Pac-12, Mountain West wide open
West Coast looking for relevance
A year after the Pac-12 canceled its conference tournament at T-mobile Arena after the first round because of the coronavirus outbreak, Vegas Madness is back.
The Pac-12 and Mountain West men’s basketball tournaments tip off Wednesday. Both events are relatively wide open at the valley’s sportsbooks, where the top four teams in each conference are 5-1 or less.
At William Hill, Southern California is the +180 favorite to win the Pac12, followed by Colorado (+220), Oregon (+250) and UCLA (5-1). At the Westgate, Colorado and Oregon are
2-1 co-favorites, followed by USC (+250) and UCLA (+550).
“There’s no great team. The three teams at the top are good, not great,” William Hill sportsbook director
Nick Bogdanovich said. “USC, Oregon and Colorado are all solid. I hope one of them creeps into the Sweet 16. I’d like to see it just for West Coast relevance.
“But the Pac-12 has been down for a while basketballwise. It’s a cut below the big boys.”
The Pac-12 has produced only one Final Four team since 2008 and hasn’t claimed an NCAA title since Arizona won it in 1997.
San Diego State is the Mountain West favorite at William Hill (-110) and the Westgate (+120). Utah State is the +325 second choice at William Hill, and Colorado State and Boise State are 5-1.
“It’s wide open again,” Bogdanovich said. “San Diego State and Utah State are good, but I don’t think as good as they have been in the past.
“Boise, Colorado State and (UNR) have all got a puncher’s chance.”
UNR is 40-1 at the Westgate, and UNLV is 100-1.
“(UNR), at times, has looked really good. If they played this tournament in Reno, I think they probably would’ve won it,” said handicapper Bruce Marshall (Goldsheet.com). “I don’t see UNLV doing anything. They’ve just underachieved.”
Marshall gives the Aggies the edge over the Aztecs because of center Neemias Queta, the MW Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.
“I would really watch Utah State here because of the big guy,” he said. “When they’re on, they might be the best team in the league. And they won this thing last year.”
Marshall likes the Trojans to win the Pac-12 behind center Evan Mobley, the Pac-12 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. But he said Washington State is worth a shot at 80-1 if leading scorer Isaac Bonton has recovered from the ankle sprains that sidelined him for seven games.
“USC looks like the best team in the league. They’ve got the big kid and a lot of length defensively,” Marshall said. “If they’re hitting 3s, SC will win the tournament. If they don’t, the one I’d watch is Washington State.
“If Bonton is right, they’ve got a shot to cause some trouble.”