Roundup: Ducks looking to repeat in Vegas

It’s Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament time, and you can watch every Wednesday game on the Pac-12 Networks. Oregon takes on rival Oregon State at 6 p.m. PT, and the Ducks are ready to defend their Pac-12 title, coming into this game on a seven-game winning streak and looking dangerous entering the postseason.

Sure, Oregon might have won the thing last year, but make no mistake: Pac-12 power Arizona is heavily favored to win the conference tournament, writes Jon Wilner.

There’s nothing we can do be sides speculate who’s in and who’s out at this time of year, and John Crumpacker surmises that Cal needs another win or two to make the NCAA tournament.

The other Bay Area school appears to be in a little better shape, but Tom FitzGerald believes that Stanford can’t afford a quick end in the Pac-12 tourney. The Card entertains Washington State in the nightcap at 8:30 p.m. PT, but it’ll probably start closer to 9.

But alas, the fun kicks off with Washington-Utah at noon PT, and Nigel Williams-Goss is back at MGM with the Huskies. He attended last year’s tourney to watch the Huskies play. Also, Brian Hamilton of SI considers Romar helper Raphael Chillious as one of the top assistant coaches in line for a head gig.

Fifth-seeded Colorado opens up with last-place USC Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. PT, and the Buffs are looking to make another title run, having won the conference tourney in 2012.

Before Utah gets down to business with Washington, the Runnin’ Utes saw a show in Vegas Monday night. Hope they enjoyed the Cirque du Soleil production.

With at-large considerations way out of the question, it’s win or go home time for the Cougars in Vegas. They’ll need four wins in four days to play beyond the weekend this season.

Ya know, some people might scoff at the NIT, but when you haven’t been there since 2005 (and haven't been to the NCAAs in that span either), getting back to it is a big deal. As such, Oregon State’s NIT hopes may depend on beating Oregon. Check out some NIT bracketology here.

ASU doesn’t play until Thursday, so let’s tell you about Arizona State softball pitcher Dallas Escobedo’s banner week, sweeping the national awards after going 4-0 with 0.26 ERA at the Judi Garman Classic.

Here is a photo gallery from UCLA’s pro day Tuesday. Also, let’s hear from Jordan Zumwalt and Xavier Su’a-Filo about their pro days and draft stock.

Spring practice began Tuesday for the Trojans, and USC’s new tempo was on display at Sark’s first practice. The team ran 120 plays in less than 120 minutes, and we’re talkin’ ‘bout practice.