Pac-12 Tournament 2015: Round 1 Schedule, Live Stream and Bracket Predictions

Arizona cruised to a regular-season title in the Pac-12, but that means nothing with the conference tournament set to begin.

Throughout the years, the Pac-12 has been among the craziest of the league tournaments, with major upsets just about every year. It seems like the No. 1 seed rarely takes home the title as the conference gets into the spirit of March Madness before the NCAA tournament begins.

While the top teams won't be in action until Thursday, the first four battles will be more than enough to get fans excited about the rest of the tournament. Here is a look at what to expect the first day from Las Vegas.

What: Pac-12 Tournament Round 1

Where: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada

When: Wednesday, March 11

TV: Pac-12 Network

Live Stream: Pac-12 Network Live

No. 8 California vs. No. 9 Washington State (3 p.m. ET)

Gary Breedlove/Associated Press

This has been a weird season of streaks for Cal. A 10-1 start to the season was followed by a stretch of eight losses in nine games. After getting back on track with five straight wins, things once again went south with a 1-5 end to the year.

With the Golden Bears currently in the midst of one of those poor streaks, it's difficult to have any confidence in them, especially considering only one of the five losses was by single digits.

Tyrone Wallace always has a chance to put up big numbers, but in this game, he will be matched by Washington State's DaVonte Lacy. Both players come into the contest averaging exactly 17.2 points per game and could put on a great one-on-one show.

Still, the difference will be the play down low of Josh Hawkinson, who was honored with a deserving award this week:

The sophomore has been a force in the post, averaging a double-double after barely seeing the floor as a freshman. While the team's defense has been poor for most of the season, the Cougars have the offense to pull off the mini upset in this one.

Prediction: Washington State 75, California 73

No. 5 Arizona State vs. No. 12 USC (5:30 p.m. ET)

USA TODAY Sports

In a conference full of individual stars, neither of these teams have anyone averaging more than 13 points per game. Part of this is due to inconsistent offense, but each squad also has a variety of players capable of coming through in each game.

USC has also been more dangerous in recent weeks thanks to the play of sophomore Julian Jacobs, who has been threatening a triple-double throughout the past month. Although he might not help much this season, the future is a little brighter for the Trojans.

That said, this has been a rough year all around for USC, but the problem has been as simple as not being able to put the ball in the net. According to KenPom.com, the squad ranks 256th in the nation in three-point shooting, 267th in two-point percentage and 333rd in free-throw shooting.

This is not going to help win too many games.

Meanwhile, Arizona State has played extremely well lately with five wins in the past seven games, plus a victory over Arizona last month. With a deep lineup of contributors, this squad should be able to earn an easy first-round win.

Prediction: Arizona State 68, USC 56

No. 7 Oregon State vs. No. 10 Colorado (9 p.m. ET)

USA TODAY Sports

The praise for Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle started early and continued throughout the season:

In reality, his work to get the Beavers competitive was one of the most impressive feats in college basketball. His remarkable nonconference run was legitimized by the upset win over Arizona State.

Gary Payton II leads an outstanding defensive squad that finds a way to score enough to win.

However, Colorado is still a team that should be feared, even after a rough season. The Buffaloes dealt with a number of injuries and various lineup shifting, but at full strength, this squad can still beat anyone in the conference.

With Askia Booker and Josh Scott creating one of the top inside-out tandems in the Pac-12, this team has the talent to score on Oregon State while also keeping its opponent off the board.

In a matchup of two of the most surprising teams in the conference (for different reasons), this game will finish more like the preseason expectations.

Prediction: Colorado 64, Oregon State 62

No. 6 Stanford vs. No. 11 Washington (11:30 p.m. ET)

USA TODAY Sports

Of all the teams competing in the first round, Stanford is the team with the only real chance at an at-large bid. That said, it will take at least a few wins in Las Vegas to make up for seven losses in the past 10 games.

After the most recent defeat at the hands of Arizona, head coach Johnny Dawkins discussed the mentality going forward, via Zack Rosenblatt of Tucson.com:

"

The message for us is that we have to keep fighting. We have to find ways to get ourselves out of the situation we’re in. …

Now you’re only guaranteed one more game. For our seniors, for their college career, they’re only guaranteed one more game, so we have to make sure we focus and prepare properly and give ourselves a chance to keep playing.

"

The one positive for the Cardinal is that Washington has been even worse down the stretch. There were high hopes for the Huskies after an 11-0 start to the season, but they couldn't sustain the success. Once Robert Upshaw was dismissed from the program, everything just fell apart. 

Even with the recent upset over Utah, Washington has lost 10 of its last 12 games and is likely to see a quick exit at this tournament.

Prediction: Stanford 71, Washington 62

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