Oregon State, Stanford, USC, UCLA top teams to watch in Pac-12 women's basketball tourney
A chaotic and wild weekend brought a close to the Pac-12 regular season but marks just the beginning of the postseason, starting with the Pac-12 women’s basketball tournament at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
All games will be broadcast on Pac-12 Network until the title game, which will air Sunday at 2 p.m. on ESPN.
The Pac-12 finished with six teams ranked in the top-20 of the national NET rankings, which measure a team’s strength using game results, strength of schedule, net offensive and defensive efficiency, and more.
No other conference finished with more than four.
Here's where teams shook out in the final standings and how the Pac-12 bracket shapes up.
Top four: first round bye
1. Stanford (26-4, 15-3 Pac-12)
Not unfamiliar with the top spot, the Cardinal secured their 27th regular season conference championship with the best record in the Pac-12 by two games. In the 38-year history of the conference, Stanford has won at least a share of the regular season title just over 70% of the time.
The Cardinal are led by likely Pac-12 Player of the Year Cameron Brink, who averages 17.9 points and 12 rebounds per game, along with Kiki Iriafen, who averages 18.5 points and 10.9 boards per game. Guard Hannah Jump is another player to watch, scoring 10.6 points a game.
Stanford will play the winner of No. 9 Washington State and No. 8 Cal around 2:30 p.m. Thursday in the quarterfinals.
2. USC (23-5, 13-5 Pac-12)
The Trojans evolved thanks to the star play of freshman sensation JuJu Watkins. The phenom averages 27.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, spearheading an otherwise experienced group through a torrid stretch of conference play and a runner-up finish in the standings.
Outside of Watkins, guard McKenzie Forbes scores 13.1 points per game, and former All-American Rayah Marshall averages a double-double with 10.2 points and 10 rebounds per game.
USC will play the winner of No. 10 Washington and No. 7 Arizona around 6 p.m. Thursday in the quarterfinals.
3. UCLA (24-5, 13-5 Pac-12)
Once considered a heavy-favorite to win the Pac-12, the Bruins had a rocky midseason before a strong finish saw them rise inside the top-3 of the conference pecking order.
The Bruins have a sophomore-heavy lineup, but are led by senior Charisma Osborne, who averages 14.1 points, five rebounds, and four assists per game. Stanford transfer Lauren Betts averages 14.9 points and 8.7 rebounds to give them one of the strongest post players in the country, and sophomore guard Londynn Jones has proven to get hot from time to time, averaging 12.7 points as one of their best long ball threats. Guard Kiki Rice also scores 12.7 points, hauls in 5.8 rebounds, and dishes out 4.7 assists per game to round out one of the most balanced rosters in the country.
UCLA will play the winner of No. 6 Utah and No. 11 Arizona State around 8:30 p.m. Thursday in the quarterfinals.
4. Oregon State (23-6, 12-6 Pac-12)
At one point the hottest team in the country, the Beavers slowed down after an injury forced star big Raegan Beers to sit multiple games, but still managed to crack the top four to secure a first-round bye.
The Beavers go as Beers goes, as the sophomore averages 17.4 points and 10.5 rebounds, but the OSU roster is as balanced as any with forward Timea Gardiner (11.1 points per game) and guard Talia von Oelhoffen (10.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.9 assists per game) also leading the way.
Freshman guard Donovyn Hunter is another player to watch if she gets hot from outside.
Oregon State will play the winner of No. 5 Colorado and No. 12 Oregon at noon Thursday in the quarterfinals.
First round matchups Wednesday
No. 5 Colorado (21-8, 11-7 Pac-12) vs. No. 12 Oregon (11-20, 2-16 Pac-12)
The first matchup of the tournament will be between longtime friends as Oregon coach Kelly Graves and the Ducks take on Colorado coach JR Payne and the Buffaloes at noon Wednesday.
The Buffaloes got off to a hot start, dismantling defending NCAA champion LSU to open their season, but finished the regular season winning just one of their last six games. Aaronette Vonleh leads the Buffs averaging 14.3 points per game while guard Jaylyn Sherrod averages 12.8 points and 4.7 assists per game. Nine of Colorado’s top 11 scorers are seniors.
