Last year could not have gone much worse for the Pac-12, especially at the end. So far, 2018-19 hasn’t been a whole lot better, and Friday night stands out as one night that highlights that reality. It could not have gone a whole lot worse, as two Pac-12 teams were in action at the Staples Center in the Air Force Reserve Basketball Hall of Fame Classic. Both lost in different ways, but neither was good in any real sense.
And given that the conference has become irrelevant with the College Football Playoff, you have to wonder if there is a college sports administrator on a hotter seat than Commissioner Larry Scott right now.
In the opener, USC was able to hang with TCU for some of the first half, but things looked grim before the half was over as TCU was building the lead and went into the locker room up by 20. The Horned Frogs started off strong in the second half as well, then after a sloppy period that USC couldn’t use to cut into the lead, they ran away and embarrassed the Trojans 96-61 in a game that was never competitive for more than a half.
TCU put six players in double figures, shot 50 percent from the field while limiting USC to below 32 percent shooting, forced 20 Trojan turnovers and had a 41-33 rebounding edge. They had 22 assists on 34 made field goals. All of those numbers are not surprising from just watching the game and getting the feeling that TCU was light years ahead of the Trojans despite the game being in USC’s backyard.
The second game had one of the Pac-12’s bright lights in action as Arizona State took on Nevada. When the Sun Devils led by as many as 16 and had a 36-24 halftime lead, it looked like they might salvage the night and pick up a high quality win, something the Pac-12 needs. Someone has to carry the flag in what looks like a wide-open race this year, and thus far, if it hasn’t been Washington or Oregon – the former had a nice opportunity at Gonzaga a couple of nights earlier but couldn’t pull it off – it’s been Arizona State, though Arizona has looked like they might be better than expected as well.
But just like in the second round of last year’s NCAA Tournament, Nevada had other ideas and rallied. They would tie the game at 48, and were the better team from there although the Sun Devils were within striking distance and even got within one with over a minute to go. The Wolfpack’s 72-66 win kept them undefeated, has started talk about whether or not they will enter at least the Mountain West Tournament undefeated, and meant another missed opportunity for the Pac-12.
Side Dishes
Earlier in the night was one other game in the Air Force Reserve Basketball Hall of Fame Classic, and it wasn’t as good for the Mountain West as Saint Mary’s blew out New Mexico 85-60 behind 28 points from Jordan Ford. Saint Mary’s has shown some growth in non-conference, while New Mexico is on a path of remaining irrelevant, especially with Nevada looking like they will dominate the Mountain West this year.
Wichita State will not gain the services of Teddy Allen this season, as the NCAA denied his appeal for immediate eligibility on Friday. That means the West Virginia transfer, who has dealt with a number of issues that were highlighted in a story on The Athletic earlier this season, will have to sit out the entire season after making the move to be closer to his support system. Allen showed promise in a limited role last season for the Mountaineers and figures to help the Shockers when he is eligible next year.
The individual stat line of the night comes from a guy who has had a few impressive ones in his career. As South Dakota State beat Southern 101-92, Mike Daum had 42 points on 13-18 from the field, 14-15 from the free throw line, and eight rebounds.
Tonight’s Menu
Saturday means a busy day of action, especially with football now taking a back seat with only the Army-Navy game on tap on the gridiron. But in the spirit of Army-Navy, a number of rivalry games are on tap today.
- We get a chance for more of a feel on how good Kentucky may be as they take on Seton Hall at Madison Square Garden (noon)
- Frank Martin brings his South Carolina team to Ann Arbor to take on white-hot Michigan, and another matchup involving the same two conferences is Florida hosting Michigan State, both tipping at noon
- A couple of regional rivalry games tip off early as DePaul goes to Northwestern and West Virginia tries to get on track as they host Pittsburgh in the Backyard Brawl, both tipping at noon
- An intriguing early game is Wichita State’s trip to an Oklahoma team that is off to a 7-1 start (noon)
- In an old Conference USA matchup, UAB visits Memphis (1 p.m.)
- An arch-rivalry in the Big Five sees its latest matchup as Saint Joseph’s visits Villanova (2 p.m.), while another Big Five matchup later
- Also on tap for rivalry games is the return of one in Utah as the Utes host BYU in the first of two games in the Beehive Classic (2 p.m.), followed by Weber State taking on Utah State (4:30 p.m.)
- Another great rivalry game that’s always worth watching is Cincinnati-Xavier, with the Bearcats hosting this 2 p.m. tip.
- A little later, Indiana hosts Louisville as they try to build on their early Big Ten wins (2:30 p.m.)
- One of the big ones from the old Big East days has its latest meeting as Syracuse hosts Georgetown (3:30 p.m.)
- Buffalo’s latest test is their visit to a St. Bonaventure team that is hitting their stride with three straight wins (4 p.m.)
- Loyola-Chicago and Maryland hook up in Baltimore (4 p.m.)
- In the Never Forget Tribute Classic, a doubleheader is on tap with Clemson battling Mississippi State (4 p.m.) and Florida State taking on UConn (6:30 p.m.)
- Kansas State gets a road test as they travel to Tulsa (4:30 p.m.)
- Wisconsin is looking better, and now they get their first trip to Fiserv Forum to take on Marquette (5 p.m.)
- Yale knocked off an ACC team a week ago, but the Bulldogs get a more stiff test here as they travel to Duke (5:30 p.m.)
- With both teams being pretty good, Creighton’s trip to Lincoln to take on Nebraska becomes an even better game (6 p.m.)
- Boston College tries to rebound from a tough home loss on the road as they travel to Texas A&M (6 p.m.)
- Two perennial mid-major powerhouses in New England battle as Vermont hosts Harvard (7 p.m.)
- An intriguing matchup that will fly under most radars is Ole Miss traveling to Illinois State (8 p.m.)
- Kansas gets a good test a little ways from home as they take on New Mexico State in Kansas City (8:30 p.m.)
- Dayton looks to be getting back on track after a rebuilding year, and they head south to visit Auburn (8:30 p.m.)
- A nice matchup out west that unfortunately is not on any national TV is Big Sky favorite Montana visiting Big West favorite UC Irvine (10 p.m.)
- The Pac-12 tries to get back on track to some degree late as San Diego State visits Cal and Notre Dame visits UCLA, both with 10:30 p.m. tips.
