Even in an alternate, self-sanction-free universe, Arizona fans might not have had all that much to root for in this week’s Pac-12 Tournament.
After finishing alone in fifth place in the Pac-12 at 11-9, the Wildcats would have played a first-round game against No. 12 Cal on Wednesday and, assuming they put together their 10th straight win over the undermanned Golden Bears, would have run straight into UCLA in Thursday’s quarterfinals.
Recent history suggests that would be about it.
The Bruins have beaten Arizona five straight times, most recently by giving the Wildcats matchup fits with hybrid guard/forwards Jaime Jaquez and Johnny Juzang, plus the aggressive point guard play of Tyger Campbell and an overall savvy veteran presence exemplified by big man Cody Riley.
For Arizona, the whole thing could have been over by about 6 p.m. Thursday, forcing the bubble-nearing Wildcats to wait nervously until Selection Sunday.
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So instead of enduring all that stress, maybe UA fans can enjoy the Pac-12 Tournament in a different way without the Wildcats involved. Here’s five ways to do it:
1. Adopt the Beavers.
Arizona’s absence meant Oregon State took over the Wildcats’ would-be No. 5 Pac-12 Tournament seed. And, because the Pac-12 had to offer five first-round byes instead of just four with only 11 teams in the field, the Beavers didn’t have to play a first-round game on Wednesday.
OSU is a compelling, if under-the-radar, team to pull for in its own right. Despite all the hype about USC’s Evan Mobley and Oregon’s strong finish, it was the Beavers who surpassed expectations more than anyone in the Pac-12 this season.
With coach Wayne Tinkle’s son, Tres, having departed after a standout nine-year career with the Beavers — OK, maybe it just seemed that way — the Beavers were picked to finish last in the Pac-12’s preseason poll.
Ethan Thompson has Oregon State surging heading into the Pac-12 Tournament. The Beavers are seeded fifth, and earned a first-round bye. They’ll play fourth-seeded UCLA on Thursday.
Upon hearing that, Wayne Tinkle promised that they wouldn’t finish last — and the Beavers far exceeded that promise. Despite having nobody most fans have heard of other than guard Ethan Thompson, the Beavers finished tied for sixth with Stanford at 10-10, struggling in two losses against Arizona but owning wins over the conference’s best two teams, USC and Oregon.
The Beavers played UCLA just once, losing by five at Pauley Pavilion. On a neutral court, and with a baffling spectrum of defensive tricks to limit Juzang and Jaquez, the Beavers might just have a better chance against the Bruins than Arizona would have in Thursday’s No. 4-vs-No. 5 game.
2. Watch The Ducks fly.
With a 30-12 record and five titles since the Pac-12 Tournament was reincarnated in 2002, the Ducks have had more success in the modern conference tournament than anyone (yes, Arizona is second at 26-14 with four titles).
It wasn’t hard to envision Oregon winning another three games and a championship with its Payton Pritchard-powered bunch last season had the tournament not been canceled after the first round.
And that’s just old history. The recent stuff is even more compelling: Oregon won 10 of its last 11 regular-season games, including two wins over Arizona, and put both guard Chris Duarte and forward Eugene Omoruyi on the Pac-12’s all-conference team.
Along the way, the Ducks have shaken off two COVID-19-related pauses and an early season thumb injury to guard Will Richardson, who has memorably dished game-winning assists in two one-possession wins over Arizona in the past two seasons.
This week, Oregon has the added motivation of playing for a preferential No. 1-4 NCAA Tournament seed and exposing a surprising snub in the Associated Press Top 25 poll this week.
It’s not a good idea to bet against the Ducks.
3. Look in the mirror.
While Colorado is a much more veteran team than Arizona this season, there may be nobody in the Pac-12 that historically has more closely resembled the Wildcats — at least philosophically.
The Buffaloes usually are known primarily for defense, mostly playing a man-to-man that emphasizes preventing the drive. Also like Arizona, they’ve oddly morphed this season into a team that is more efficient offensively than defensively.
They also have a coach, Tad Boyle, who is similar to Arizona’s Sean Miller in his heart-on-sleeves emotion and candor — maybe even more so when you consider a 2018 postgame comment. Boyle was asked if beating Arizona meant more because the Wildcats were under investigation; he answered “hell, yes.”
4. sit back and enjoy Mobley this time.
Though Arizona limited the Pac-12’s Everything-of-the-Year Mobley to just two shots over the first half of its 81-72 win over the Trojans on Feb. 20 in Los Angeles, he still averaged 21 points and eight rebounds in two games against the Wildcats while shooting 56% from the field.
He sort of does everybody like that.
But now, Arizona fans can just watch him play and not have to worry about what he does.
He can be viewed solely as the high expected NBA draft pick he is, a slender but phenomenally skilled 7-footer who can score inside, create off the dribble, and possesses the sort of shot-blocking presence that can scare anyone away from driving inside.
Mobley also has a high-level basketball IQ, allowing him to be in the right place at the right time, finding a way to make a difference no matter whether his teammates can get him the ball or not.
As Miller used to say about Deandre Ayton three years ago, there just aren’t many people walking the planet like Evan Mobley.
5. Find out if Bill remembers Dave (it’s Dave, right?)Fox has the rights to the Pac-12 Tournament’s top games in even-numbered years, and ESPN gets them in odd seasons.
You know what that means.
Bill Walton, left, and play-by-play announcer Dave Pasch will call a handful of Pac-12 Tournament games together for ESPN.
Yes, ESPN’s famously odd couple team of Bill Walton and Dave Pasch will be calling the Pac-12 Tournament’s last quarterfinal game Thursday, the late semifinal game Friday and the championship game on Saturday. (Walton will also do four other tournament games with Ted Robinson for Pac-12 Networks).
In addition, they’ll actually be sitting next to (or within proper social distance of) each other after calling regular-season games from their home offices, Pasch in Phoenix and Walton in San Diego.
There, they tried to recreate their wig-wearing, peanut butter-dishing and cupcake-eating shtick virtually. Walton still asked Pasch “what’s your name again?” or “It’s Dave, right?” no matter where they were. The upside, Pasch noted, was that he “wasn’t sore from getting boxed out” by Walton’s extended gesticulating.
Now they’ll be together, calling Pac-12 games just like it was (almost) 2019 again.
If that’s less than ideal to some who don’t prefer the popular but polarizing Walton, well, there isn’t much choice.
As Arizona knows, there is no alternate universe this week.
