Fansided

Bracketology: Bubble teams will be sweating these 5 conference tourneys

By Mike Phillips

SPOKANE, WA - FEBRUARY 23: Gonzaga forward Brandon Clarke (15) works against BYU forward Yoeli Childs (23) before scoring during the game between the BYU Cougars and the Gonzaga Bulldogs played on February 23, 2019 in Spokane, Washington at the McCarthey Athletic Center. (Photo by Robert Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
SPOKANE, WA - FEBRUARY 23: Gonzaga forward Brandon Clarke (15) works against BYU forward Yoeli Childs (23) before scoring during the game between the BYU Cougars and the Gonzaga Bulldogs played on February 23, 2019 in Spokane, Washington at the McCarthey Athletic Center. (Photo by Robert Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
6 of 6
Next
SEATTLE, WA – FEBRUARY 23: Washington Huskies guard Matisse Thybulle (4) fouls out during a college basketball game between the Colorado Buffaloes against the Washington Huskies on February 23, 2019, at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion in Seattle, WA. (Photo by Joseph Weiser/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WA – FEBRUARY 23: Washington Huskies guard Matisse Thybulle (4) fouls out during a college basketball game between the Colorado Buffaloes against the Washington Huskies on February 23, 2019, at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion in Seattle, WA. (Photo by Joseph Weiser/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

1. Pac-12

Dates: March 13-16

Location: Las Vegas, NV

Favorite: Washington

If it looks strange to see a Power 5 league on this slideshow, you’re not alone. The Pac-12 has been a dreadfully bad league this season, and there is an outside chance it is a one-bid league.

The only good thing about Pac-12 basketball has been Washington, which is a legitimate top-25 team. The Huskies have taken care of business in conference play, riding a stingy defense to the regular season title.

Beyond Washington, however, the Pac-12 has been nothing to write home about. Arizona State has a win over Kansas, which is nice, but also has bad losses to Vanderbilt, Princeton (at home no less), Stanford, and Washington State on its resume.

The Sun Devils are probably the league’s only real shot at an-large bid outside of Washington, with the rest of the league all hovering around 12-13 losses. This, in essence, puts the Pac-12 on par with a league like the Mountain West, where there is one dominant team and another that can get an at-large bid.

The Pac-12 hasn’t been this bad since the 2011-2012 season when Washington won the league’s regular season title but did not earn an at-large after falling to Oregon State in the first round of the conference tournament. That means the league has plenty of bid thieves floating around, and if either Washington or Arizona State doesn’t win the tournament the Pac-12 champion will definitely poach an at-large from someone.

Enter SI's Realtime Bracket Challenge 2019 Here. dark. Next