What Conference Will Surprise People In College Basketball

When it comes down to it, these are lean years for the Pac-12 men’s basketball conference. Gone are the days where UCLA was a national powerhouse, or when Arizona was favored in March Madness, the 2011-12 college basketball season looks to be one where the NCAA doesn’t hear much from Pac-12 teams, at least when you look at the conference on paper. The thing is, while the conference doesn’t currently have a team in the Top 25 rankings, the truth is that there are some teams that could surprise some people as the season goes on, especially come tournament time.

Stanford is looked at as the “class” of the Conference. While they are the closest team to the Top 25, they are also the team that has played most consistently during the season. Cal has also looked pretty good this season, especially the last couple of weeks where they have been dominating (lesser) opponents. From here, there is a big drop off, though teams like Oregon State and Arizona could make a run into the tournament later in the year. Though most people don’t expect a lot from the Pac-12 this season, we may see some interesting things later in the season.