first team out of the tournament.

Four to five teams in the tournament sure sounds better than two.

So maybe there is still hope for the Pac-12 in its last year before Washington State and Oregon State are the lone remaining members of the conference.

How many teams will the Pac-12 get into the NCAA Tournament this season?

Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: NCAA Tournament bracketology projection: 2 Pac-12 March Madness teams