As the regular season ended on Feb. 25, the No. 6 Oregon Ducks have emerged as the new regular season champions. The Ducks took the regular season title from their rival No. 10 Oregon State.
After dropping their final two games against both Oregon schools, the Sun Devils will enter the tournament as the No. 6 seed.
1. No. 6 Oregon Ducks (27-4, 16-2 Pac-12)
Oregon has claimed its first outright Pac-12 title since the 1999-2000 season. The Ducks have also set school records for conference wins and overall wins. The Ducks are the favorite to win the tournament with their high-flying offense – the team averages 82.6 points per game. A player to watch in the Pac-12 tournament is sophomore guard Sabrina Ionescu. She leads the Pac-12 in scoring with 19.2 points per game.
2. No. 16 Stanford Cardinal (20-9, 14-3 Pac-12)
Stanford had one of the strongest non-conference schedules in the country, as the Cardinal played top-ranked UCONN, Ohio State, Baylor and Tennessee. Stanford did not win a game against ranked foes outside of the conference but has solidified itself as a team that will be tough to play. Stanford's player to watch is senior guard Brittany McPhee, who averages 18.5 points per game and 5.2 rebounds.
3. No. 10 Oregon State (23-6, 14-4 Pac-12)
Oregon State has won three out of the last four regular season titles and added the 2016 Pac-12 Championship to its program. The Beavers were able to jump into the third seed after a tiebreaker over UCLA. Senior center Marie Gülich has been an unstoppable force in the paint, as she finished with 36 points to pull off a comeback against the Sun Devils in the regular season finale. Gülich leads the team with 17.4 points per game.
4. No. 9 UCLA Bruins (23-6, 14-4 Pac-12)
UCLA is the second-best scoring team in the Pac-12. The team is led by senior guard Jordin Canada and senior forward Monique Billings. Canada leads the team with 16.3 points per game and is the Pac-12 all-time leader in assists, passing Stanford guard Sonja Henning (1988-1991) with 790 assists. Billings is the Pac-12 leader in total rebounds with 9.8 rebounds.
5. California Golden Bears (20-9, 11-7 Pac-12)
The Golden Bears were able to bounce back from a rough three-game stretch against ranked Pac-12 teams. Winning five out of its last six games, Cal climbed over ASU and stole the five seed. For the Golden Bears, junior forward Kristine Anigwe leads the team with 17 points per game and sits fourth in the Pac-12 with 8.8 rebounds per game.
6. ASU Sun Devils (19-11, 10-8 Pac-12)
The Sun Devils have had one of the hardest schedules out of the Pac-12 teams. The Sun Devils played top-ranked schools Mississippi State, Florida State and Green Bay in non-conference play. ASU is led by junior forward Kianna Ibis, who leads the team with 12.6 points per game. In the last two games of the regular season, the Sun Devils had an opportunity to upset ranked opponents at home against the Oregon schools. With back-to-back losses to end the season, the Sun Devils fell to the sixth seed and will face the No. 11 seed Arizona Wildcats on Thursday.
7. USC Trojans (19-10, 9-9 Pac-12)
The Trojans started the season 10-1 before starting off skittish in the beginning of Pac-12 play. USC is led by senior forward Kristen Simon and junior guard Aliyah Mazyck. Simon sits fifth in conference with 17.6 points per game and third with 9.0 rebounds per game. Mazyck sits eighth in conference with 16.4 points per game.
8. Utah Utes (17-12, 8-10 Pac-12)
Utah has not had a winning record in conference since 2009-10. The Utes are led by redshirt junior forward Megan Huff, who is 12th in the Pac-12 in scoring as she averages 14.5 points per game. Utah will take on the No. 9 seed Colorado Buffaloes.
9. Colorado Buffaloes (14-15, 5-13 Pac-12)
Junior guard Kennedy Leonard ranks 11th in the Pac-12 with an average of 14.8 points per game. Colorado will face the Utah Utes in the first round on Thursday where the winner will play No. 1 seed Oregon.
10. Washington State Cougars (10-19, 3-14 Pac-12)
Washington State is currently on a six-game losing streak. Redshirt sophomore forward Borislava Hristova is the third-highest scorer in the conference with 18.1 points per game. Washington State will face USC, and the winner will face the No. 2 seed Stanford.
11. Arizona Wildcats (6-23, 2-16 Pac-12)
The Wildcats have won five of their six games at home. For the Wildcats, senior guard JaLea Bennett ranks 13th in the conference with 14.0 points per game. Arizona will face rival ASU for the chance to play Oregon State.
12. Washington Huskies (7-22, 1-17 Pac-12)
Washington’s only conference win came against rival WSU. Sophomore guard Amber Melgoza is second in the Pac-12 in scoring, averaging 18.6 points per game. Washington will face Cal for the chance to play UCLA.
Reach the reporter at sbemanue@asu.edu or follow @SebastianEman24 on Twitter.
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