Who is Going to Pull Away with the Pac-12 Title Odds
By: Travis Pulver
At some point in the season, there is bound to be some separation—usually. At least one or two teams will begin to rise above the rest of the conference and distinguish themselves as the best that the Pac-12 has to offer.
That hasn’t really happened yet.
In a way, you could say that it has since three teams are ranked in the top 25—Colorado (No. 23, 16-4), Oregon (No. 12, 16-4), and Arizona (No. 22, 13-5). But the top team in the conference is not one of them. That honor currently belongs to the Stanford Cardinal.
Not only does Stanford have the best overall record (15-3), but they also have the best conference record (4-1; Colorado and Oregon are 5-2; Arizona is 3-3).
So, the best team in the conference must be one of them, right? Not necessarily. The USC Trojans with a 16-4 overall record and -2 conference record deserve to be in the conversation as well.
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Honestly… Who is Going to Win the Pac-12 Conference?
Okay—so who’s going to win this conference?
Much like the conference’s football teams, the national outlook only involves a couple of teams—and they are on the outskirts of the national title picture. But there is hope for the Pac-12 since. Four of the nation’s best recruiting classes were in the Pac-12 last year.
This means there has been an influx of talent, which should make this year’s teams better than last season. With some new blood in the coaching ranks as well, the conference is due for a turnaround. But for now, there is a lot of parity and several good teams.
It would be hard to qualify anyone as ‘great,’ though.
Oregon lost a couple of tough non-conference games (then-No. 8 Gonzaga and then- No. 6 North Carolina). But got the ship back on track until started conference play with a loss to Colorado; two weeks later, they lost their second conference game—this time to Washington State.
Expectations are high for Oregon, who was fortunate enough to get Payton Pritchard back for his senior season, and he has not disappointed. But the team is too dependent on Pritchard for points. Chris Duarte is the only other player averaging in double digits.
But the Ducks still appear to be the best the Pa-12 has to offer this season and currently has the shortest odds to win the conference at +175 (odds via DraftKings) .
Colorado’s Pac-12 Title Odds
Colorado doesn’t have the talent that Oregon does, but what they do have is a good, experienced team. While they do have the same overall record (16-4) and conference record (5-2) as Oregon, their odds are a little longer at +450.
Arizona came into the season with a lot of expectations but is 3-3 in conference play so far. While they are one of the better scoring teams in the nation (No. 16), they have struggled to close out or finish some games (lost to Baylor by five, Gonzaga by four, SJU by three, and Oregon and Arizona State by one).
Their record isn’t the best (13-6, 3-3), but they could easily be one of the best teams in the country—hence, having the second-best conference odds at +225.
Washington’s conference odds must be due for a dip. With their recent loss to Colorado, they have dropped three in a row, six in conference play, and seven of their last nine. But, for some reason, DraftKings still has their odds as the fourth-best in the conference at +600.
Stanford’s Pac-12 Title Odds
Stanford hasn’t been a great team in recent years, but the program has
gotten off to a surprisingly good start this year. Many had them picked to finish towards the bottom of the conference. But they just lost their first conference game and sit on top of the standings with a 4-1 record.
But they have yet to face some of the conference’s better teams; USC was the first good team they faced in-conference, and they lost by four. So, maybe once they face Oregon, Arizona, and Colorado, their conference record will be more indicative of their odds (+1300).
USC is not getting much respect from oddsmakers right now at +2500. After beating Arizona, it may be time for Arizona State to get a little more respect as well (+3000).
Odds for the rest of the conference are as follows: Oregon State at +4000, Utah at +4000, UCLA at +5000, Washington State at +5000, and California at +10000.
So—who’s going to win?
Right now, the conference is up for grabs. Oregon looks like the best team, but Arizona has the potential to steal that title from them. However, it would be foolish to overlook USC, Colorado, or Stanford right now either.
This is going to be a fun conference to watch but possibly a frustrating one to bet on until someone separates from
