Pac-12 Tournament 2012: Bubble Teams Who Can't Afford to Lose in First Game

Conference tournaments are the last chance for bubble teams to impress the selection committee and receive a bid into the NCAA Tournament.

This season, the Pac-12 is very wide open, and with no dominant team in this year's tournament field, there are a number of squads who are capable of making a run to the conference title.

There's also some bubble teams such as UCLA who need a win in this tournament and could really damage their NCAA tournament resumes with a first-round loss in the Pac-12 tourney.

Let's look at three teams who cannot afford to lose in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament.

UCLA

The Bruins need a strong Pac-12 performance to have a chance at making the NCAA Tournament. A loss in the first round to USC, a team UCLA has beaten twice already this season, would have them bound for the NIT.

UCLA does not have any wins against currently-ranked teams, but did beat Washington, the first-place team in the conference, in their season finale.

With few quality wins and bad losses to schools such as Middle Tennessee and Loyola Marymount, the Bruins must make a deep run in the Pac-12 tournament or they will not take part in March Madness, which would be a rare occurrence for the 11-time national champions.

Arizona 

With a win or two in the Pac-12 tournament, the Arizona Wildcats would likely find themselves with a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

A loss in their first meeting, however, would leave the Wildcats needing other bubble teams, including several from their own conference, to also lose early in their conference tournaments.

With a disappointing loss to rival Arizona State in the season finale, the Wildcats need to play well in the conference tournament. A loss would give them three defeats in the last five to Pac-12 teams.

Arizona controls their own destiny, but an early exit would make the days leading up to selection Sunday very stressful.

Colorado

After a loss to fellow Pac-12 bubble team Oregon, the Colorado Buffaloes responded with another poor effort against an inferior Arizona State team in the season finale.

Colorado finished fifth in the Pac-12 regular-season standings and need a win or two in the conference tournament to make an appearance in March Madness.

A first-round defeat would surely doom Colorado's chances of making the NCAA Tournament, since they have no wins against currently ranked teams and have lost three of their last four to Pac-12 teams.

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