Pac-12 Tournament Preview: Arizona & UCLA the teams to beat

After a couple of down years, the Pacific-12 Conference had a big NCAA basketball tournament last year. The competition had three teams in Elite Eight, a surprising finish considering its struggles in recent times. This year, the Pac-12 has two teams with legitimate title hopes and a couple of other strong teams. Arizona and UCLA lead the way and are the two big favorites to take out the Pac-12 title.

The Arizona Wildcats have had an awesome year and will be a trendy pick to win March Madness. They have a fun, deep team led by guard Bennedict Mathurin. Beyond him, they have a great playmaker in Estonian guard Kerr Kriisa and a talented big in Lithuanian Azuolas Tubelis.

Fans may have a tough time pronouncing their names, but they should get used to seeing them. The Wildcats are legit and a good bet to win the Pac-12 tournament at -125 with Bovada. They have consistently been the best team in the conference and are fully deserving of all their praise.

Beyond Arizona, UCLA are +190 to win it all. They have followed up a surprising Final Four trip with a productive albeit slightly disappointing season. They definitely have the talent to win the Pac-12, but if they play Arizona in the final, the Wildcats will be stronger favorites than their current odds.

That makes Arizona the best bet. They are leaps and bounds better than their competition and should have an easy time beating everyone bar UCLA. They are built to win in these tournaments because they have so many scorers and foul trouble will not be as detrimental to the Wildcats as the other teams in the competition.

USC (+800) and Oregon (+1200) are the only other teams that have any real chance of winning this tournament. The top betting sites aren’t giving them a big chance, however, and it makes sense. While they have had good seasons, they aren’t on the level of Arizona and shouldn’t be able to keep up with the favorites.

Overall, it may feel kind of boring to pick the favorite in a competition known as March Madness, but in this case, it makes sense. Arizona are a step above everyone else in the Pac-12 tournament and have been beating up on these teams all year. Barring a performance where they fall flat on their face, the Wildcats will win the Pac-12 tournament and likely be a top seed in the NCAA tournament.