SAN FRANCISCO
- The bracket is set for the
2022 Pac-12 Womens Basketball Tournament
, presented by New York Life, as the 21st-annual event is slated to tip off this Wednesday, March 2 at Michelob ULTRA Arena (Mandalay Bay Events Center) in Las Vegas.
Stanford went unbeaten in Pac-12 play for the eighth time (16-0, 1.000) to claim its second consecutive and 25th overall regular-season title. Fourteen-time conference tournament champions, the Cardinal is the event's top seed for the 15th time.
Oregon (11-6, .647) and Washington State (11-6, .647) finished tied for second in the league standings, but the Ducks edged the Cougars for the No. 2 seed by virtue of their head-to-head victory during the regular season. It's the fifth consecutive top-four seed and first-round bye for Oregon.
Winners of nine of its last 12 games to end the regular season and the reigning
ESPN Team of the Week
, Washington State wrapped up the No. 3 seed on the heels of a historic regular season. The Cougars set a program record for Pac-12 wins (11) and secured a winning record in the league for just the second time (1990-91). At 19-9 overall, WSU has already established a program record for wins in the NCAA era. Washington State has been a No. 7 seed three time previously, its best Pac-12 Tournament seed before this season.
Arizona (10-6, .625) grabbed the final first-round bye and No. 4 seed after beating USC, 68-59, to close out the regular season on Saturday. It's the third consecutive season as a top-four seed for last year's NCAA finalists.
Colorado (9-7, .563) and Utah (8-7, .533) are seed Nos. 5 and 6. The No. 5 seed is Colorado's second-best in program history, behind only the No. 4 seed it earned in 2013. Utah tied a program-best seed since it joined the Pac-12 and is a No. 6 for the third time (2013, 2019). Both are in strong positions to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011 (Utah) and 2013 (Colorado), respectively.
UCLA (8-8, .500) is the No. 7 seed and is followed by No. 8 Oregon State (6-9, .400), No. 9 Arizona State (4-9, .308) and No. 10 USC (5-12, .294). California (2-10, .167) is No. 11 and Washington (2-12, .143) No. 12.
All 11 contests will be nationally televised, with the first three rounds of action from March 2-4 set to air on Pac-12 Networks and the championship game on Sunday, March 6 broadcast on ESPN2.
2022 PAC-12 WOMENS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
March 2-6
Michelob ULTRA Arena, Las Vegas, Nev.
Wednesday, March 2 Pac-12 Networks
Game 1: No. 5 Colorado vs. No. 12 Washington, 12:00 p.m. PT
Game 2: No. 8 Oregon State vs. No. 9 Arizona State, 2:30 p.m. PT
Game 3: No. 7 UCLA vs. No. 10 USC, 6:00 p.m. PT
Game 4: No. 6 Utah vs. No. 11 California, 8:30 p.m. PT
Thursday, March 3 Pac-12 Networks
Game 5: No. 4 Arizona vs. 5/12 Winner, 12:00 p.m. PT
Game 6: No. 1 Stanford vs. 8/9 Winner, 2:30 p.m. PT
Game 7: No. 2 Oregon vs. 7/10 Winner, 6 p.m. PT
Game 8: No. 3 Washington State vs. 6/11 Winner, 8:30 p.m. PT
Friday, March 4 Pac-12 Networks
Game 9 (Semifinal 1): Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 6 p.m. PT
Game 10 (Semifinal 2): Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 8:30 p.m. PT
Sunday, March 6 ESPN2
Game 11: Championship, 3 p.m. PT/6 p.m. ET