For those of you not residing on the best coast, you may not have seen much Pac-12 basketball this year. With a POS commissioner who thinks it’s good that the conference tournament championship game started at 8pm PST, it’s hard to blame anyone for not knowing much more about Pac-12 roundball other than whatever Lonzo Ball’s dad has been twittering.

Great to have LaVar Ball join us today in studio to talk about his sons’ futures. pic.twitter.com/l211qAtXVB

— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) March 7, 2017

But before you start filling out your brackets based on your memories of Mike Bibby in the Final Four or Russell Westbrook in baby blue, I’ve provided a little insight into the Pac-12’s March Madness contestants.

(11 E) University of Southern California Trojans (5th – Pac-12)

First Game: First Four vs (11) Providence (3/15 at 9:10PM – TRUTV)

Head Coach: Andy Enfield (4th Year)

2016 Tournament Result: Lost in first round to Providence

2017 Analysis: USC went undefeated in non-conference play before falling way back to earth and sitting at 24-9 (10-8 in the Pac-12) heading in to this evening’s play-in game. USC was the epitome of a bubble team, going 1-7 against ranked teams (the win being against rival UCLA, who they otherwise lost to twice) but beat out NIT-favorite Syracuse for a spot in The Big Dance by having only single-digit losses.

The Trojans are a good, not great, team. Unfortunately, I don’t think they’ll last long enough to be overlooked by anyone. They played the middle portion of their season without star sophomore Bennie Boatwright but, even with Boatwright back, it’s hard to see USC getting out of the first weekend. USC is a team who pretty much wins the games they should…and loses the games they should. Of course, the whole reason they hired Enfield was because of the run of his 2013 Florida Gulf Coast “Dunk City” Eagles who became the first ever 15-seed to make the Sweet 16, so maybe lightning will strike twice.

Fortunately, most brackets don’t make you pick the First Four and, regardless of whether or not USC lives to face SMU (I doubt they will), their road ends without an upset. I don’t know much about Providence but I know USC lost 5 of their last 8 and that’s never a good way to enter an elimination tournament.

(3 S) University of California, Los Angeles Bruins (3rd – Pac-12)

First Game: (14) Kent State (3/17 at 9:57PM)

Head Coach: Steve Alford (4th Year)

2016 Tournament Result: N/A

2017 Analysis: Look, I hate UCLA. We got a lot of NCSU-ers here. Well, UCLA is my U*NC. That said, this year’s UCLA team is an offensive powerhouse. When coach’s son Bryce Alford and blue chip freshmen Lonzo Ball and TJ Leaf are scoring at will, UCLA’s near-invisible defense is but a speed bump to outscoring opponents. And, unfortunately for Kent State, this is almost always the case.

Unfortunately, if they have a game like the conference tournament semifinals where the Bruins went 4 of 25 from three, UCLA will be out the door. Fortunately for the Bruins, with a 3-seed in the region of death South, you can pretty much ink them in for a trip to the Sweet 16 — before getting bounced in their rematch with Kentucky (who, granted, they did beat in Lexington earlier this year). And if they do slip by the Wildcats, I wouldn’t expect them to bust any brackets with a Final Four birth. The players are good — really fucking good — but Steve Alford isn’t a good enough coach to bring optimize this talent in March. UCLA is a one-trick pony and that’s a serious limitation to winning six straight in the tournament (though UCLA did not lose a game between 2/1 and 3/10 — 10 games including victories over Oregon and at Arizona).

One more tidbit — Dukie Fanboy Dick Vitale has named Steve Alford amongst his Coach of the Year Candidates. I can’t even begin to tell you how backwards it is to give COTY to a dude whose entire coaching job was ignoring D and allowing a stud freshman PG to run the offense. Give him recruiter of the year but, for my two cents, Alford is Washington’s Lorenzo Romar 2.0 where he’ll almost always have respectable teams and a stud freshman every year or two — but the Sweet 16 will always be his teams’ cap.

Had UCLA made or won the conference tournament this could be a Final Four team (I know this disagrees with my statement above). But with how top-heavy the Pac-12 was this season — and how Pac-12 officiating creates the softest squads every season — I’d expect UCLA to have a couple blowout wins, be crowned as the most dangerous sleeper in the nation while Lonzo Ball’s dad touts that a 3-seed was a slap in the face, and then they’ll simply lose in a Sweet 16 game in which they are out-coached and out-rebounded.

Also of note: Lonzo Ball hurt his hand during their semifinals loss. X-ray’s have come back negative but, even if he has lingering issues from the sprain, this could effect the Bruins scoring significantly in the first weekend. I’m sure they’ll still win but I’d be hesitant to give the point on some of those outrageous first weekend lines not knowing just what is going on with Ball’s hand.

(3 MW) University of Oregon Ducks (T-1st – Pac-12)

First Game: (14) Iona (3/17 at 2:00 PM)

Head Coach: Dana Altman (7th Year)

2016 Tournament Result: Lost in Elite Eight to Oklahoma

2017 Analysis: While I hold a healthy mature hatred for UCLA, I have to admit that I have more disgust for Oregon than I do the Bruins. Yeah they’ve got the conference player of the year, Dillon Brooks, among the bulk of last season’s Elite Eight squad returning for this tournament run. Also, I was there in person when Oregon stomped Arizona, 85-58, in Eugene in January so you don’t have to tell me what this team is capable of when they’re firing on all cylinders.