The Ducks, meanwhile, endured one of their toughest seasons in recent memory with just two wins in Pac-12 play. Oregon finished the regular season on a 13-game losing streak, the longest in program history. Grace VanSlooten (15.2 points, 7.2 rebounds per game), Chance Gray (14.1 points per game), and Phillipina Kyei (12.8 points, 12.1 rebounds per game) pace the Oregon attack.
The Buffaloes swept the regular season series, beating the Ducks 61-48 in Eugene and then dismantling them 90-57 in Boulder. The winner of Wednesday’s game will play No. 4 Oregon State on Thursday.
No. 6 Utah (21-9, 11-7 Pac-12) vs. No. 11 Arizona State (11-19, 3-15 Pac-12)
The Utes are one of the best teams in the Pac-12 at home, going 12-3 at the Huntsman Center, but are far more susceptible on the road, with a 9-6 record away from Salt Lake City. Still, Utah will be a heavy favorite in the first round against a Sun Devil team that’s much-improved, but still a peg below most conference teams.
The preseason conference favorite Utah is led by reigning Pac-12 Player of the Year Alissa Pili, who averages 20.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. After losing co-star Gianna Kneepkens to injury, sophomore forward Jenna Johnson has stepped up to score 11.9 points per game to lead a team that can get hot in a hurry from outside.
The Sun Devils feature sophomores Jalyn Brown (17.4 points per game) and Trayanna Crisp (11.8 points per game), along with senior Jaddan Simmons (9.6 points per game).
The Utes won the only matchup with the Sun Devils in the regular season with a 58-41 win in Tempe. The winner of Wednesday’s game at 8:30 p.m. will play No. 3 UCLA Thursday.
No. 7 Arizona (16-14, 8-10 Pac-12) vs. No. 10 Washington (16-13, 6-12 Pac-12)
While the Wildcats have battled through various ailments and injuries throughout the season to finish just outside the top-6, the Huskies battled through a tough stretch and finished the season with two wins over top-15 opponents.
The biggest question with Arizona is the availability of its roster, with leading scorer Kailyn Gilbert reportedly leaving the program last week. With her departure, the Wildcats have just eight active players. Senior Esmery Martinez averages 11.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per game and freshmen tandem Jada Williams (9.5 points per game) and Breya Cunningham (7.5 points, 4.6 rebounds per game) are other players to watch.
The Huskies, meanwhile, were on a six-game losing streak before upsetting Oregon State at home and Utah on the road to close the season. Senior guard Lauren Schwartz leads the way with 12.2 points per game, and post Dalayah Daniels makes up almost all of UW’s size down low at 6-foot-4, averaging 11.8 points and seven rebounds per game. Freshman Sayvia Sellers is another player to watch, scoring 8.2 points a game.
The Wildcats and Huskies split the regular season series, with UW winning in Seattle 62-60 and Arizona winning in Tucson in triple overtime, 90-82. The winner of the 6 p.m. tip Wednesday takes on No. 2 USC Thursday.
No. 8 Cal (17-13, 7-11 Pac-12) vs. No. 9 Washington State (18-13, 7-11 Pac-12)
Two teams solidly on the bubble of NCAA Tournament consideration, both Washington State and Cal desperately need wins to hope to advance to the Big Dance. The Cougars made a Cinderella run to a tournament championship a year ago.
Washington State suffered a huge setback with the injury of lead guard Charlisse Leger-Walker, but have found a star in freshman Eleonora Villa, who is averaging 12.8 points per game. Bella Murekatete is also one of the strongest centers in the league, averaging 12.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.
On the other side, Cal has a newfound energy under coach Charmin Smith, who has guided the Golden Bears to a winning record for the first time in five years. Cal’s seven conference wins in 2023-24 are more than each of the last three seasons combined. Transfer Ioanna Krimili has been a standout, averaging 13.7 points per game for the Bears. Marta Suarez is another player to watch, scoring 11.8 points per game and hauling in 6.5 boards per contest.
The Golden Bears swept the regular season series with a 73-72 win in overtime in Berkeley and a 66-59 win in Pullman. The winner of the 2:30 p.m. game Wednesday will play No. 1 Stanford on Thursday.
Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football, volleyball, women’s basketball and baseball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@registerguard.com and you can follow him on Twitter @AlecDietz.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Where Oregon State women's basketball stands going into Pac-12 tourney
