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March 8, 2022
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March 8, 2022
By Mike Rose
The Arizona Wildcats invade Vegas the decided favorite to win this year’s installment of the Pac-12 tournament.
It comes with little surprise as readily able Tommy Lloyd’s squad was at dominating all that stood in their way en route to winning 28 total games and only dropping two in conference. They also clock in as one of the running favorites to cut the nets down come the conclusion of the NCAA tournament. In other words, the money season is about to begin for the 2021-22 Arizona Wildcats. And just so you know, the folks at BetRivers Sportsbook are offering up the absolute best number for Zona to be the last team standing come Saturday night. I seriously can’t believe they’re offering even money on the wager right now with most of their rivals offering the Cats up at no less than -130. Login to your account right now and get your money down! I don’t think anyone can beat this team over the next four days, but these are my underdog and longshot selections that might have a chance. That being said, there won’t be a team like Oregon State of yesteryear that comes out of nowhere to cut the nets down.
Pac-12 Tournament Odds at BetRivers Sportsbook
Arizona +100
UCLA +175
Oregon +800
USC +900
Washington State +1800
Colorado +3800
Arizona State +4000
Stanford +5500
Washington +8000
Utah +25000
Cal +10000
Oregon State +15000
Favorite to Bet: Arizona Wildcats +100
Coming in hot ranked No. 2 by the Pomeroy Ratings and No. 5 by the T-Rankings, the Arizona Wildcats are the complete package. They march the No. 8 most efficient offense onto the hardwood that’s backed by the nation’s No. 14 ranked defensive efficiency. It tickles the twine for nearly 85 points per game (No. 3) and concedes just over 66 (No. 108). While it doesn’t force a ton of turnovers (No. 206) and is a bit charitable when it comes to coughing it up themselves (No. 132), you can’t argue with how the Cats go about their business. Bennedict Mathurin’s 17.3 points per game is just one of four double-digit scoring outputs on the roster. Christian Koloko has proved to be the defensive enforcer in averaging 11.8 points and 7.0 rebounds while also swatting away nearly three shots per game. Owners of a 9-3 SU record away from the desert, the Wildcats path to the finals looks to be a walk in the park with it sweeping both Stanford and Arizona State, while going 5-1 SU and 3-2 ATS versus Colorado and both Oregon schools. Should it be USC or UCLA it meets in the finals, it’ll enter the game confident knowing it split with UCLA and swept the Trojans winning both games by an average of 14.5 points per game.
Underdog to Bet: Oregon Ducks +800
If Will Richardson is unable to go due to the illness that kept him out of the season finale against Wazzou, all bets are off. The Ducks need their top scorer and ball distributor on the court to make any sort of impact throughout this tournament. Everything is pointing towards him being good to go. As such, I can’t help but get a small taste of Oregon at an 8-1 return. But as great BetRivers’ offering is with Arizona, it flat-out sucks when it comes to the “Quack Attack.” Even DK is offering it up at 15-1! Do make it a point to shop around and get the most bang for your buck. The Ducks have no choice but to win this tourney in order to get an invite to the Dance. Its 18-9 SU overall record and 11-9 tally in conference play currently finds it on the outside looking in. But make no mistake, Dana Altman is a wunderkind when it comes to achieving success in tournament formats and there is plenty of talent loaded up and down this roster. They should take care of the Beavers whom they swept in the regular season. They also split with Colorado. Reach the semis, and it’ll likely be a rematch with Arizona whom it fell to 84-81 as laughable 12.5-point road dogs back on February 19. They had the Cats on the ropes, but failed to land the death blow. They just might land it if given another chance!
Longshot to Bet: Washington State Cougars +1800
Oregon State parlayed getting hot with an impressive display of defense to shock the college hoops betting world by winning last year’s tournament. The magic even continued in the NCAA tournament! Does Washington State have it in them to mimic that feat and bust a bunch of brackets as well? Only time will tell, but the overall body of work is most definitely there. The Cougars play a pretty decent brand of defensive basketball in holding all opposition to just over 65 points per game (No. 64) while ranking No. 41 in efficiency at KenPom.com. Scoring close to the rack has been problematic for the opposition with it ranked No. 65 in 2-point defense, and the unit ranks No. 42 overall in forcing turnovers. Some real nice pieces there! The defense has however needed to be that pesky due to the offense being extremely tough to watch. It ranks No. 321 in field goal percentage and No. 81 in efficiency. It does however do a great job creating multiple scoring opportunities by crashing the offensive glass with reckless abandon (No. 19). If the guard trio of Michael Flowers (14.2 PPG), Tyrell Roberts (10.8 PPG), and Noah Williams (10.5 PPG) get hot and the defense continues to play to form, Wazzou could make the Pac-12 tournament that much more interesting.