But, to put it simply, Oregon Basketball is new money. If you’re a recruit, the neon green uniforms might be attractive. The atmosphere (and facilities, frankly) of Matthew Knight Arena are impressive. And Dana Altman is, quite simply, a players coach. Again, good things if you’re excited about this program; disgusting things if you think the only way college sports can be played is as displayed by the blue bloods. But good for Oregon/Baylor. I mean, if you think Tom Haverford’s idea to have a DJ host your pregame is the right thing for you, then so be it. Some of us try to do it The Right Way^tm.

That said, with holding the tie-breaker over Arizona (they only played once, due to the conference’s unbalanced schedule) through the regular season, Oregon was penciled in as the 2-seed in the West.. Unfortunately, their biggest inside threat, Chris Boucher, suffered a season-ending ACL tear against Cal in the conference tournament semifinal and, the next day, the team lost to Arizona in the conference title game. With Gonzaga firmly planted in the West 1-seed, this meant Oregon was going to have to travel to another bracket.

Fortunately for Oregon, the Midwest isn’t a terrible place to be. Playing Kansas in KC won’t be fun but the road there — not far from Eugene in Sacramento with potential games against Altman’s former program (Creighton) and as inconsistent a 2-seed as you’ll see in the tournament (Louisville) — is manageable. This team is talented, tough, and does all things well. They’re confident that they will win every game so no lead against this squad is safe. They don’t really have a glaring weakness for teams to exploit. But they do play with a lot of emotion and I expect this will make them must-watch basketball for the first weekend’s blowouts…it may also be detrimental as the pressure begins to mount.

I probably have Oregon losing to Kent State but you should have them, at worst, in the Elite Eight. And, if they get by Kansas, they’d be a serious contender against anyone in Glendale.

(2 W) University of Arizona Wildcats (T-1st – Pac-12)

First Game: (15) North Dakota (3/16 at 9:50 PM)

Head Coach: Sean Miller (8th Year)

2016 Tournament Result: Lost opener to Wichita State

2017 Analysis: Arizona is a tough team to predict for this year’s tournament. Yeah, bravo to Sean Miller for a Coach of the Year performance dealing with last-second transfers, injuries, and player suspensions — but this is the best coach to not make a Final Four so you can appreciate my hesitation to get too excited.

Similar to Oregon, when Arizona is on they can run with the best teams in the country. They have talent all over the place, including a big athletic front court, but their point guard play is sub-elite and, while defense is their calling card, they have struggled scoring against the zone this season. They appear to have fixed that with their run in the conference tournament but that was against teams who don’t play zone typically. Oregon State, who had one conference win, held a halftime lead against Arizona when they played in January because of the Beavers execution of the zone.

Still, the West looks questionably too easy for Arizona to make the Final Four. They’ll be close to home with a huge contingent of fans at every game. Their roster, who had issues gelling after Alonzo Trier returned in February, seems to have returned to form. No one in their bracket is really scary the way Kansas looks for Oregon, for example. People are saying Saint Mary’s is a sleeper but, look, I don’t respect the WCC. It’s an annual two-team “race” where their tournament representatives haven’t played top tier talent (outside of each other a few times) in three-plus months and, in my opinion, this is why they’ll never breakthrough. Again — this is acknowledging that Miller hasn’t done so either.

So I like Arizona to win the West. What they can do in the Final Four, I’m concerned about how they’ll play against tougher teams from out east who aren’t afraid to bang it inside and give a lot of contact. Arizona plays with a lot of finesse and, if the refs aren’t blowing the whistle, it’s hard to imagine them controlling things inside as they’ve done most of this season. But if I get you that far in your bracket, don’t complain to me about them shitting the bed in the semis.

NIT BONUS #CONTENT

The Pac-12 also put Cal (1-Seed, Region 2), Utah (3-Seed, Region 3), and Colorado (5-Seed, Region 3) in NIT.

Cal has the talent to make the championship but the weakness that put them in the NIT — a general lack of focus — will probably be their downfall against Syracuse. Head Coach Cuonzo Martin’s name is already being floated around for other openings, senior Jabari Bird is currently in the concussion protocol, and, with Ivan Rabb rumored to be ready to enter the NBA Draft, the Golden Bears are not a team who is happy to be in the NIT. Every year the Pac-12 sends a couple teams to the NIT and every year they underperform. Cal is not a team excited about the experience, they’re a squad ready to move on to their next individual challenges.

Utah is pretty much the opposite of Cal. They lost ten players from last year’s roster and were a surprise 4th in the conference this year. Utah is a team that’s just excited to be playing more basketball. They’ll probably only get the one win but, you know, good for them.

Colorado is more like Cal than Utah. A senior-laden team, Colorado epitomizes why young guys jump ship to the NBA when they do. The Buffs were a team that, in 2015, looked like they had some potential this season because of the experience of their lineup. However, they’ve been underwhelming all year and the little equity that was in the draft stock of Derrick White or Xavier Johnson has about vanished. They’ll probably win their first game, call it good, and get bounced by Illinois State.