Pac-12 Tournament 2012 Schedule: UCLA a Threat to Steal NCAA Tournament Bid

Parity, mediocrity—call it what you want, but the 2012 Pac-12 Tournament is wide-open and ready for the taking.

And UCLA might just be the team to sneak up and steal the lowly league's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

The Bruins have battled through way through a tumultuous season, one that saw the team torn apart by star forward Reeves Nelson, a preseason All-Pac-12 performer who was sent packing by head coach Ben Howland on account of his bad temper and penchant for bullying his own teammates.

This, on top of the voids left behind on the wing by Malcolm Lee and Tyler Honeycutt, who both ditched school early to be second-round picks in the 2011 NBA draft. The Sports Illustrated "shocker" didn't soothe the situation any, though it doesn't seem to have affected the Bruins negatively on the court, as they've beaten both Washington State and Washington since.

Still, UCLA is about as talented a team as you'll find in the Pac-12, with the massive front court combination of Joshua Smith, the Wear twins and Anthony Stover playing alongside two senior leaders (Lazeric Jones and Jerime Anderson) and two talented underclassmen (Tyler Lamb and Norman Powell) on the perimeter.

Few teams in the league can match the Bruins when they're clicking on all cylinders, particularly in their own backyard. They finished 7-1 in conference play in their homes away from the under-construction Pauley Pavilion this season, their lone loss coming in a 73-63 decision against second-place Cal.

Lo and behold, the Pac-12 tourney is taking place at the Staples Center, which sits just down the road from the Sports Arena at which the Bruins have played all year. Neither venue provides the Bruins with the comforts of playing on their own campus, though UCLA's relative comfort with the situation should work in its favor.

As should it's success against USC (twice), Arizona and Washington during the regular season.

The question remains, will the Bruins get their act together in time to play four games in four days?

If they do, they may well be the ones representing the Pac-12 in March Madness, for better or for worse.

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