Roundup: Pac-12 Women's Basketball Tournament gets under way in Seattle

Mar 2, 2017

The Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament tips off Thursday, and Michelle Smith is here to give us the Pac-12 Tournament storylines. Can Oregon State repeat? Will Kelsey Plum be able to win her first tourney crown? Smith gives her take on those topics and more.

Check out this ESPN Sport Science piece on Washington basketball guard Kelsey Plum, as they go in-depth on her shot, which Sport Science says is comparable to Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.

The Pac-12 Men’s Swimming Championships are also underway, and our Shayna Rubin tells us that Cal is in a promising position after sweeping the opening-day events.

Ryan Kelapire of Arizona Desert Swarm writes that Sean Miller is "very, very excited" to have Dave Heeke as Arizona's new athletic director. Miller sees a lot of similiarites between Heeke and former UA AD Greg Byrne.

I’m sure you know all about UCLA’s pasting of Washington by now (Bruins won 98-66, T.J. Leaf sprained his ankle), Bruin fan, so why don’t you read about New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday donating $1,000 for every point and assist he has Friday night against the Spurs? His donation will go to those who were affected by the tornadoes that hit southern Louisiana in February (USA TODAY Sports).

Chantel Jennings writes about Utah football coach Kyle Whittingham’s affinity for skiing in the offseason, as he’ll go anywhere from 30-40 times during the ski season after the football season ends.

Check out the Pac-12 Networks recap of USC men’s basketball’s 87-64 win over Washington State in large thanks to a near-triple-double from Jordan McLaughlin (16 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists).

And here’s the USC-Washington State game recap from the Cougar perspective courtesy of Jacob Thorpe.

Schweet – Arizona State men’s basketball has scheduled a home-and-home series with Kansas. The Sun Devils will visit Lawrence next season, while the Jayhawks will make the return trip to Tempe in December 2018.

Pat Rooney tells us that Colorado men’s basketball forward Xavier Johnson is trying to regain his pre-suspension form in his final regular-season weekend for the Buffs against the Cardinal and Golden Bears. In his last three games (he has played four since returning from a suspension for violating team rules), Johnson is 6-for-26 from the floor and 1-for-13 from downtown.

Currently on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble, Oregon women’s basketball sees the Pac-12 Tournament as a needed “reset” button following a three-game losing streak to end the regular season (how dare you do an Oregon story instead of an Oregon State piece, Gina Mizell?!). The Ducks are currently a projected No. 9 seed according to ESPN, but a loss against No. 11 seeded Arizona Thursday will make things a little precarious come Selection Monday.

Oregon State AD Scott Barnes threw his support behind men’s basketball coach Wayne Tinkle this week, calling him “a wonderful coach” and the current 5-25 season “a blip in the radar screen.” Danny Moran has more.