We haven’t discussed the possibility that USC women’s basketball could win the Pac-12 title for one simple reason: It didn’t look remotely possible. USC entered this weekend two games behind Stanford in the Pac-12 race. While USC keeps winning, Stanford faced undermanned Arizona on Friday before facing bottom-rung Arizona State on Sunday and then a weak Oregon team next weekend. Yes, Stanford has the very tough assignment of facing Oregon State on February 29, but the Cardinal needed to lose two games, not just one, to give USC any chance of winning the Pac-12 title. That didn’t seem likely.
Guess what? Stanford, up by nine late in the fourth quarter, unraveled in the final minutes and lost 68-61 at home to Arizona. USC just got the result it needed to make a run at the Pac-12 title. Let’s take you through the details of a suddenly more cluttered and dramatic Pac-12 race:
STANFORD LEAD DOWN TO ONE GAME OVER USC, OREGON STATE
Stanford’s two-game lead over USC entering Friday is now down to one game. Stanford is 12-3 in the Pac-12, while USC and Oregon State are 11-4. Stanford should hammer Arizona State on Sunday, but if USC can beat Utah on Sunday, the Cardinal would need to beat Oregon State on February 29 to stay ahead of the Beavers and Trojans in the Pac-12 race. This just became a lot more complicated for the Cardinal.
USC WINS HEAD-TO-HEAD TIEBREAKER OVER STANFORD
USC won at Stanford, so if the Trojans and Cardinal tie at the top, USC gets the No. 1 seed to the Pac-12 Tournament.
USC WINS 3-WAY TIE WITH STANFORD AND OREGON STATE
USC swept Oregon State, so if the Trojans tie with both OSU and Stanford, USC gets the No. 1 seed at the Pac-12 Tournament.
SIMPLE MATH
If USC wins out, Stanford must win out to deny USC a share of the Pac-12 title.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 29
