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This week in Pac-12 Men's Basketball: Four in the Sweet 16 edition - March 25, 2021

Mar 25, 2021
NCAA Photos / Oregon State Athletics

COMPLETE RELEASE

#PAC12HOOPS STARTING FIVE:

4 - For the fourth time in Conference history, four Pac-12 Men's Basketball teams advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 (2021, 2001, 1998, 1997). The Pac-12 is the first conference all-time to have four teams seeded 4th-or-worse reach the Sweet 16.
• No. 6 seed USC - fifth Sweet 16, first since 2007; head coach Andy Enfield’s second Sweet 16 (2013).
• No. 7 seed OREGON - eighth Sweet 16, including each of program’s last four NCAA appearances (2016, 2017, 2019, 2021) and five in 11 seasons under head coach Dana Altman.
• No. 11 seed UCLA - 35th Sweet 16, fourth in last seven NCAA Tournaments; head coach Mick Cronin’s second Sweet 16 (2012).
• No. 12 seed OREGON STATE - seventh Sweet 16, first since 1982; head coach Wayne Tinkle’s first Sweet 16.

4, 4, 6 - Pac-12 teams combined for four AP Top 25 wins, four “upsets” (team seeded five spots lower than opponent), and six wins over power conference opponents in going 9-1 through the first two rounds of the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
• The four upsets comprised a quarter of the record 12 in the 2021 NCAA Tournament’s first two rounds.
• The six power conference wins are tied for second-most in any single NCAA Tournament for the league (8 - 1997; 6 - 2021, 2001).

Elite 8 - With OREGON and USC slated to meet in Sunday’s West Region semifinals, the Pac-12 is likely assured at least one entrant into the Elite Eight.
• It would mark the fifth time in the past seven tournaments, and sixth time in the past 10, the Conference advanced a team to the Elite Eight. OREGON was the league’s most recent Final Four entrant in 2017.

9-1 - Pac-12 programs have combined for a 9-1 record* (.900 win%) through the first two rounds of the 2021 NCAA Tournament. *OREGON was advanced past the First Round via No Contest vs. VCU.
• The nine wins are tied for the sixth-most in the Conference’s history: 13 - 2001, 1997; 11 - 1998; 10 - 2017, 2007; 9 - 2021, 2002, 1995.

+13.1 - The Pac-12 was dominant in posting a 9-1 record through the first two rounds of the 2021 NCAA Tournament, winning eight games by double figures and posting an average margin of +13.1 points (+16.6 margin in victories).
• Since the NCAA expanded the field to 64 teams in 1985, the +13.1 margin is the fifth-largest among leagues with five-or-more teams in the field.

PAC-12 TIPOFF

WESTSIDE CONNECTIONS: The UCLA and USC men’s basketball teams are simultaneously in the Sweet 16 for just the third time (2021, 2007, 2001), while OREGON and OREGON STATE are both in the same Sweet 16 for the first time in tourney history.

#BACKTHEPAC: Along with four men’s basketball programs in the NCAA Sweet 16, three Pac-12 women’s basketball programs also advanced to the Sweet 16 (ARIZONA, OREGON, STANFORD).
• The seven combined Sweet 16 teams are the most (by two) of any league in the country and just one shy of the league’s record of eight set in 2017 (5 WBB/3 MBB).
• Through the first two rounds of both tournaments, the Pac-12 has combined to go an NCAA-best 17-4 (.810).

PAC-12 ANNUAL PERFORMANCE AWARDS, PRESENTED BY NEXTIVA
PLAYER OF THE YEAR, PRESENTED BY NEXTIVA: Evan Mobley, Fr., F, USC
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR, PRESENTED BY NEXTIVA: Evan Mobley, Fr., F, USC
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR, PRESENTED BY NEXTIVA: Evan Mobley, F, USC
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER OF THE YEAR, PRESENTED BY NEXTIVA: Jaiden Delaire, Jr., F, STANFORD
SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR, PRESENTED BY NEXTIVA: Jordan Brown, R-So., F, ARIZONA
SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Oscar da Silva, Sr., F, STANFORD
JOHN R. WOODEN COACH OF THE YEAR: Andy Enfield, USC

Click here for the complete Pac-12 All-Conference Teams

2021 PAC-12 ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
All-Tournament Team
Evan Mobley, F, USC
Evan Battey, F, COLORADO
McKinley Wright IV, G, COLORADO
Jarod Lucas, G, OREGON STATE
Ethan Thompson, G, OREGON STATE

Most Outstanding Player
Warith Alatishe, F, OREGON STATE

PAC-12 NATIONAL AWARDS

CONSENSUS ALL-AMERICA
Evan Mobley
, USC (Second Team)

ASSOCIATED PRESS ALL-AMERICA
Evan Mobley
, USC (Second Team)
Chris Duarte, Oregon (Third Team)
Remy Martin, Arizona State (Honorable Mention)
McKinley Wright IV, Colorado (Honorable Mention)

USBWA ALL-AMERICA
Evan Mobley
, USC (Second Team)
Chris Duarte, Oregon (Third Team)

