Pac-12 Conference

4 2016-17 PAC-12 MEN'S BASKETBALL // PREVIEW PAC-12 CONFERENCE BUILT ON A FIRM FOUNDATION of academic excellence and su- perior athletic performance, the Pac-12 Conference renewed its un- disputed claim as the Conference of Champions® in 2015-16. At the same time, its accomplishments and milestones extended beyond the fields and courts to the classrooms, and beyond its traditional geo- graphic footprint all the way to Asia. On the field, the Pac-12 rises above the rest, claiming an incredi- ble 150 NCAA team titles since 1999-2000, including a nation-leading 10 in 2015-16, an average of nearly 10 championships per academic year. Even more impressive has been the breadth of the Pac-12's suc- cess, with championships coming in 29 different men's and women's sports. The Pac-12 has led or tied the nation in NCAA Championships in 51 of the last 56 years, the only exceptions being in 1980-81, 1988- 89, 1990-91 and 1995-96 when the Conference finished second, and only twice finished third in 1998-99 and 2004-05. For the 11th-consecutive year, the Pac-12 had the most or tied for the most NCAA titles of any conference in the country, winning at least six every year since 2000-01. No other conference has won double-digit NCAA crowns in a single year, the Pac-12 doing so eight times, including a record 14 in 1996-97. Spanning nearly a century of outstanding athletics achievements, the Pac-12 was the first conference to reach 400 championships in 2010-11. With the inclusion of Colorado and Utah, the Conference surpassed another major milestone, with league teams capturing 450 titles, outdistancing the next conference by nearly 200. In all, Confer- ence teams have won 488 NCAA Championships (295 men's, 164 women's, 29 combined). Pac-12 members have won 295 NCAA team championships on the men's side, 77 more than the next closest conference. Men's NCAA crowns have come at a phenomenal rate for the Pac-12 - 16 basketball titles by six schools, 54 tennis titles, 47 outdoor track & field crowns, and 28 baseball titles. Pac-12 members have won 25 of 47 NCAA titles in volleyball, 42 of 47 in water polo, 29 in skiing, and 24 in swimming & diving national championships. Individually, the Conference has produced an impressive number of NCAA individual champions. Over 2,000 (2,248) individual crowns have been won by Pac-12 student-athletes over the years with 1,352 by male student-athletes. Student-athletes have also captured 179 in- dividual titles at combined championships (ie., skiing and fencing). On the women's side, the story is much the same. Since the NCAA began conducting women's championships 35 years ago, Pac- 12 members have claimed at least four national titles in a single sea- son on 26 occasions, including a current streak of 16-consecutive years, dating back to 2000. Overall, the Pac-12 has captured 164 NCAA women's titles, easily outdistancing the SEC, which is second with 99. Pac-12 members have dominated a number of sports, win- ning 23 softball titles, 22 tennis crowns, 14 volleyball titles, 17 of the last 27 trophies in golf, and 14 in swimming & diving. Pac-12 women student-athletes shine nationally on an individual basis, as well, having captured an unmatched 717 NCAA individual crowns, an average of over 20 championships per season. The Pac-12's excellence is further proven in the annual Division I Learfield Sports Directors' Cup competition, the prestigious award that honors the best overall collegiate athletics programs in the coun- try. STANFORD continued its remarkable run and won a remarkable 22nd-consecutive Directors' Cup in 2015-16 to lead the Conference. Six Pac-12 member institutions ranked among the top-15 Division I programs, and a remarkable seven institutions were in the top 25: No. 1 STANFORD, No. 4 USC, No. 6 UCLA, No. 10 OREGON No. 11 CALIFORNIA, No. 14 WASHINGTON and No. 25 ARIZONA. At least five member institutions have been ranked in the top 20 in all but one year of the Director's Cup program, with seven appearing in the top 20 on five different occasions (1998, 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2006). 2015-16 REVIEW The Conference's 10 NCAA titles came in the form of four men's and six women's crowns. Half the membership schools claimed at least one NCAA title and, of the seven institutions in the country to have won multiples titles, three were from the Pac-12. OREGON was one of just two teams in the nation to claim three championships, sweeping the men's and women's indoor track & field crowns for the second time in three years, then winning its first-ever title in men's golf. STANFORD and USC also took home a pair of titles each. The Cardinal extended its streak of winning a NCAA title to 40 years, holding up the national championship trophy for the first time ever in men's soccer, while also adding to its NCAA-record number of national championships in women's tennis, capturing the program's 18th all-time. USC made history winning the inaugural NCAA Beach Volleyball title, then won the women's water polo championship where three of the four semifinal teams were Pac-12 members. WASHINGTON also won its first-ever golf title, taking home the women's crown, while UCLA, the nation's leader in all-time NCAA ti- tles, upped its all-time national championship count to 113 after suc- cessfully defending its men's water polo title. CALIFORNIA won the women's rowing championship, ending a 10-year drought, also giving the Conference a title in the sport for the first time since 2009. In addition to the 10 national championships, the Pac-12 also had runners-up in 11 NCAA Championship events: men's and wom- en's cross country (COLORADO), men's gymnastics (STANFORD), ski- ing (COLORADO), men's swimming (CALIFORNIA), women's swim- ming (STANFORD), baseball (ARIZONA), women's golf (STANFORD), women's track & field (OREGON), and women's water polo (STAN- FORD). Overall, the Conference had 38 teams finish in the top four at 22 NCAA Championship events, including three teams in the top four in men's cross country, women's golf, and men's and women's water polo. Participation in the postseason was a common occurrence for the Pac-12 in 2015-16. Of the 23 sports sponsored by the Conference, 19 witnessed at least half its teams participating in NCAA or other postseason action. The men sent 73 of a possible 103 teams into the postseason (70.8 percent), while the women sent 79 of a possible 115 teams (68.7 percent). The Pac-12 had a record number of bowl bids with 10 teams participating in the postseason also producing a 6-4 record, tying the Conference record for bowl wins in a season. Conference Champion STANFORD turned in a convincing 45-16 victory in the Rose Bowl to cap the Pac-12's history-making season. 2015 marked the third- straight year the Pac-12 has sent at least eight teams to bowl games. A record nine teams boasted winning records, besting the previous re- cord of eight the previous three years, with 10 squads notching at least six victories. The Cardinal extended the Pac-12 North's undefeated streak to five, defeating Pac-12 South Champion USC, 41-22, in the Pac-12 Football Championship Game at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. While the Trojans lost a two-point heartbreaker in the Holiday Bowl, ARIZONA (New Mexico), CALIFORNIA (Armed Forces), UTAH (Royal Purple Las Vegas), WASHINGTON (Heart of Dallas Bowl) and WASHINGTON STATE (Hyundai Sun Bowl) each earned wins, along with the Cardinal. ARIZONA STATE (Motel 6 Cactus Bowl), OREGON (Valero Alamo Bowl) and UCLA (Foster Farm Bowl) all took part in bowl games, as well. Eight Pac-12 men's basketball teams earned postseason bids, including a Pac-12-record seven NCAA Tournament bids. OREGON captured the regular-season crown then followed up claiming the Pac- 12 Tournament title at the MGM Garden Grand Arena in Las Vegas. The Ducks advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight, making the Pac-12 the only conference to advance that far in each of the last three years. UO was joined by ARIZONA, CALIFORNIA, COLORADO, OREGON STATE, USC and UTAH in the Big Dance. WASHINGTON represented the Conference in the NIT, advancing to the second round.

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