With the ASU women's basketball regular season now all wrapped up, its time to commence with the madness that is the Pac-12 tournament.
Here are some things to look for in individual matchups before play kicks off on Thursday.
No. 5 ASU Sun Devils vs. No. 12 California Golden Bears
On Thursday afternoon, the Sun Devils will face a familiar opponent in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament in the Golden Bears. No. 24 ASU blew out Cal 77-54, just six days ahead of the upcoming rematch in Las Vegas.
In the first matchup, the Sun Devils started the game slowly, turning the ball over nine times in the first quarter alone. But ultimately, 45 points from its bench and a 10-17 performance from beyond the arc helped ASU rally to secure the blowout victory.
Given the importance of rest in tournament play, the Sun Devils could use another blowout against the Golden Bears so that it can limit the minutes of its key contributors such as senior guards Robbi Ryan, Reili Richardson and senior forward Ja'Tavia Tapley.
If ASU can make quick work of Cal, its starters will be fresh to face its rival from down south in the next round.
The winner of this matchup will face the No. 4 Arizona Wildcats.
No. 6 Oregon State Beavers vs. No. 11 Washington State Cougars
The No. 14 Beavers just recently defeated the Cougars 73-58 in both school's final regular season game of the season on March 1.
In that game, Oregon State got strong performances from both of its leading scorers in senior guard Mikayla Pivec, who scored 19 points, and redshirt junior guard Destiny Slocum, who added 17 points.
Redshirt senior forward Borislava Hristova is the Cougars' leading scorer on the season, averaging 18.4 points per game. Senior guard Chanelle Molina has also been a key contributor for the Cougars, averaging 14.8 points per game along with leading the team in both rebounds and assists.
The winner of this matchup will face the No. 3 Stanford Cardinal.
No. 7 USC Trojans vs. No. 10 Colorado Buffaloes
Similar to the previous matchups discussed, these two teams just saw each other last week as the Trojans defeated the Buffaloes 66-55.
In their meeting a week ago, USC was carried by freshman forward and Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Alissa Pili and freshman guard Endyia Rogers who each scored 20 points in the victory.
These two teams also faced off earlier this season in Boulder on Jan. 10, with the Buffaloes winning 66-53 at home.
Both games played out in a similar fashion, with the home team finishing with a comfortable win. With Thursday night's rubber match between the two schools being played on a neutral court, it could end up being tightly fought game.
The winner of this matchup will face the No. 2 UCLA Bruins.
No. 8 Utah Utes vs. No. 9 Washington Huskies
Both of these teams finished with identical records overall, with the Utes winning one more game in the Pac-12 season.
That one-game advantage in conference came from the Utes defeating the Huskies on the road on Feb. 7, 74-65. Utah's leading scorer on the season, freshman guard Brynna Maxwell, led the way in that game scoring 16 points on 5-9 shooting.
The Utes will have to account for senior guard Amber Melgoza, who finished as the seventh-best scorer in the conference, averaging 16.7 points per game.
The winner of this one will have a date on Friday with the reigning three-time Pac-12 Player of the Year Sabrina Ionescu and the No. 3 Oregon Ducks.
The winner of this matchup will face the No. 1 Oregon Ducks.
Reach the reporter at ltochter@asu.edu and follow @Leo_Toch on Twitter.
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