Pac-12 Tournament 2013 Bracket: Seeds, Odds, Matchups and More

When they say "anyone can win this tournament," they are talking about the Pac-12. 

The storied conference has been incredibly "down" as of late—last year, the Pac-12 delivered as many teams to the Field of 68 (two) as the Conference USA and the MAAC, while conference-champion Washington settled for the NIT—but talent is quickly beginning to return to the west.

Of course, UCLA and Arizona's major recruiting hauls still haven't stopped parity from running amok on the league. 

The Bruins were able to escape with another conference title, but Arizona, Oregon and Cal finished just a game back, while Colorado, Arizona State, Stanford, Washington and USC all finished with at least a .500 record in the league. 

Heck, even Utah (beating Oregon to secure the title for UCLA), Oregon State (beating Colorado in Boulder) and Washington State (sweeping the Southern California schools) have made considerable noise in the past week. 

Breathe it in. That's the smell of unpredictably, and it's going to make for a scintillating Pac-12 tourney.

Let's take a look at everything you need to know for the action from Las Vegas.  

Final Records, Seeds and Odds

Seed	Team	Overall	Conference	Odds (Courtesy of Top Bet)
1	UCLA	23-8	13-5	+220
2	California	20-10	12-6	+400
3	Oregon	23-8	12-6	+400
4	Arizona	24-6	12-6	+280
5	Colorado	20-10	10-8	+500
6	Washington	17-14	9-9	+1,500
7	USC	14-17	9-9	+1,200
8	Stanford	18-13	9-9	+700
9	Arizona State	20-11	9-9	+600
10	Utah	13-17	5-13	+7,500
11	Washington State	13-18	4-14	+7,500
12	Oregon State	14-17	4-14	+7,500

Matchups, Complete Schedule (Courtesy of Pac-12.com)

First Round: Wednesday, March 13

Note: All start times are approximate, depending on when game before ends. 

Game No.	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
1	No. 8 Stanford vs. No. 9 Arizona St.	3 p.m.	Pac-12 Network
2	No. 5 Colorado vs. No. 12 Oregon St.	5:30 p.m.	Pac-12 Network
3	No. 7 USC vs. No. 10 Utah	9 p.m.	Pac-12 Network
4	No. 6 Washington vs. No. 11 Washington St.	11:30 p.m.	Pac-12 Network

Quarterfinals: Thursday, March 14

Game No.	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
5	No. 1 UCLA vs. Winner of Game 1	3 p.m.	Pac-12 Network
6	No. 4 Arizona vs. Winner of Game 2	5:30 p.m.	Pac-12 Network
7	No. 2 California vs. Winner of Game 3	9 p.m.	Pac-12 Network
8	No. 3 Oregon vs. Winner of Game 4	11:30 p.m.	ESPNU

Semifinals: Friday, March 15

Game No.	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
9	Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6	6 p.m.	Pac-12 Network
10	Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8	8:30 p.m.	ESPN

Finals: Saturday, March 16

Game No.	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
11	Winner of Game 9 vs. Winner of Game 10	11 p.m.	ESPN

Player to Watch: Arsalan Kazemi, Oregon Ducks

You know that one guy at your local gym who is annoyingly effective because he's fundamentally sound and simply outworks everyone around him?

Arsalan Kazemi is basically that annoying guy of the college basketball world. 

He isn't going to light up the scoreboard, but the Rice transfer is elite at nearly every other aspect of the game. He can guard multiple positions, is a monster on the glass and is simply a high-IQ, aggressive basketball player who does all of the little things for a balanced Oregon squad. 

Kazemi is in the top 30 in America—not just the conference—in both rebounding percentage and steal percentage, a stunningly impressive feat. 

Sleeper Team to Watch: Stanford Cardinal

It's been an up-and-down season for Johnny Dawkins' squad, but the Cardinal have the pieces to make a run this week. 

Dwight Powell and Josh Huestis, two of the best rebounders in the conference, are versatile, athletic big men who can step out and hit the three, while Chasson Randle and Aaron Bright give the Cardinal a nice inside-outside combo. 

Stanford is first in Pac-12 play in three-point field-goal percentage, third in effective field-goal percentage and first in points per possession.

It's not an easy road, as the Cardinal could end up playing both UCLA and Arizona, two teams they haven't beaten this year, but just know that the talent on this Cardinal team isn't representative of a meager No. 8 seed. It's far better than that. 

Prediction

Your champions are the California Golden Bears. 

Cal slipped up at home against Stanford to end the regular season, but Mike Montgomery's boys have still won seven of their last eight and nine of their last 11, making them the hottest team in the league.

During that span, the Bears have beaten Oregon (twice), Arizona (in Tuscon), UCLA (in dominant fashion) and Colorado. That's a 5-0 record against the four best teams in the conference. 

Cal has the best guard play in the league with Allen Crabbe, Justin Cobbs and Tyrone Wallace, but its underrated big-man duo of Richard Solomon and David Kravish—who help Cal to the best defensive field-goal percentage in the league—will lead the former bubble-dwellers to a title. 

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