No. 5 UCLA wins at No. 4 Arizona to tighten the Pac-12 title race
TUCSON, Ariz. — Breaking down No. 5 UCLA’s 77-72 win over No. 4 Arizona Saturday night at the McKale Center, which split the season series between the two teams:
THE BIG PICTURE: Arizona lost control of its own destiny — in terms of both winning the Pac-12 regular-season championship outright and securing the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Pac-12 tournament. The Wildcats had had a one-game lead on Oregon entering Saturday, but after losing to the Bruins the best they can do if they win out (and the Ducks win out, too) is tie atop the league standings. In that case, Oregon nabs the No. 1 seed due to its head-to-head result — that monstrous blowout of Arizona back in Eugene earlier this month.
Why this matters: Only one of the elite Pac-12 teams will get slotted into the West regional come Selection Sunday. Right now, all three are vying against each other to be the top seeded Pac-12 team to guarantee themselves a more advantageous potential NCAA tournament path, one that goes through San Jose and not in a different time zone, be it Kansas City, Memphis or New York. Every win, every metric, every result in the Pac-12 tourney will impact this moving forward — and could determine which team from this conference goes furthest come March.
WHAT WE’LL BE TALKING ABOUT: How many Pac-12 teams are legitimate Final Four contenders. There are three: Arizona, Oregon and UCLA. Seriously. It’s been awhile since this league has been this strong at the top, but it’s clear as we inch toward March that some of the best basketball in the country is being played out West (and not just in Spokane). UCLA has been one of the most entertaining teams in the country all season long — and the Bruins have started to play actual defense (!) which means their ceiling is even higher now. Oregon’s offense is electric, and Dillon Brooks might have been the National Player of the Year this season had he been healthy from the start. Arizona, even after Saturday’s loss, remains one of the nation’s best teams despite a season marked by roster uncertainty and depth issues. But with Allonzo Trier finally hitting his stride after his 19-game suspension that stretched into January — and when he plays well, he’s the best player on the court — alongside Lauri Markannen we’re finally able to see how good the Wildcats can be. And it’s pretty good.
STAR WATCH: There was no shortage of stars in a game that lived up to its insane billing, but let’s focus on the two biggest, who also happen to have eerily similar and awesome first names:
Lonzo (Ball): 11 points on 5-for-9 shooting, to go along with eight assists and five rebounds.
Allonzo (Trier): 28 points on 11-for-14 shooting, with five rebounds and two assists.
KEY STAT: Saturday’s game pitted two top-five Pac-12 teams against each other for the first time in nine years. For comparison’s sake, the Big 12 had two top-five matchups this year alone — both Kansas-Baylor games.
THIS WEEK IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL
