It’s shaping up to be more of a Pac-3 or 4 than a Pac-12.
The top three teams in the conference each have at least 10 conference wins while eight other teams each have less than eight, highlighting the two distinct levels of play in the league.
With No. 6 UCLA (23-3, 10-3 Pac-12) facing off against USC (21-5, 8-5) Saturday, the Bruins, who are third in the league, will have a chance to further distance themselves from the fray.
“If you look at our league, there’s a line you can draw right in half,” said coach Steve Alford. “There’s six teams with five or fewer losses and the rest have eight or more. If we can win on Saturday, there’ll be another line drawn and that line that could be drawn would be Arizona, Oregon and us.”
In the last stretch of the regular season, the Wildcats, Ducks and Bruins will be able to not only separate themselves further from the lower part of the conference but also battle each other to secure the No. 1 seed at the Pac-12 tournament.
Taking the conference title will be critical for all three teams, who hope to earn a favorable spot in the West Region on Selection Sunday and avoid traveling across the country in the early rounds.
The top three teams are within two games of first place, with four of their six losses coming against each other.
Oregon pummeled Arizona 85-58 before losing to UCLA at Pauley Pavilion days later. The Bruins had dropped games to the Ducks, Wildcats and Trojans before rebounding to win their last four games.
[Related: Men’s basketball defeats Oregon 82-79 in rematch upset]
“You look at our losses – we lost at Oregon and we lost at USC; we lost to Arizona at home, who is a top-10 team.” Alford said. “If anything, it’s motivation for our guys.”
Of the three teams, the Bruins will have the toughest slate with Arizona, USC and a Markelle Fultz-led Washington to round out the season.
Even if UCLA wins out, beating Arizona on the road and USC at home, the Bruins will still need a loss from the Ducks and an additional one from the Wildcats to enter a three-way tie for the regular-season title.
Oregon will face a much easier schedule than UCLA over the final five games. The Ducks close out the regular season against the Oregon State Beavers, who have yet to pick up a conference win, with their toughest opponent being the Cal Bears, who have a 9-4 Pac-12 record.
Three of Arizona’s final opponents are under .500 in league play, save for UCLA and USC.
But right now, it’s not about the “what ifs” or the potential scenarios for the Bruins.
It’s about the game Saturday against their crosstown rival.
“It’s about getting this game,” Alford said. “If we get this game, we put three games between us and them in the conference race, and that’s big when you get into late February and start distancing yourself.”
Dillon Brooks nailed a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to hand the Bruins their first loss of the season. Brooks had a game-high 23 points in the 89-87 upset win. UCLA rebounded from their first loss of the season with a win over last-place Oregon State. The Bruins couldn't pull away until midway through the second half, but finished on top 76-63. UCLA squeaked by Cal in their conference home-opener 81-71, despite leading by 20 points at halftime. Ivan Rabb led the Bears' comeback attempt with 17 points and 20 rebounds. UCLA swept their first home series in league play with an 89-75 win over Stanford. It was the Bruins' third-straight league win after dropping their opener to the Oregon Ducks. The Bruins had never swept a road trip in the Steve Alford era, but were able to start off the Mountain series with a win against Colorado. The Bruins narrowly won their clash against the Utah Utes 83-82. The win handed UCLA its first road sweep in conference play under coach Steve Alford. UCLA took down Arizona State two nights before its marquee matchup against Arizona. The Bruins' hit eight of their first nine shots, including six from long range to open the game. Two of the top teams in the Pac-12 squared off with the win going in favor of the Arizona Wildcats. Lauri Markkanen dominated with 18 points and seven rebounds in 32 minutes of play. USC upset UCLA back in January, taking its fourth straight game in the rivalry. The game was the Bruins' second-straight loss and their first to an unranked team. UCLA looked in danger of dropping another regular season to Oregon, this time at Pauley Pavilion. But freshman Lonzo Ball came up big down the stretch with key defensive plays and buckets as the Bruins came away with the 82-79 win. The win kept them in contention for the Pac-12 regular season title.
