It has begun. March Madness has arrived and the Pac-12 tournament is underway. We eagerly watch who will be crowned conference champions and subsequently earn an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. However, due to the sheer domination in conference play, Arizona earned the No. 1 seed and a first round bye. Nevertheless, the first day of tournament play did not disappoint. The competitiveness of post season play and match-ups created must watch games that included the highlight of the day, an ASU meltdown!
8 California 84 vs 9 Washington St. 59
With a full day of exciting basketball, one would not have noticed after watching California vs Washington St. The lack of competitiveness in this game was embarrassing. Washington State was unable to create any type of defense as California continually scored at will. The Golden Bears F David Kravish carried the load offensively, as he scored 25 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. Guards Jordan Matthews (19 points) and Tyrone Wallace (12 points) were the only other Cal players in double digits. The Washington St. starters played well, unfortunately the bench played horrific as they only scored 3 points. With that type of bench contribution, it's no surprise the outcome was a blowout.
5 ASU 64 vs 12 USC 67
Poor, Poor ASU. After a surprising turnaround and finishing 5th in the Pac-12, Arizona St. lost a heart breaker to USC. ASU needed a deep conference tournament run to have any consideration of making the Big Dance and seemed to be doing so early on. Leading by double digits throughout the game, ASU held a commanding 14 point lead with 9 minutes remaining. USC, one of the most inexperienced teams in the conference, rallied back. Through a stifling zone defense and Elijah Stewart's 27 points, USC was able to end the game on a 21-4 run; defeating ASU 67-64 and any chance of an at large bid.
7 Oregon St. 71 vs 10 Colorado 78
Another game, another upset. Oregon St. could not be stopped in the first half, through an efficient offense and all-out defense from Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year Gary Payton II. However, it's not how you start, it's how you finish and Colorado finished. Led by F Josh Scott's impressive double-double, 16 points and 14 rebounds, and Askia Booker's 20 points, the Buffaloes were able to upset Oregon St. 78-71.
WATCH. USC becomes the first 12 seed to win a Pac-12 Tournament game. Nikola Jovanovic sealed the deal w/ this block: http://t.co/zC1xYOoXJM
— USC Men's Basketball (@USC_Hoops) March 11, 2015
6 Stanford 71 vs 11 Washington 69
After stumbling into the Pac-12 tournament, Stanford continued their woeful play, playing down to their inferior opponent. The Cardinal should have won convincingly with the talent difference between rosters being so obvious. However, Stanford was able to survive through the play of C Stefan Nastic' 21 points and 5 rebounds and the contribution of bench player F Reid Travis, who put up 14 points and 6 boards. Both Stanford and Washington countered each other's attacks; as guards Andrew Andrews (22 points) and Nigel Williams-Goss (16 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds) carried Washington. The Huskies blew a chance to put the game away, leading 69-68; Dan Kingma missed a clutch free throw with 28.5 seconds remaining. Stanford G Chasson Randle made that miss a little more painful, as he sunk the game-winning 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds remaining to give Stanford a 71-69 lead and victory.