Pac-12 hoops tourney looks like 3-team race

LAS VEGAS — The Pac-12 Tournament starts today with four first-round games. The four games on Thursday kick off the conference’s bid for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

No. 3 UCLA, No. 5 Oregon and No. 7 Arizona each get a bye into the quarter-finals along The Strip, kicking off a stretch of three games in three days for an eventual champion that will have a strong case for the top seed in the West Regional.

“I think whoever wins the tournament will be a 1 or a 2 in the West, depending on how Gonzaga does,” Oregon coach Dana Altman said. “It’s a big advantage to stay in your region. Your fans are able to get to the site easier and you don’t want to have to travel far.”

The Pac-12’s power trio dominated the league, finishing well ahead of fourth-place Utah. The Wildcats (27-4) shared the Pac-12 regular-season title with Oregon (27-4) at 16-2, with the Bruins (28-3) a game behind at 15-3. UCLA, Arizona and Oregon have all beaten each other.

All three have rosters built for deep NCAA Tournament runs and are expected to light up T-Mobile Arena with high-level basketball.

“We have the best conference in America right now — UCLA, Oregon are Final Four contenders and us — so winning the Pac-12 Conference Tournament is a huge deal with the competition we have,” Arizona freshman guard Rawle Alkins said.