1) Which team has the most to play for this weekend?
The last weekend of conference play approaches rapidly, and at this point, most teams in the Pac-12 already know their fate. In the Pac-12, the top four teams in the conference — No. 4 Stanford, No. 6 Cal, No. 17 UCLA and No. 19 Colorado — can sit pretty with their resumes and still make the tournament. In the most recent NCAA tourney projections, five Pac-12 schools are projected to go to the Big Dance.
Right below the top four sits Washington, a team with far shot to make the tournament.
The Huskies have put together a respectable 19-8 record, going 11-5 in conference play. However, the team lacks many signature wins, and their RPI reflects this shortcoming. Washington has an RPI of 72, and their only major victory came over Saint Mary’s, 36th in RPI, at the beginning of the year.
The Huskies’ last opportunity to impress the NCAA comes in the final weekend of the regular season. Washington plays host to Stanford on Thursday night and then Cal on Saturday night. If there was ever a way to jump off the bubble and into March Madness, it would be to beat two of the top ten teams in the nation.
With their postseason aspirations on the line and with a golden opportunity right in front of them, the Washington Huskies have the most to play for in the last weekend.
2) Which team has the best chance to win the Pac-12 tournament beyond Cal and Stanford?
With wins this past weekend against the Oregon schools, Cal and Stanford both assured themselves the top two seeds of the Pac-12 tournament. While the Bay Area schools are expected to steamroll into the Pac-12 title match, there is one major dark horse in the competition that may throw a wrench in the plans.
No. 19 Colorado is getting hot at the right time and is a force to be reckoned with. Since losing to No. 17 UCLA back on Feb. 1, the Buffs have won seven straight contests, outscoring their opponents by 13.9 points on average.
The chances of Colorado finishing the season on a nine-game winning streak are high considering the final weekend of conference play matches the squad with Pac-12 bottom dwellers Oregon and Oregon State. Although some of the wins came against weaker opponents, the Buffs will be the hottest team in the Pac-12 besides Cal and Stanford going into the tourney.
Barring a collapse, Colorado will most likely be a four seed in the Pac-12 tournament, especially after dispatching of fifth-place Washington this past weekend, 68-61.
If the top seed goes to the Bears, the Buffs will be in a marginally more fortuituous.
In both contests against Cal this year, Colorado has come threateningly close to pulling off the upset. Back on Jan. 6 in Boulder, the Bears escaped with a narrow 53-49 victory. On Jan. 25, the Buffs came even closer in Berkeley, falling 59-56.
If the chips fall into place for Colorado, the team could find themselves holding up the Pac-12 tourney come March 10.
Austin Crochetiere covers women’s basketball. Contact him at [email protected].