Women’s basketball bubble watch: USC will play a bubble team at Pac-12 Tournament
The USC Trojans will be part of the story relating to the Pac-12 bubble in Pac-12 women’s basketball. USC is guaranteed to play a team which is part of the bubble picture at the Pac-12 Tournament this week in Las Vegas. The Trojans’ success and the Pac-12’s success will clash in Sin City. What will be good for USC will not be good for the league.
We will explain that and more in this pre-Pac-12 Tournament edition of the women’s basketball bubble watch. The 2024 Pac-12 Tournament begins Wednesday, March 6, in Las Vegas, continuing through Sunday, March 10. USC is the No. 2 seed at the tournament.
Here’s the latest on the Pac-12 women’s basketball bubble:
ARIZONA MISSES TWO CHANCES, GETS ONE MORE
Arizona’s losses to USC and UCLA denied the Wildcats a chance to move up the bubble and the seed list, but the Cats get one more shot to change the bubble equation. In Las Vegas, they will play Washington, another Pac-12 bubble team. The loser is definitely out of the NCAA Tournament. The winner likely needs to beat USC in Thursday’s quarterfinal game to make the NCAA Tournament.
USC will help determine whether the Pac-12 gets another team into March Madness. The Pac-12 naturally wants that extra team.
WASHINGTON RE-ENTERS THE CONVERSATION
Washington seemed completely out of the picture, and it would have been if it had lost at Utah on Saturday, as everyone was expecting. Plot twist! Washington dominated the Utes in Salt Lake City. Now they’re back on the bubble, but they must beat both Arizona and USC. If they do anything less, they won’t make the NCAA Tournament.
WASHINGTON STATE SCORES HUGE BUBBLE WIN
Washington State shocked Colorado on the road. That massive win has lifted WSU from the bad side of the bubble to — in the estimation of some bracketologists — one of the last four spots in the field. Few bubble teams helped themselves more than Washington State did on Saturday.
WASHINGTON STATE OUTLOOK
Washington State must beat Cal in Wednesday’s first round at the Pac-12 Tournament. That’s non-negotiable. Other bubble teams will pass WSU if the Cougars can’t at least win that game. If WSU does win, it plays top-seeded Stanford in Thursday’s quarterfinals. A win over Stanford would punch Wazzu’s ticket. A loss would create a tense time on Selection Sunday, but the Cougars would know they would have a chance of getting in. If they lose to Cal, they should not expect anything good to happen.
PAC-12 NCAA TOURNAMENT OUTLOOK
The Pac-12 has six NCAA Tournament locks: Stanford, USC, UCLA, Oregon State, Colorado, and Utah. Washington State is in line to become the seventh team if it beats Cal. The Arizona-Washington winner could become the eighth team, but it will need to beat USC to do so. The Pac-12 has a good chance of sending at least four teams, maybe five, to the Sweet 16.
