2023-2024 Pac-12 Men's Basketball Preview

The college basketball season is just around the corner as the Pac-12 prepares for one last true season as a conference. Last year, the Pac-12 saw four of its schools make the NCAA Tournament; however, only one advanced out of the first round.

The expectations are low for the Pac-12, with only two pre-season-ranked teams. Despite this, there are dark horses in the conference that could surprise many and teams that are built to win.

Here’s a preview of the Conference of Champions’ 2023-24 season.

The Favorites

The only ranked Pac-12 teams to start the season are the No. 12 Arizona Wildcats and the No. 21 USC Trojans. Thus, Arizona and USC are the clear frontrunners to win the conference.

The reigning Pac-12 champion Arizona Wildcats had an impressive season until they didn’t. To refresh, Arizona beat UCLA to win the conference and was flying high heading into the NCAA Tournament as the No. 2 seeded team in its bracket.

In a shocker, the Wildcats were bounced in the first round by No. 15-seeded Princeton. Leaving the success of their season in question. This year, Arizona looks to achieve expectations and defend its Pac-12 championship on the backs of UNC Tar Heel transfer Caleb Love and senior Oumar Ballo.

After losing their scoring leader, Azuolas Tubelis, to the NBA, Arizona brought in an elite guard to fill the role. Love averaged 16.7 points last season with the Tar Heels and 17.6 points in seven career NCAA Tournament games. Paired up with Ballo, who averaged 14.2 points, 1.3 blocks and 8.6 rebounds last season, Arizona is built to win.

As for the USC Trojans, the hype surrounds Bronny James, son of NBA legend LeBron James. While James is a dynamic guard and will certainly help USC win games this season, people should watch for five-star freshman guard Isaiah Collier.

Collier was the No. 1 player in the class of 2023, per 247Sports. Collier, paired with star senior guard Boogie Ellis, makes for one of the best backcourts in college basketball. Ellis averaged 17.7 points, 3.1 assists and 1.4 steals last season.

The Sleepers

A handful of teams in the Pac-12 have a chance to succeed but are overlooked by many. UCLA, Oregon, Colorado and Arizona State are all schools that could be sneaky and surprise viewers.

The UCLA Bruins look like a brand-new team as they have eight freshmen on their roster after losing three players to the NBA, including last year’s Lute Olson National Player of the Year, Jaime Jaquez Jr.

However, the Bruins shouldn’t be forgotten because they still have last year’s Pac-12 freshman of the year, forward Adem Bona. Bona averaged 7.7 points, 1.7 blocks and 5.3 rebounds last season.

The Oregon Ducks were thrilled when star senior N’Faly Dante announced he’d return for the 2023-24 season. The Ducks also acquired Stetson transfer Mahamadou Diawara to make for a scary frontcourt. Junior Nate Bittle will also provide Oregon length in the paint. Dante, Diawara and Bittle should be reason enough to not sleep on the Ducks.

Colorado’s offense was a disappointment last season. However, five-star freshman forward Cody Williams might provide that spark for the Buffaloes’ offense. Williams joins senior forward Tristan Da Silvia and junior guard KJ Simpson. Watch for the Buffaloes to exceed people’s expectations.

The Arizona State Sun Devils are a wild card. While they don’t have high expectations heading into the season, they have a very favorable schedule. The Sun Devils have only two opponents this season in the AP top-25 preseason rankings. Don’t be surprised if they sneak into the NCAA tournament again.

The Remaining Teams

The remaining Pac-12 schools shouldn’t have high expectations. Utah, Stanford, Washington, California, Washington State and Oregon State are presumed to finish near the bottom of the Pac-12 standings.

Ultimately, these six schools simply don’t have enough talent on paper to likely compete with the other Pac-12 schools.

Ashley Beres is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, please email akb6783@psu.edu.