Four games are on the slate once again for day two of the Pac-12 Conference Tournament. Colorado, Cal, USC and Arizona State advanced to the quarterfinals after winning on Thursday. UCLA, Oregon State, Stanford and top-seeded Oregon will each be in action Friday after enjoying their first round byes.
Here are some things to watch in each game of round two and info on how you can watch Friday’s games:
11:30 AM PST — (9) Colorado vs. (1) Oregon
- Colorado will likely need to resort to a zone to look to slow down the Ducks and Pac-12 Player of the Year Sabrina Ionescu. The Buffs need to be aware of where both Ionescu and 45% three-point shooter Lexi Bando are at all times.
- If Colorado manages to eliminate easy catch and shoot opportunities for those two players, Kennedy Leonard and Alexis Robinson can make enough plays off the bounce to give this team a chance in crunch time.
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2:00 PM PST — (5) Cal vs. (4) UCLA
- Both of these teams have struggled most when opponents pack the paint and dare their guards to fire away from deep more than usual. Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year Jordin Canada is the best player in this matchup, though Asha Thomas has proven to be capable of delivering in the clutch this season:
- This game will be determined by the matchup inside between Monique Billings and Kristine Anigwe. Which will make the extra play to get the other in foul trouble or dominate on the offensive glass for these physical, defensive-minded teams?
6:00 PM PST — (7) USC vs. (2) Stanford
- Four of USC’s players just logged 38 minutes or more in the opening round. Expect Stanford to look to get out in transition. All-Defense selections Aliyah Mazyck and Minyon Moore will have their hands full in containing Brittany McPhee and Kiana Williams.
- Expect Tara VanDerveer to look for a lift from her bigs off the bench. USC’s Kristen Simon is a force inside, but the Cardinal have several options to throw at her to battle down low and run the floor hard in transition in search of easy points.
8:30 PM PST — (6) Arizona State vs. (3) Oregon State
- The Beavers are sound on both ends of the ball. The size, skill and craft of All-Pac-12 center Marie Gulich is too much for the Sun Devils to handle without sending extra bodies her way. There is a difficult tradeoff to consider when scheming for Oregon State — Gulich commands extra attention but is often surrounded by four capable three-point shooters that she can kick it out to for a three-pointer.
- On the other end, Arizona State should look to get it to Kianna Ibis on the move near the elbows to get their offense going early. Courtney Ekmark will be key. Her shooting perked up as the season went on (41% from deep in Pac-12 play).
All four games will be aired on the Pac-12 Network. You can also login online on the Pac-12 website or app through your cable provider to stream all four games live.
Pac-12 Conference Tournament First Round Recap
Recapping the first round of the Pac-12 Conference Tournament, which featured two one possession games and a very competitive 8/9 matchup.
Note: Header image via Pac-12 Network.