March Madness: Pac-12 is the biggest upset of the NCAA Tournament so far

The Pac-12 didn’t get the respect it deserved with UCLA, Oregon State and Oregon in the Sweet 16 and USC and Colorado potentially joining them.

Five teams from the supposedly not-that-good Pac-12 made the NCAA tournament and all are still alive and kicking heading into Colorado’s tilt with Florida State and USC meeting Kansas on Monday night. The team that started the run, the 11-seeded UCLA Bruins, now find themselves in the Sweet 16 after starting in the First Four.

UCLA had no trouble against Abilene Christian who upset Texas in the Round of 64. The Bruins played a balanced approach and coasted for most of the game. Led by Johnny Juzang’s 17 points, three UCLA players scored in double-figures and held Abilene Christian to below 30 percent shooting from the field in the 67-47 win.

Wildcats reserve Makhi Morris led the team in scoring with 14 points from the bench. Coryon Mason and Kolton each had eight points in the losing effort.

The Pac-12 deserves its respect after what they have done in March Madness

The Bruins victory keeps them dancing and has the conference placing the rest of the tournament participants on notice. The same can be said for Oregon, who, despite advancing past VCU due to a no-contest due to COVID protocols, showed that it didn’t matter when they took down Luka Garza and Iowa.

A similar situation with Oregon State, who not only won the Pac-12 Tournament but found themselves as a 12-seed in the Sweet 16 thanks to their win over Cade Cunningham and Oklahoma State.

In contrast, the Big Ten sent nine teams to the tournament and only have two teams left in Michigan and Maryland. The names don’t matter if they don’t show up and play.

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