2018 China Game, SEC matchups highlight Pac-12 men's basketball opening week

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#PAC12HOOPS STARTING FIVE

2nd - For only the second year since 2009, continuity reigned on the sidelines at all 12 Conference programs as no head coaching changes were made in the offseason. The most recent year that occurred was in 2012 and the league went on to place five teams in the 2013 NCAA Tournament.

3 - Three Pac-12 teams are nationally ranked in both the AP and Coaches preseason polls, featuring No. 14/16 OREGON, No. 21/20 UCLA and No. 25/24 WASHINGTON.
• It marks the fourth consecutive year the Pac-12 enters the season with three AP ranked teams.

9 - Nine student-athletes who earned all-league accolades in 2017-18 return to rosters this season:
• All-Conference - Noah Dickerson - WASH; Tres Tinkle - OSU; Payton Pritchard - ORE
• All-Defensive - Matisse Thybulle - WASH; Kenny Wooten - ORE
• All-Freshman - Daejon Davis - STAN; Jaylen Nowell - WASH; Kris Wilkes - UCLA; McKinley Wright IV - COLO

27 - Pac-12 men’s basketball teams will play a combined 27 true road games during non-conference play, the most of any major conference in the country.
• STANFORD will play the most of any major conference program in the nation with four true road contests, including at North Carolina and Kansas. ARIZONA STATE, COLORADO and OREGON are among 14 teams tied for second with three true road games.
• Two true road games highlight opening week with Stanford visiting UNCW, and No. 25 WASHINGTON traveling to No. 11 Auburn, both on Friday. The Huskies' top-25 clash with the Tigers is one of two Pac-12/SEC matchups in the week with USC hosting Vanderbilt on Sunday.

55 - Not including potential MTE opponents, Pac-12 men’s basketball will play a combined 55 non-conference opponents who participated in the 2018 postseason - 28 at home and 27 at road or neutral sites.
• Of the 55, 27 will come against 2018 NCAA Tournament teams, including 17 road/neutral games.

PAC-12 CHINA GAME: In the event’s fourth annual installment, CALIFORNIA and Yale will participate in the 2018 Pac-12 China Game at the Baoshan Sports Center in Shanghai on Nov. 10. The contest will tip at 12:00 p.m. local Shanghai time and be televised nationally in the U.S. on Friday, Nov. 9 at 8:00 p.m. PT on ESPNU.
• The Pac-12 is a perfect 3-0 to date in what remains the only regular-season contest by a U.S. sports league, professional or collegiate, in China.

Previous Pac-12 China Game results
2015 - Washington 77, Texas 71
2016 - Stanford 80, Harvard 70
2017 - UCLA 63, Georgia Tech 60

PAC-12 ROADSHOW: The Pac-12 will test itself away from home this season to the tune of a combined 27 true road games, or 2.3 true road games per league member - the most among the power conferences. 

TRUE ROAD GAME TOTALS/AVG. AMONG POWER LEAGUES

PAC-12 MOMENTUM: Pac-12 men’s basketball has experienced some of its most competitive campaigns over the past several years, marked by consistent regular-season and postseason depth, and top-flight talent and recruiting:

2018-19: 
• The Pac-12 has some of the best incoming talent in Division I basketball, including eight top 40 recruiting classes featuring 10 freshmen rated as Top 50 recruits and 19 Top 100 newcomers, both second-best nationally.

2017-18:
• The Pac-12 had seven programs reach the 20-win plateau in 2017-18, equaling the most in league history.
• The Pac-12 sent a Conference-record tying eight teams to the postseason (three NCAA, five NIT) for the fourth time in the past six seasons.
• The Pac-12 had a Conference-record nine teams finish in the RPI top 100, the second time in the past three seasons the league accomplished the feat.
• The Pac-12 produced a consensus All-American (Arizona’s Deandre Ayton) for the fifth consecutive season, a feat matched only by the ACC. Ayton went on to become the league’s second straight No. 1 overall NBA Draft selection.

2016-17: 
• Oregon reached the NCAA Final Four, the first Pac-12 school to advance to national semifinals since 2008.
• Pac-12 posted a 10-4 record in NCAA Tournament play, its most tourney wins since 2007 and the third-most of any league (ACC & SEC - 11).
• A Pac-12 program advanced to the Elite Eight for the fourth straight year.
• A national-best three teams (Arizona, Oregon, UCLA) finished in the top 10 of the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches polls.
• Four Associated Press All-Americans, the most of any conference in the country and tied for most in league history (1975).
• League record and national-best 14 selections in the NBA Draft, including Nos. 1 & 2 overall picks in Markelle Fultz and Lonzo Ball. Fultz was the league’s first No. 1 pick since Bill Walton in 1974.

2015-16:
• A league-record seven teams earned NCAA Tournament bids.
• Four teams ranked in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll, the most for the league since 2007.
• Nine teams finished season in top 100 of NCAA RPI, the most in Conference history.

NAISMITH MEMORIAL BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME AWARDS WATCH LISTS:

Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year
Jaylen Hands, UCLA
Payton Pritchard, Oregon

Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year
Jaylen Nowell, Washington

Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year
Louis King, Oregon
Tres Tinkle, Oregon State
Kris Wilkes, UCLA
Matisse Thybulle, Washington
Robert Franks Jr., Washington State

Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year
Bennie Boatwright, USC
Noah Dickerson, Washington

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year
Bol Bol, Oregon
Moses Brown, UCLA

Watch List nominees by league
SEC - 18 (1.3 per member)
ACC - 16 (1.1 per member)
Pac-12 - 12 (1.0 per member)
Big Ten - 11 (0.8 per member)
Big 12 - 9 (0.9 per member)
Big East - 7 (0.7 per member)