SPORTING NEWS ALL-AMERICA
Evan Mobley
, USC (Second Team)

NABC ALL-AMERICA
Evan Mobley
, USC (Second Team)

NAISMITH TROPHY DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
TOP 4 FINALISTS
Evan Mobley
, USC

USBWA WAYMAN TISDALE
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR TOP 4 FINALIST
Evan Mobley
, USC

NAISMITH MEN’S COACH OF THE YEAR
LATE SEASON TOP 15 WATCH LIST
Andy Enfield, USC

WOODEN AWARD PLAYER OF THE YEAR
NATIONAL BALLOT TOP 15
Evan Mobley
, USC

NAISMITH TROPHY PLAYER OF THE YEAR
TOP 10 SEMIFINALIST
Evan Mobley
, USC

NAISMITH TROPHY DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
TOP 4 FINALISTS
Evan Mobley
, USC

NAISMITH MEMORIAL BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME AWARDS
TOP 10 CANDIDATES/FINALISTS

Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year
McKinley Wright IV
, Colorado (Top 10 Candidate)

Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year
Chris Duarte
, Oregon (Finalist)

Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year
Ziaire Williams
, Stanford (Top 10 Candidate)

Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year
Oscar da Silva
, Stanford (Top 10 Candidate)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year
Evan Mobley
, USC (Finalist)

NETSCOUTS INTERNATIONAL ALL-AMERICA
Chris Duarte
, OREGON (Player of the Year)
Oscar da Silva, STANFORD (First Team)
Eugene Omoruyi, OREGON (Third Team)

SENIOR CLASS AWARD
TOP 10 CANDIDATE
Oscar da Silva
, Stanford


CONFERENCE STANDINGS (Expanded Standings

Teams Pac-12 Record Overall Record
Oregon! (NCAA) 14-4 21-6
#24 USC (NCAA) 15-5 24-7
#22 Colorado (NCAA) 14-6 23-9
UCLA (NCAA) 13-6 20-9
Arizona* 11-9 17-9
Oregon State# (NCAA) 10-10 19-12
Stanford 10-10 14-13
Utah 8-11 12-13
Arizona State 7-10 11-14
Washington State 7-12 14-13
Washington 4-16 5-21
California 3-17 9-20

! Pac-12 regular-season champion (based on Conference win percentage) | # Pac-12 Tournament champion
*Ineligible for Pac-12 & NCAA Tournaments due to self-imposed postseason ban.


2021 NCAA TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE (Full NCAA Tournament bracket)
All games in Indianapolis, Ind., unless otherwise denoted; * if advances

Saturday, March 27 TV Time (PT)
12-OREGON STATE vs. 8-#17 Loyola Chicago CBS 11:40 a.m. PT
Sunday, March 28 TV Time (PT)
11-UCLA vs. 2-#5 Alabama TBS 4:15 p.m. PT
7-OREGON vs. 6-#24 USC TBS 6:45 p.m. PT
Monday, March 29 TV Time (PT)
*12-OREGON STATE vs. 2-#6 Houston/11-Syracuse TBD TBD
Tuesday, March 30    
*11-UCLA vs. 1-#4 Michigan/4-#14 Florida State TBD TBD
7-OREGON/6-USC vs. 1-#1 Gonzaga/5-#19 Creighton TBD TBD

PAC-12 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Week of Player Freshman
Nov. 30 McKinley Wright IV, Colorado Josh Christopher, Arizona State
Dec. 7 Eugene Omoruyi, Oregon Evan Mobley, USC
Dec. 14 Jemarl Baker Jr., Arizona Evan Mobley, USC
Dec. 21 Oscar da Silva, Stanford Ziaire Williams, Stanford
Dec. 28 McKinley Wright IV, Colorado Efe Abogidi, Washington State
Jan. 4 Chris Duarte, Oregon Bennedict Mathurin, Arizona
Jan. 11 Oscar da Silva, Stanford Evan Mobley, USC
Jan. 18 McKinley Wright IV, Colorado Jabari Walker, Colorado
Jan. 25 Jamal Bey, Washington Evan Mobley, USC
Feb. 1  Alfonso Plummer, Utah Michael O'Connell, Stanford
Feb. 8 Evan Mobley, USC Evan Mobley, USC
Feb. 15 Johnny Juzang, UCLA Evan Mobley, USC
Feb. 22 Noah Williams, Washington State Azuolas Tubelis, Arizona
March 1 McKinley Wright IV, Colorado Azuolas Tubelis, Arizona
March 8 Chris Duarte, Oregon Evan Mobley, USC

NATIONAL HONORS

Week of Award - Recipient
Jan. 11 Naismith Trophy National Player of the Week - Ziaire Williams, Stanford
Feb. 8 NCAA.com National Player of the Week - Evan Mobley, USC
Feb. 15 Naismith Trophy National Player of the Week - Evan Mobley, USC
Feb. 22 NCAA.com National Player of the Week - Noah Williams, Washington State
Feb. 23 USBWA National Player of the Week - Noah Williams, Washington State