The Pac-12 as we know it will have one last dance as a basketball conference this season. The future of the “Conference of Champions” is uncertain with not only Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah departing for the Big 12 but Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington leaving for the Big Ten and also Cal and Stanford joining the ACC for the 2024-25 academic year.
In the game of musical chairs better known as conference realignment, Oregon State and Washington State are the lone programs from the Pac-12 without a home for next season making this the last hurrah for the traditional Pac-12 lineup we are familiar with.
Two years after Oregon State, UCLA and USC all reached the Elite Eight, the Pac-12 failed to have a team make it beyond the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season. The Bruins were the last team standing from the 2023 NCAA Tournament before they fell to Gonzaga in the Sweet 16.
Arizona is coming off being on the wrong end of one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history. The No. 2 seed Wildcats were upset by No. 15 seed Princeton. The good news for Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd and company is they added former North Carolina guard Caleb Love, who has experience playing on the biggest stage in college basketball. The Wildcats also return star big man Oumar Ballo, who was tabbed as CBS Sports Preseason Player of the Year.
CBS Sports Pac-12 Preseason Player of the Year
Oumar Ballo | C | Arizona
With Kerr Kriisa off to West Virginia and Ąžuolas Tubelis departing for the NBA, Ballo is expected to take a huge leap this season as Arizona’s the top returning offensive option. Ballo averaged 14.2 points and 8.6 rebounds on 64.7% shooting last season and both of those numbers are expected to increase. Ballo’s minutes nearly doubled (15.3 to 27.6) from the 2021-22 season to last and he should expect to play even more on most nights if he stays out of foul trouble. Ballo finished the…
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