Pac-12 Tournament Schedule 2012: Cal Will Dominate Once Again

The Pac-12 Tournament features a wide-open field of teams that are getting little to no respect nationally at the moment. It's the perfect time for a team like the Cal Golden Bears to show that the conference still has superb talent. 

Cal enters the Pac-12 tourney as the once-feared team that fell on hard times. The program with the hot hand is Oregon, which is no doubt a force to be reckoned with. 

Here is the bracket breakdown with schedule and times. Games that have finished have been included. 

For full bracket and schedule, check out the official conference website: 

Schedule

Wednesday, March 7th

GAME	Matchup	Time (PT)	TV
GAME 1	(9) Oregon St. def. (8) Washington St., 69-64	12:00 p.m.	FSN
GAME 2	(5) UCLA def. (12) USC, 55-40	2:30 p.m.	FSN
GAME 3	(7) Stanford def. (10) Arizona St., 85-65	6:00 p.m.	FSN
GAME 4	(6) Colorado def. (11) Utah, 53-41	8:30 p.m.	FSN

Thursday, March 8th

GAME	Matchup	Time (PT)	TV
GAME 5	(9) Oregon St. vs. (1) Washington	12:00 p.m.	FSN
GAME 6	(5) UCLA vs. (4) Arizona	2:30 p.m.	FSN
GAME 7	(7) Stanford vs. (2) California	6:00 p.m.	FSN
GAME 8	(6) Colorado vs. (3) Oregon	8:30 p.m.	FSN

Friday, March 9th

GAME	Matchup	Time (PT)	TV
GAME 9	Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner	6:00 p.m.	FSN
GAME 10	Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner	8:30 p.m.	FSN

Saturday, March 10th

GAME	Matchup	Time (PT)	TV
GAME 11	Pac-12 Championship	3:00 p.m.	CBS

Predictions

The road is not easy for any Pac-12 team with parity being the most overarching theme to the season. Oregon won their last four conference games and have seen Devoe Joseph emerge as a real star. 

I still say the cream rises to the top in this wild tournament that will be as engaging as any other conference tourney this week. 

Cal very nearly took the title of regular season victors but succumbed to doldrums at the end with losses to Colorado and Stanford. 

It was tough to take, considering Cal was the odds-on favorite to steal the Pac-12 earlier in the year. They looked absolutely stout before running into inconsistent measures. 

This is finally the moment when we see the real Cal hit the floor. It all starts with Jorge Gutierrez, a player that averages 12.9 points and 5.3 assists per game. 

The Pac-12 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year is the exact kind of player that can kick-start a surge for the Golden Bears. 

He plays from the heart and is unrelenting on the defensive end. 

Cal needs a great showing to solidify their spot in the Big Dance and will no doubt be hungry to salvage what was otherwise a solid showing this season. 

Many have Washington taking the tourney, or the brash upstart Ducks. Cal is lying as sleepers that once ruled the conference. They will rise again this week. 

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