High Post Hoops
Fansided

2019-20 Pac-12 preview: Oregon atop a deep conference

By Kim Doss

TAMPA, FL - APRIL 05: Oregon head coach Kelly Graves talks with Oregon guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) before the 2019 NCAA Women's Division I Championship Final Four game between the Oregon Ducks and the Baylor Bears on April 05, 2019 at Amelie Arena in Tampa, FL. (Photo by Mary Holt/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL - APRIL 05: Oregon head coach Kelly Graves talks with Oregon guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) before the 2019 NCAA Women's Division I Championship Final Four game between the Oregon Ducks and the Baylor Bears on April 05, 2019 at Amelie Arena in Tampa, FL. (Photo by Mary Holt/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 13
Next
PALO ALTO, CA – FEBRUARY 10: Oregon Forward Ruthy Hebard (24) secures a rebound over Stanford Guard Dijonai Carrington (21) during the women’s basketball game between the Oregon Ducks and the Stanford Cardinal at Maples Pavilion on February 10, 2019 in Palo Alto, CA. (Photo by Cody Glenn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
PALO ALTO, CA – FEBRUARY 10: Oregon Forward Ruthy Hebard (24) secures a rebound over Stanford Guard Dijonai Carrington (21) during the women’s basketball game between the Oregon Ducks and the Stanford Cardinal at Maples Pavilion on February 10, 2019 in Palo Alto, CA. (Photo by Cody Glenn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

What do you get when you have both depth and multiple Final Four contenders? The Conference of Champions.

Last season, half of the Pac-12 went to the NCAA Tournament, one turned down a postseason WNIT bid due to injuries, and an eighth team won the WNIT. Two of those NCAA Tournament teams went out in the Sweet Sixteen, two more went out in the Elite Eight, and one reached the Final Four. How does the conference follow up on that this season?

More from NCAA

The coaches see some reshuffling in the middle of the league, but the top remaining stable. Outside observers see four teams worthy of the top 10.

They have good reasons. The conference has the top returning player, the top returning scorer, and the top recruit in the nation. And that’s just for starters.

“Arizona was in the 8-9 game last year in our Pac-12 Tournament and they win the postseason WNIT,” Oregon head coach Kelly Graves said about the strength of the middle of the conference. “That’s incredible. I think this season it’s going to be that same kind of depth.

“You know, I don’t think it matters who you’re playing
where. You’d better bring it or you’re going to be in trouble. Then the teams at the top, I think we have four teams projected in the top ten. I don’t know if that’s ever happened, and it usually doesn’t happen with any conference.

“So I think that’s really, really unique, and we truly have, I think, four, not only Final Four contenders, but I think contenders for National Championships. I truly believe we’ll be in that discussion, and it’s deserved.

“I don’t see anybody going 18-0 in conference. I think we’re going to beat each other up like we always seem to do, and I think that battle tests us for the NCAA Tournament.”

Much of the media attention has been on Graves’ team and Sabrina Ionescu. Opposing coaches don’t necessarily see that as a bad thing, though. The focus on Ionescu can only help the conference, Colorado’s head coach JR Payne said.

“Any time you can name an athlete and everybody knows who you’re talking about with just their first name, it’s a pretty big deal,” Payne said. “You talk about Kobe, you talk about Sabrina. So I think it’s remarkable to have a woman of that caliber in our conference. And then for us to be able to play against someone like that, and I love that Sabrina celebrates all of the other great teams in our league. She’s a great ambassador for our sport.”

But what do fans have to look forward to besides Ionescu? Jump to the next page to begin reading the breakdowns for each of the league’s teams. They are arranged in the order the coaches predicted them to finish.

Home/NCAA