Pac-12 Tournament 2015: Bracket, Schedule and Championship Odds

Game	Date	Time (ET)	Matchup	Television
1	March 11	3 p.m.	Cal vs. Washington State	Pac-12 Networks
2	March 11	5:30 p.m.	Arizona State vs. USC	Pac-12 Networks
3	March 11	9 p.m.	Oregon State vs. Colorado	Pac-12 Networks
4	March 11	11:30 p.m.	Stanford vs. Washington	Pac-12 Networks
5	March 12	3 p.m.	Arizona vs. Winner of Game 1	Pac-12 Networks
6	March 12	5:30 p.m.	UCLA vs. Winner of Game 2	Pac-12 Networks
7	March 12	9 p.m.	Oregon vs. Winner of Game 3	Pac-12 Networks
8	March 12	11:30 p.m.	Utah vs. Winner of Game 4	ESPN
9	March 13	9 p.m.	Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6	Pac-12 Networks
10	March 13	11:30 p.m.	Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8	ESPN
11	March 14	11 p.m.	Winner of Game 9 vs. Winner of Game 10	ESPN

Entering its conference tournament, the Pac-12 has a clear favorite at the top in the Arizona Wildcats.  Sean Miller's crew cruised to its second straight regular-season championship in finishing three games ahead of the Utah Utes, and it stands out as the most realistic national title contenders out West.

However, the next week should still hold plenty of drama for the Pac-12, especially with a trio of teams on the bubble.  Oregon's incandescent hot streak has likely vaulted it into the tournament, though the Ducks' resume would lose plenty of shine with a slip-up against Oregon State or Colorado.  UCLA and Stanford are in much more tenuous positions, likely needing signature upset wins to garner more serious consideration.

For West Coast fans looking to have a stake in the tournament, check out the full tournament schedule below, as well as this writer's odds for all 12 teams in the field.  Note that the visual bracket can be found at Pac-12.com.

Seed	Team	Odds
1	Arizona	1-2
2	Oregon	5-1
3	Utah	4-1
4	UCLA	10-1
5	Arizona State	25-1
6	Stanford	20-1
7	Oregon State	40-1
8	California	45-1
9	Washington State	50-1
10	Colorado	75-1
11	Washington	90-1
12	USC	100-1

USA TODAY Sports

The Favorite: Arizona Wildcats

The prohibitive preseason favorites haven't disappointed, rolling over the conference with a 16-2 Pac-12 record that includes wins in each of Arizona's past eight games.  Indeed, whereas most of the conference is still jockeying for tournament positioning at best, the Wildcats are serious contenders for a spot on the top line:

The latest projections from ESPN's Joe Lunardi have Arizona as the top No. 2 seed, with Villanova edging them out, but that could potentially change with a Pac-12 title.  

There's not much doubt about either Kentucky or Virginia as one seeds, so 'Zona would likely need Duke or 'Nova to slip up in their respective conference tourneys.  Arizona does have a win on its resume over Gonzaga, though, which would likely put it next in line if either of those current projected top seeds slip up.

Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images

One issue for the committee could be Arizona's struggles on the road.  All four of the Wildcats' losses have come on the road, including real head-scratchers against UNLV and Oregon State.  Villanova does have one bad loss against Seton Hall, but with virtually identical strength of schedules, according to ESPN.com, Arizona's slip-ups are going to hurt more.

Obviously, a two-seed wouldn't preclude the Cats from a potential Final Four run a year after they fell short in the Elite Eight.  Arizona's unorthodox inside-out game is a bit anachronistic in today's space-and-shooting based game, but this tournament should be the tuneup for a deep run later this month.

Top Challengers: Utah Utes

The Utes looked like a lock for the No. 2 seed throughout conference play, but they'll enter this tournament with questions after a late-season malaise that saw them drop three out of five.  Utah's obviously not in any danger of falling out of the NCAA tourney, but another upset loss could force it into a tough hand.

Quality wins are a real issue for this squad, though part of that stems from the Pac-12's weakness this season.  

The Dec. 3 overtime win over Wichita State, which snapped the Shockers' 35-game regular-season win streak, looks less impressive now that the Shockers have lost four times and aren't likely to earn a top-four seed.  Narrow losses against Gonzaga and Arizona illustrate Utah's potential, but it won't earn many points in the eyes of the committee, especially given its own conference's weakness:

USA TODAY Sports

Leading scorer Delon Wright is the type of guard who can control a game in the tourney. At 6'5", he can bully other backcourts as a player whose scoring primarily comes inside the arc.  Along with impressive freshman Jakob Poeltl and junior point guard Brandon Taylor, the Utes have the type of firepower to make a run when everything is clicking.

A win over either Stanford or Washington in the quarters should be taken as a given, or else the committee will see some alarming red flags.  A potential semifinal contest against Oregon could help boost Utah's NCAA seeding, but if that game were to materialize, the Utes won't be the team that needs it most.

Dark Horses: Oregon Ducks

Oregon's season looked toast after back-to-back losses against the Washington teams, but in winning 10 of their final 12 regular-season games, the Ducks enter the Pac-12 tournament as hot as any team outside of Tucson.  The Ducks have made the field of 68 each of the past two seasons, but it appears as though they're just now getting their due:

Wins over Utah and bubble-squatter UCLA should probably vault the Ducks into the tournament, though a loss to either Oregon State or Colorado might cause them to squirm a bit on Selection Sunday.  The Ducks' current strength of schedule is a meager 70th, while their best nonconference win is against an Illinois squad that is probably NIT-bound. 

Nonetheless, the Ducks are a highly enjoyable team to watch because of leading conference scorer Joseph Young and a general shoot-at-will mentality.  

Kenpom's adjusted offensive rating metric ranks Oregon as the 27th-best offense in the country, with only Arizona and Utah ranking higher in the conference.  The flip side is a defense that has hemorrhaged buckets, though, as Kenpom ranks the Ducks 124th on that side of the floor.

Oregon hasn't been able to stay close with Arizona this year, but it does hold the upper hand over Utah with a win in their only meeting on Feb. 22.  If a Ducks-Utes semifinal does materialize, an Oregon win would assuredly send Eugene dancing.