USC Vs. UCLA: Pac-12 Tournament Scores 2017, No Upsets In Pac-12 Brackets

Pac-12 tournament scores for 2017 already include a classic finish. The 2017 Pac-12 tournament bracket tipped off on Wednesday afternoon (March 8) with Stanford vs. Arizona State in an important first-round game. Three more games will be completed on Wednesday, with those Pac-12 tournament scores dictating which schools advance to the quarterfinals.

In the first game of the tournament, the Stanford Cardinals and Arizona State Sun Devils needed extra time to determine the winner. After ASU raced out to a 50-42 lead by halftime, it was Stanford’s turn to put up big numbers in the second half. The teams were tied at 81 at the end of regulation, forcing an overtime period to yield the first Pac-12 tournament results of the day. Obinna Oleka scored 27 points and grabbed 13 rebounds on the day, as Arizona State dominated in overtime to post a 98-88 victory.

The second game of the 2017 Pac-12 tournament bracket was also close, with the California vs. Oregon State matchup giving fans a lot of excitement as well. Oregon State finished the season as the last-place team in the Pac-12 standings. At 5-26 (1-17), the OSU Beavers were assigned the No. 12 seed in the tournament. That meant a first-round game against the No. 5 seeded California Golden Bears. For the first half and most of the second half, the game remained very close, but the higher seeded Cal Bears ended up winning the game 67-62 to advance.

Wrapping up the 2017 Pac-12 tournament scores from Day 1 will be two night games in Las Vegas. Colorado vs. Washington State takes place at 6 p.m. PT, followed by USC vs. Washington at 8:30 p.m. PT. The USC Trojans were 23-8 (10-8) and have a great shot at making the 2017 NCAA Tournament with a few strong wins in the Pac-12 Tournament. That begins with a tough game against UW to start things off. Colorado beat WSU in Game 3 of the day, advancing to play Arizona in the next round of the Pac-12 tournament bracket.

2017 Pac-12 Tournament Scores: Day 1 (March 8)

Game 1: No. 8 Arizona State 98 – No. 9 Stanford 88
Game 2: No. 5 California 67 – No. 12 Oregon State 62
Game 3: No. 7 Colorado 73 – No. 10 Washington State 63
Game 4: No. 6 USC 78 – vs. No. 11 Washington 73

Pac-12 Tournament Schedule: Day 2 (March 9)

Game 5: No. 1 Oregon vs. Arizona State (12 p.m. PT)
Game 6: No. 4 Utah vs. California (2:30 p.m. PT)
Game 7: No. 2 Arizona vs. Colorado (6 p.m. PT)
Game 8: No. 3 UCLA vs. USC (8:30 p.m. PT)

*The USC vs. UCLA game is geared as a huge showdown in the quarterfinals, with a possible bid in the NCAA Tournament on the line for the USC Trojans. For UCLA Bruins point guard Lonzo Ball, he can raise his stock in the 2017 NBA Draft.

Pac-12 Tournament Schedule: Day 3 (March 10)

Game 9: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner (6 p.m. PT)
Game 10: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner (8:30 p.m. PT)

Pac-12 Tournament Schedule: Day 4 (March 11)

Pac-12 Championship Game: Game 9 Winner vs. Game 10 Winner (8 p.m. PT)

Four schools received first-round byes by doing well in the regular season Pac-12 standings. The Oregon Ducks, Arizona Wildcats, UCLA Bruins, and Utah Utes all await the first-round winners in the quarterfinals. By beating Stanford in the first game of the Pac-12 tournament bracket, the Arizona State Sun Devils will have a second-round matchup with Oregon. The winner of the California vs. Oregon State game will advance to play Utah on Thursday. That leaves the winners of the two night games in the first round to play Arizona and UCLA on Day 2.

The Pac-12 tournament scores could end up dictating how many schools advance from the conference tournament to the 2017 NCAA Tournament. In the latest Bracketology report by college basketball expert Joe Lunardi, the projections were not positive for the Pac-12 schools. Lunardi predicts that only four schools will emerge from the Pac-12 tournament bracket and they are Oregon, Arizona, UCLA, and USC. He does not feel that the Utah Utes are good enough to earn an invitation from the NCAA Selection Committee.

In the final Pac-12 conference standings, the Utah Utes finished at 20-10 (11-7). It was good enough to clinch the No. 4 seed in the Pac-12 tournament bracket, but it may not have been good enough to garner more national attention. In the RPI rankings, Utah ranks No. 73 in the country and the school finished the season unranked in the AP Top 25 and USA Today Coaches Poll. Without receiving the support of the writers or coaches, Utah may need to make it to the Pac-12 Championship Game in order to improve its resume enough to not simply get an NIT invite on Sunday (March 12).

Final 2017 Pac-12 Conference Standings

1. Oregon Ducks 16-2 (27-4)
2. Arizona Wildcats 16-2 (27-4)
3. UCLA Bruins 15-3 (28-3)
4. Utah Utes 11-7 (20-10)
5. USC Trojans 10-8 (23-8)
6. California Golden Bears 10-8 (19-11)
7. Colorado Buffaloes 8-10 (18-13)
8. Arizona State Sun Devils 7-11 (15-17)
9. Stanford Cardinals 6-12 (14-17)
10. Washington State Cougars 6-12 (13-17)
11. Washington Huskies 2-16 (9-21)
12. Oregon State Beavers 1-17 (5-26)

While there are a lot of teams that need to post several wins within the Pac-12 tournament bracket, it is the Oregon Ducks that enter as the favorites to win the conference championship game. Arizona and UCLA aren’t far behind, though, with all three schools ranking in the top seven teams nationally to close out the regular season. All three schools still have a shot at securing a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but it could all depend on the Pac-12 tournament scores and results over the next few days.

There are still some 2017 Pac-12 tournament tickets available for fans who want to travel to Las Vegas to see the next three rounds play out. While there is a clear separation between the top and bottom half of the conference this season, the final three games of the tournament could provide a lot of excitement. ESPN will carry the UCLA quarterfinal, the 8 p.m. PT semifinal, and the Pac-12 Championship Game on March 11. All other games will take place on the Pac-12 Network, including the four first-round games from March 8.

Can one of the Washington schools pull off a big upset in the first round of the tournament? Will the Pac-12 tournament results yield anything other than an Oregon vs. Arizona matchup for the conference title? Can Utah go from being an underdog not predicted to make the NCAA Tournament to Pac-12 champions by the weekend? All of these questions will be answered over the next three days, with the 2017 Pac-12 tournament scores drawing a lot of attention from the NCAA Selection Committee.

[Featured Image by Ethan Miller/Getty Images]