Pac-12 Men's Basketball Weekly Rundown - March 15, 2023

COMPLETE RELEASE

#PAC12MBB STARTING FIVE:

2 x No. 2 - Pac-12 Men’s Basketball landed a pair of No. 2 seeds as part of four bids to the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Conference tournament champion ARIZONA and regular-season champion UCLA were both rewarded with No. 2 seeds and are joined in the field by No. 10 seed USC and No. 11 seed ARIZONA STATE.

• It marks the the fifth time in league history, and first time since 2001 (#1 Stanford, #2 Arizona), with multiple teams seeded No. 2 or better since tournament seeding began in 1979 (2023, 2001, 2000, 1992, 1981).

2 x 2nd - Pac-12 Player of the Year Jaime Jaquez Jr. of UCLA and Pac-12 Tournament Most Outstanding Player Azuolas Tubelis of ARIZONA both earned Consensus Second Team All-America honors.

• The duo of Jaquez Jr. and Tubelis were named Second Team All-Americans by all four entities - Associated Press, NABC, USBWA and Sporting News - and are the Pac-12’s first pair of consensus All-Americans since 2016-17 (Lonzo Ball, UCLA - 1st Team; Dillon Brooks, ORE - 2nd Team).
• Tubelis is on pace to become only the seventh player to lead the Conference in both scoring and rebounding in a season (Lew Alcindor 3x, Bill Walton, Mark McNamara, A.C. Green, Ike Diogu, Leon Powe).

1-fo-4 - UCLA’s Jaylen Clark is among the four finalists for the Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year along with Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner, Northwestern’s Chase Audige and Rutgers’ Caleb McConnell.

• He is the third Pac-12 player to be named a finalist since the award’s creation in 2018, joining 2019 recipient Matisse Thybulle of WASHINGTON and USC’s Evan Mobley (2021).
• Clark ranks fifth nationally in steals (2.60 spg) and is the only NCAA Division I player ranked in the top 5 of Defensive Box Plus-Minus (1st, 6.7), Defensive Win Shares (4th, 2.8) and Defensive Rating (4th, 85.3) according to College Basketball Reference.

7 - The Pac-12 is sending a combined seven men’s basketball programs (4 NCAA/3 NIT) to the 2023 postseason, the most for the Conference since a league-record tying eight in 2018 (3 NCAA/5 NIT).

• Since expansion to the Pac-12 in 2011-12, the Conference has sent at least half its teams to the NCAA or NIT postseason in nine seasons (2012-18, 2022-23).

61 - With 61 victories through his first two seasons as a head coach, ARIZONA’s Tommy Lloyd has set a record for the most wins in a coach’s first two seasons in NCAA Division I men’s history, surpassing North Carolina’s Bill Guthridge (58).

• Lloyd became the first coach in Pac-12 history to win consecutive Pac-12 Tournaments in his first two seasons as head coach in the league.

OFF THE BENCH:

AGAINST THE FIELDS: The Pac-12’s seven NCAA and NIT programs had considerable success against teams selected for the postseason during non-conference play, combining for a 26-14 mark versus teams in the NCAA (17-11), NIT (6-3) and CBI (3-0).

ARIZONA 7-0 (6-0 NCAA, 1-0 NIT)
ARIZONA STATE 5-1 (2-1 NCAA, 2-0 NIT, 1-0 CBI)
COLORADO 5-1 (2-1 NCAA, 1-0 NIT, 2-0 CBI)
OREGON 3-5 (2-3 NCAA, 1-2 NIT)
UCLA 2-2 (2-2 NCAA)
USC 2-2 (2-1 NCAA, 0-1 NIT)
WASHINGTON STATE 2-3 (1-3 NCAA, 1-0 NIT)

KEY NON-CONFERENCE WINS

10 & 13: Pac-12 Men’s Basketball programs combined for 10 victories over AP Top 25 opponents and 13 over Power 6 Conference opponents during non-conference play.

• The 10 ranked victories tied for the most of any NCAA Division I conference (Big 12 & SEC), and are the most for the Conference since expanding to the Pac-10 in 1978-79 (previous high was nine in 1994-95 & 1999-00).
• Five different Pac-12 teams (ARIZONA, ARIZONA STATE, COLORADO, UCLA, USC) amassed the 10 AP Top 25 wins, trailing only the Big 12 and Big Ten’s seven teams.
• The 13 Power 6 Conference victories are the most for the league since registering 15 during the 2019-20 season when as many as six Pac-12 teams were projected to make the canceled 2020 NCAA Tournament.

AP TOP 25 OPPONENTS (10-11)
COLORADO 78, #11 Tennessee 66 (Nashville, Tenn.)
ARIZONA STATE 87, #20 Michigan 62 (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
COLORADO 103, #24 Texas A&M 75 (Conway, S.C.)
#14 ARIZONA 87, #17 San Diego State 70 (Lahaina, Hawai’i)
#14 ARIZONA 81, #10 Creighton 79 (Lahaina, Hawai’i)
#10 ARIZONA 89, #14 Indiana 75 (Las Vegas, Nev.)
#16 UCLA 87, at #20 Maryland 60
#16 UCLA 63, #13 Kentucky 53 (New York City, N.Y.)
at #9 Arizona 75, #6 Tennessee 70
at USC 74, #19 Auburn 71

