Pac 12

2011-2012 PAC 12 CONFERENCE PREVIEW

By Raphielle Johnson

The last couple of seasons the Pac-12 Conference has been a punching bag in many college hoops conversations, with pundits pointing out that the conference has been down (let’s just say that the Pac-12 has a few freshmen who could have a legit beef with the McDonald’s All-America Game selection committee). While that has been true, with the biggest piece of evidence being their two NCAA Tournament bids in 2010, many have also ignored the fact that the league was getting better thanks to an infusion of young talent. In two seasons Arizona went from a program welcoming a new coach in Sean Miller to one basket away from the Final Four, ultimately falling to eventual champ Connecticut.

Four teams made the Big Dance last season with three winning at least one game, but now comes the tough part: building on 2010-11 in spite of the heavy losses at the top of the league. Of the 15 players named First- or Second-Team all-conference just five return, with Arizona (Derrick Williams) and UCLA (Tyler Honeycutt and Malcolm Lee) incurring the biggest of the losses. The roster turnover has resulted in a wide-open race at the top of the Pac-12, meaning that it wouldn’t be a surprise if any of the top candidates won the league. Below are my predictions for how the Pac-12 will shake out.

1. California

2010-11: 18-15, 10-8 Pac-10 (NIT)

Returning starters: 4
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