Oregon at No. 6 Arizona

Saturday, March 2
11:00 am PT, ESPN

It’s Senior Day in Tucson and a Noon tip.

It doesn’t get better than this. The crowd will play a major role that can’t be understated. 14,000 screaming fans that lose their mind when a Wildcat player hits a three. Pure delirium when a steal leads to a transition dunk.

There aren’t many environments comparable to what happens at McKale. It’s been built on 40 years of success. Season ticket holders cough up 20k a season for two seats in the lower bowl.

This is Arizona.

But to beat the Ducks, the Cats have to be on point. Dana Altman’s team has dealt with injuries all season but are looking to avenge the embarrassing defeat at Matthew Knight Arena earlier this year.

True freshman point guard Jackson Shelstad is the next great Payton Prichard in the making. How he handles the UA home crowd could be the difference.

If Shelstad struggles to score and turns the ball over, Tommy Lloyd’s team could run away with it.

But if the freshman hits his first three and his teammates are able to generate turnovers on defense, it’s game on.

USC at Washington

Saturday, March 2
1:00 pm PT, CBS

Mike Hopkins has an elite offense with scorers all around.

Three-point specialist Moses Wood scored 18 points against UCLA’s defense on Thursday. The journeyman went 4-for-5 from three and 5-for-6 from the field with zero turnovers.

And that’s just one example.

Sophomore Koren Johnson is playing at an All-Conference level coming off the bench. The guard only averages 10.1 points per game on the season but is putting up 17.4 over the last five contests.

Combined with a player like Braxton Meah dropping 19 on the Bruins with an 8-for-8 split from the field, watch out for the Dawgs in the Pac-12 Tournament.

But taking care of USC won’t be easy.

Isaiah Collier is projected as a high lottery pick and Boogie Ellis can go off for 30 in any given game. Yet, the Trojans don’t use their bigs on offense enough.

The group is one of the better shot-blocking units in the nation, but they aren’t much involved on the offensive side of the ball.

That should allow the UW defenders to match up relatively evenly on the perimeter without worrying about helping on the inside.

It should be a high-scoring affair that could be decided by a role player having a surprising game.

UCLA at No. 19 Washington State

Saturday, March 2
4:00 pm PT, Pac-12 Network

The message from Mick Cronin doesn’t seem to be getting delivered. UCLA gave up a shocking 94 points to Washington on Thursday. It was the most points the Bruins had given up all season and at the most critical time.

March is here and Cronin’s defense has disappeared.

That’s an awful sign for the rest of the season. There aren’t many games left to fix the narrative of the year. This squad has the chance to be Cronin’s worst team since taking over in 2019-20.

And Kyle Smith has weapons.

True freshman Isaiah Watts went off against the Trojans, scoring a pivotal 18 points on 6-for-8 shooting. Without his points, the Cougs don’t win that game.

Andrej Jakimovski’s mom and brother are in the United States for the first time, too, providing extra motivation for the forward to show out.

That’s without even mentioning Jaylen Wells on the wing or Rueben Chinyelu off the bench, let alone Myles Rice and Isaac Jones.

Smith’s team takes care of the ball at an elite level, is one of the best rebounding teams in the nation, and has the top defense in the Pac-12.

That’s a recipe for another embarrassing loss if Cronin’s players aren’t locked in on “D”.

California at Utah

Saturday, March 2
6:00 pm PT, Pac-12 Network

California currently sits as the 6-seed while Utah is at the 7-seed. What difference does it make?

Since 2011-12, the 6-seed is 19-10 all-time in the Pac-12 Tournament while the 7-seeds are 7-12.

A 7-seed has never won a Pac-12 Tournament Tournament Championship. The 6-seed has won it all twice since the Conference expanded.

In March, seeding in conference tournaments can be the difference between going on a magical Cinderella run and letting the auto-bid slip away.

To beat Craig Smith’s team on the road, the Bears have to win the rebounding margin. Smith has variable lineups with three different bigs that can make the difference on the glass.

Keba Keita averages 6.1 rebounds per game while Lawson Lovering is snagging 4.3 and Branden Carlson is securing 6.9.

Other than winning the boards, containing Deivon Smith is key.

The point guard is a tripe-double machine that does it all. But he’s not a very strong three-point shooter and could be inefficient if Cal forces him into late-shot-clock looks from deep.

On the other end of the floor, getting Fardaws Aimaq going is arguably key. He has a height advantage over Keita and should be able to take advantage.

But if Aimaq struggles and Cal can’t rebound, it might be too much to expect the Bears to pull off the upset in Salt Lake City.

Dane Miller’s Game Picks

2023-24 Week 10 Pac-12 Games	Pick
Oregon at No. 6 Arizona Mar 2, 11:00 AM PT	Arizona
USC at Washington Mar 2, 1:00 PM PT	Washington
UCLA at No. 19 Washington State Mar 2, 4:00 PM PT	Washington State
Cal at Utah Mar 2, 6:00 PM PT	California
Overall Record	161-73-0 (69%)