How did the Pac12 get so good so fast?

[knight82]

A couple years ago they were worse than the Atlantic 10

 

[ClassOf02v.2]

Tournaments are weird. One narrative blooms (i.e. B1G might be struggling a bit) and then that snowballs due to the pressure these kids feel. At the end of the day, the PAC 12 is not light years ahead of the B1G. They’re definitely better than we all thought they were. But the B1G will be fine.

 

[fluoxetine]

They didn't. They just won a few games.

 

[RUChoppin]

All season people fluffed up the Big Ten, and crapped all over the Pac-12... Then the tournament flipped the script.

 

[theRU]

This stuff happens all the time, the highs and lows are never as extreme as they seem. It's college b-ball, kids are streaky, confidence comes and goes.

The Big schools had some tough draws as well.

 

[RUforlife]

With all the athletic talent that is produced in California it's hard for the PAC to be awful too many years in a row, though it often seems that they due give it their best shot.

 

[bac2therac]

Its all about matchups

 

[YoucancallmeRay]

There won't be any shutting up of Bill Walton now, lol.

 

[[email protected]]

A couple years ago they were worse than the Atlantic 10

Well Oregon beat their first opponent with the COVID O / D.

Also beat Iowa.

Oregon State in Sweet 16.

USC destroyed an over rated Kansas and UCLA (play in) beat whoever the hell they played.

UCLA was Duke, No. Carolina and Kentucky under Wooden ... before DUKE became a destination thanks in part to Dickie V baby!

MO

 

[RUnTeX]

Oregon St played their way in with the conference tourney title run or would have sat home otherwise, and have ridden that momentum to a couple upsets...they're doing Beaver nation proud. But if Oregon wins the rivalry game in PAC12 semis, there's only 4 of their teams in the tourney.

UCLA and MSU was deadlocked after 40 minutes, so was pretty even overall, hence OT to decide the winner.

Maybe Oregon lucked out with the first round COVID "bye" and could have been fresher than Iowa.

Of course, small sample size so difficult to make definitive conclusions.

 

[ClassOf02v.2]

There won't be any shutting up of Bill Walton now, lol.

And THIS is the real tragedy in it all.

 

[scarletrat]

outside of Oregon State, they all shoot well and have athletic slashers and 6'5-6'7" wings that can get up and down...they can all score...and helped by match-ups as well, such as UCLA beating 14-seed ACU, and 6-seed BYU was grossly overseeded...that said, give them credit as well, such as the Beavers who impressively took out the Vols and darkhorse Okl State. Not as fortunate as the Big East, where Nova and Creighton beat 12 and 13 seeds, and Creighton stole a win vs UCSB.

4 Pac-10 schools left, seeded 6, 7, 11, and 12

for how the Big Ten has not fared well, not that far behind is the Big 12, which was considered 2nd best, with Baylor only remaining by my count. ACC and SEC each have what, 1 of 5 remaining....

 

[Vegas pj]

On the bright side - Oregon's Eugene Omoruyi made it to the Sweet 16 and faces conference rival USC.

 

[RUnTeX]

On the bright side - Oregon's Eugene Omoruyi made it to the Sweet 16 and faces conference rival USC.

It's the PAC12 conference tourney final (between the 1 and 2 seeds, respectively) that didn't happen one week-plus ago when both lost in the semis to lower seeds. This time for an Elite 8 berth and a chance to go up against the Zags (most likely) for a spot in the Final 4.

 

[shields]

Think about Iowa. They play Creighton they could win that game. Oregon is very athletic and not a good matchup like Bac wrote.

 

[mikeyoc]

They didn't. They just won a few games.

And it sure helps recruiting (see USC) when you
hire the relatives and AAU coaches of 5-star
players

 

[RUJMM78]

Yes,its all about matchups.The B1G is more of a slow down half court game without quick guards that can get to the basket.Their 3 point shooting was missing from most tournament games.Iowa and Michigan were the only teams that scored at least 80 points. and Iowa loss.Illinois was the most disappointing team because of the talent but they were clearly out coached and no adjustments were made.Ohio State should have won their game but missed foul shots by Liddel and Washington at crunch time forced the game into OT.Rutgers had the best chance for advancing with five minutes remaining but poor rebounding,excessive fouling ,turnovers and missed shots around the basket were their undoing.In one and done games there is no tomorrow for missed opportunities.

 

[rufeelinit]

Low seeds overperformed in the first two rounds. Not limited to Pac-12

 

[G- RUnit]

PAC 12 gets crapped on every year. Every year it bites everybody. No different this year.