Every year the talk at the end of the regular season is how tough the Pac-10 conference is but it seems like every year the Pac-10 disappoints in the post season. This year the Pac-10 got 5 at-large bids and 6 total teams into the "Big Dance" and 9 of the 10 teams made the post season. Is the Pac-10 really that good? I think not...In fact it is not even the second best conference in the nation. UCLA is good but one team does not a conference make. Lets take a look:
In 2008 the Pac-10 is just 3-3 with all 3 losses coming in the 1st round. The top team UCLA is very good and may win it this year but after that you will be hard pressed to find a team that has a legit shot at making the final 4.
Stanford has probably the next best shot at making a deep run but their only quality win out of conference was...wait I am still searching...okay....maybe Colorado. Now, Stanford did beat Washington St. in overtime and Washington (loser in the 1st round of the CBI) but they did lose to 13th seeded Siena.
Washington State is a good team that also does not have any quality wins outside the Pac-10. They did beat some 1st round tournament losers though (Boise St., Mississippi Valley State, Baylor, and Gonzaga) so they have proven that they are better than the top 50 teams, but in order to reach the final four they will need some help. They need to get the right matchup (see my blog below on WSU Wish List) to make a run and I think Notre Dame is not that matchup.
Next comes the first round losers in Arizona, Oregon and USC. Arizona's only good out of conference wins came against A&M and UNLV and on top of that they were limping into the tournament with a 19-14 record. Not a good resume.
USC was every one's sleeper but their only good non-conference win came against Oklahoma. They then proceed to lose to a 3rd place team in an average Big-12 conference. USC was a sleeper...they slept their way right into watching the 2nd round on television.
Okay what about Oregon? Well they may have had a chance to win a game or two if they would ever venture inside the 3 point line. Instead they sat outside and shot 3's and were sent home. It is not surprising though as Oregon had lost 9 or its last 15 games going into the tournament.
We then get to the 3 other post season teams Arizona State, California, and Washington. Average, Bad and worse. Arizona State could not even beat out a St. Mary's team from the WCC to get a bid so how good could they really be? They also lost 10 of their last 15, not something that gives you confidence.
California had lost 8 of its last 10 and still made the NIT and Washington for some reason made the CBI and proceeded to prove how good the Pac-10 is by losing to a team that I can't even pronounce the name.
The Pac-10 is overrated. It is not as deep as everyone believes and they don't deserve 6 bids to the NCAA. Look back at history. It has been since 2001 that a team from the Pac-10 other than UCLA has made it to the final four and if you take out the UCLA's 11 championships, the Pac-10 has only 4 titles to its name. So if you are betting on anyone other than UCLA from the Pac-10 to win the title then I got two words for you..."Good Luck".
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