Pac-10 Tournament Quarterfinals Predictions

I'm back home for Spring Break. In less than two months I will be home for the summer. It's amazing how fast the time goes. It seemed like it was just the other day that I was at ASU Basketball Media Day getting ready for the 2009-2010 regular season, and now four months later it's time for the postseason tournaments.

The 2010 Pac-10 Tournament started last night with the play-in game, as the 8th seeded Oregon Ducks defeated the 9th seeded Washington State Cougars 82-80 in overtime. The quarterfinals begin in about 40 minutes, so here are my quick thoughts and predictions for each game, starting with the early session.

#4 Arizona Wildcats vs #5 UCLA Bruins:

UA defeated UCLA both times in the regular season. The two teams met in Tucson last weekend in a game that ended in dramatic fashion, as the Wildcats were down by as many as 13 points in the second half, but followed the lead of Nic Wise in a furious comeback that propelled the Cats to a 78-73 win. UCLA then proceeded to lose its following game to Arizona State, as the Bruins only managed to put up 46 points against the Sun Devils' stout zone defense. Despite the fact that UA has had UCLA's number this year, it's hard for me to envision them beating the Bruins three times in one season, and especially since UCLA is coming off of two bad losses. Ben Howland will most certainly have the Bruins ready given that he's had four days to prepare for the Cats. These two historically rich teams have a lot to play for, as winning the Pac-10 Tournament is the only way either team can make the NCAA Tournament ( Arizona has the longest NCAA Tournament appearance streak in the nation at 25). Since USC is banned from the tournament due to NCAA violations, UCLA will be the only team representing Los Angeles, and therefore will have more fans in attendance than any other team, giving them the home-court feel, which I think will help spark the Bruins to victory.

My pick- UCLA

#1 California vs #8 Oregon

This game should be an easy win for Cal, who is clearly the hottest team in the Pac-10 right now. The conference champions have won seven of their last eight games, and their margin of victory has been in double-digits for all seven of those wins. Cal also has the advantage in the fact that they will be playing an Oregon team that had to play a late overtime game less than 18 hours ago. While Oregon may have Tajuan Porter, who showed last night that he can take over a game offensively, the fact is Cal has too many weapons for most teams in the Pac-10 to handle. The Bears' big senior combination of Patrick Christopher, Jamal Boykin, Theo Robertson, and the Pac-10 Player of the Year Jerome Randle all average more than 12 points per game, and should prove to be way too much for Oregon. This should be the last game in the Ducks' season, and the last game in the Oregon coaching career of Ernie Kent.

My pick- Cal

My predictions for the late games will be coming in a couple of hours.