Pac-12 men's hoops tips off the season Friday

Nov 6, 2013

• The 99th season of Pac-12 men’s basketball season gets underway Friday with 10 Pac-12 teams in action, and seven of those games will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks.

• OREGON will open the season first as it travels around the globe to play Georgetown in South Korea. This is the featured game in the Armed Forces Classic to be played before the U.S. Military troops at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, South Korea.

• ARIZONA, OREGON and UCLA are ranked in both the Associated Press and the USA Today Coaches preseason polls. The Wildcats are No. 6 in the AP and No. 5 in the Coaches poll, while the Ducks are No. 19/No. 18 and the Bruins are No. 22/No. 23.

• Returning All-Pac-12 Performers... Three first team All-Pac-12 performers, and three second team selection return in 2013-14. First team honorees include ARIZONA STATE guard Jahii Carson, COLORADO guard Spencer Dinwiddie, STANFORD forward Dwight Powell. Returning second-team selections include UCLA guard Kyle Anderson, CALIFORNIA guard Justin Cobbs and WASHINGTON guard C.J. Wilcox.

• Oscar, Wayman and Bob Lists... ARIZONA STATE sophomore guard Jahii Carson and ARIZONA freshman forward Aaron Gordon are among the 15 players on the Oscar Robertson Trophy Preseason Watch List as selected by the board of directors of The U.S. Basketball Writers Association. . . Gordon is among the 10-man preseason watch list for the Integris Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year Award, also presented by the United States Basketball Writers Association. . . The Pac-12 has seven players listed among the 46 on the Bob Cousy Award Watch List recognizing the nation’s top collegiate point guard. Those listed are ARIZONA’s T.J. McConnell, ARIZONA STATE’s Carson, CALIFORNIA’s Justin Cobbs, UCLA’s Kyle Anderson, COLORADO’s Spencer Dinwiddie, OREGON’s Dominic Artis, WASHINGTON’s Nigel Williams-Goss.

• Returning Starters... Each Pac-12 team has at least two returning starters, with an average of 2.8 returning starters per team. Returning starters: 4 (California, Stanford); 3 (Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Oregon State, UCLA, Washington State); 2 (Oregon, USC, Utah, Washington)

• Repeat Performance?... The Pac-12 looks to repeat last year’s success, as each member institution opened the season victorious 12-0.

• Weighing the Opposition... The Pac-12 was an impressive 105-41 (.719) in non-conference action last season and will be put to the test again this season with a non-conference slate that includes the following AP preseason ranked foes - Colorado vs. No. 25 Baylor (Nov. 8), Washington State at No. 15 Gonzaga (Nov. 21), No. 17 Marquette at Arizona State (Nov. 25), No. 5 Kansas at Colorado (Dec. 7), Arizona at No. 7 Michigan (Dec. 14), Stanford at No. 18 Connecticut (Dec. 18), UCLA vs. No. 4 Duke (Dec. 19), Colorado vs. No. 8 Oklahoma State (Dec. 21), Stanford vs. No. 7 Michigan (Dec. 21), No. 18 Connecticut at Washington (Dec. 22). Additional matchups with Top 25 opponents may occur through in-season tournaments.