NCAA basketball: Predicting who wins every major conference tournament

MADISON, WISCONSIN - MARCH 06: Johnny Davis #1 of the Wisconsin Badgers reacts after hitting the first shot of the game during the first half of the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Kohl Center on March 06, 2022 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) /

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TUCSON, ARIZONA – MARCH 05: Guard Pelle Larsson #3 of the Arizona Wildcats shoots over forward Sam Alajiki #24 of the California Golden Bears at McKale Center on March 05, 2022, in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Rebecca Noble/Getty Images) /

Pac-12 Conference Tournament predictions

Dates: March 9-12
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Venue: T-Mobile Arena
TV: Pac-12 Networks (1st Round, QF, SF), FS1 (QF, SF), FOX (Final)
Top Seed: Arizona
Bracket

There isn’t a ton of intrigue in the Pac-12 Tournament since the conference is going through a down year. Arizona, UCLA and USC are March Madness locks while the only team remotely close to the bubble is Oregon despite the fact the Ducks have played themselves off of it with a litany of bad losses.

The Ducks do have bid-thief potential since they are capable of beating the league’s top teams as evidenced by a sweep of USC, a win over USC on the road, and a tight loss to Arizona. The problem is that Oregon plays down to its competition so there is a good chance that the Ducks lose to either Oregon State or Colorado before even getting a third crack at Arizona.

The path forward for the Wildcats is significantly easier since they will only have to beat one of USC or UCLA in the finals. The inter-city rivals are set up for a semifinal showdown that should be the highlight of the entire tournament on the bottom of the bracket.

Going with chalk here seems too easy but sometimes it’s better not to overthink things. Arizona is the top team and has a cakewalk to the title game so don’t look a gift horse in the mouth by picking the Wildcats.

Prediction: Arizona