POWER 6 OPPONENTS (13-20)
COLORADO 78, #11 Tennessee 66 (Nashville, Tenn.)
ARIZONA STATE 87, #20 Michigan 62 (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
COLORADO 103, #24 Texas A&M 75 (Conway, S.C.)
UTAH 68, Georgia Tech 64 (Fort Myers, Fla.)
#14 ARIZONA 81, #10 Creighton 79 (Lahaina, Hawai’i)
STANFORD 70, Florida State 60 (Orlando, Fla.)
OREGON 74, Villanova 67 (Portland, Ore.)
#10 ARIZONA 89, #14 Indiana 75 (Las Vegas, Nev.)
ARIZONA STATE 73, Creighton 71 (Las Vegas, Nev.)
#16 UCLA 87, at #20 Maryland 60
#16 UCLA 63, #13 Kentucky 53 (New York City, N.Y.)
at #9 Arizona 75, #6 Tennessee 70
at USC 74, #19 Auburn 71

NATIONAL AWARDS RECIPIENTS/CANDIDATES

CONSENSUS ALL-AMERICAN
Azuolas Tubelis, Arizona (Second Team)
Jaime Jaquez Jr., UCLA (Second Team)

ASSOCIATED PRESS ALL-AMERICAN
Azuolas Tubelis, Arizona (Second Team)
Jaime Jaquez Jr., UCLA (Second Team)
Tyger Campbell, UCLA (Honorable Mention)

NABC ALL-AMERICAN
Azuolas Tubelis, Arizona (Second Team)
Jaime Jaquez Jr., UCLA (Second Team)

USBWA ALL-AMERICAN
Azuolas Tubelis, Arizona (Second Team)
Jaime Jaquez Jr., UCLA (Second Team)

SPORTING NEWS ALL-AMERICAN
Azuolas Tubelis, Arizona (Second Team)
Jaime Jaquez Jr., UCLA (Second Team)

NAISMITH DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Top 4 Finalist
Jaylen Clark, UCLA

NAISMITH TROPHY NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR
Top 10 Semifinalists
Mick Cronin, UCLA

NAISMITH TROPHY NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Top 10 Semifinalists
Azuolas Tubelis, Arizona
Jaime Jaquez Jr., UCLA

WOODEN AWARD NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Top 16 National Ballot
Azuolas Tubelis, Arizona
Jaime Jaquez Jr., UCLA

USBWA OSCAR ROBERTSON TROPHY NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Late Season Top 15 Watch List
Azuolas Tubelis, Arizona
Jaime Jaquez Jr., UCLA

NABC NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Top 20 Watch List
Jaime Jaquez Jr., UCLA

NAISMITH MEMORIAL BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME AWARDS
Watch Lists

Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year
Kerr Kriisa, Arizona
Will Richardson, Oregon
Tyger Campbell, UCLA (Top 10 Candidate)

Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year
Amari Bailey, UCLA

Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year
Pelle Larsson, Arizona
Harrison Ingram, Stanford
Jaime Jaquez Jr., UCLA (Top 5 Finalist)

Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year
Azuolas Tubelis, Arizona (Top 5 Finalist)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year
Oumar Ballo, Arizona (Top 10 Candidate)
Adem Bona, UCLA
Branden Carlson, Utah
Kel’el Ware, Oregon

NABC DISTRICT 19
First Team
Oumar Ballo, Arizona
Branden Carlson, Utah
Boogie Ellis, USC
Jaime Jaquez Jr., UCLA
Azuolas Tubelis, Arizona

Second Team
Desmond Cambridge Jr., Arizona State
Tyger Campbell, UCLA
N’Faly Dante, Oregon
Mouhamed Gueye, Washington State
Drew Peterson, USC
Coach of the Year: Mick Cronin, UCLA

USBWA DISTRICT IX
Player of the Year: Jaime Jaquez Jr., UCLA

All-District Team
Tyger Campbell, UCLA
Boogie Ellis, USC
Jaime Jaquez Jr., UCLA
Azuolas Tubelis, Arizona

COLLEGE SPORTS COMMUNICATORS
Academic All-America
Third Team
Brandon Angel, Stanford
Michael Jones, Stanford

CONFERENCE STANDINGS (Expanded Standings) 

WEEKLY SCHEDULE (Full Schedule) | * - If advances

PAC-12 ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS & ANNUAL PERFORMANCE AWARDS
PRESENTED BY NEXTIVA (Complete Release)

PLAYER OF THE YEAR, PRESENTED BY NEXTIVA: Jaime Jaquez Jr., Sr., G/F, UCLA
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR, PRESENTED BY NEXTIVA: Jaylen Clark, Jr., G, UCLA
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR, PRESENTED BY NEXTIVA: Adem Bona, F, UCLA
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER OF THE YEAR, PRESENTED BY NEXTIVA: Oumar Ballo, R-Jr., C, ARIZONA
SIXTH PLAYER OF THE YEAR, PRESENTED BY NEXTIVA: Reese Dixon-Waters, So., G, USC
JOHN R. WOODEN COACH OF THE YEAR: Mick Cronin, UCLA

FIRST TEAM

SECOND TEAM

HONORABLE MENTION (receiving at least three votes): TJ Bamba, WSU; Adem Bona, UCLA; Courtney Ramey, ARIZ; Will Richardson, ORE.

* denotes number of All-Pac-12 First Team honors

HONORABLE MENTION (receiving at least three votes): Kylan Boswell, ARIZ; Grant Newell, CAL.

HONORABLE MENTION (receiving at least three votes): Marco Anthony, UTAH; Oumar Ballo, ARIZ; Mouhamed Gueye, WSU; Warren Washington, ASU.

* denotes number of All-Defensive Team honors

PAC-12 PERFORMANCE AWARDS PRESENTED BY NEXTIVA (Weekly Awards History)

NATIONAL WEEKLY HONORS