Players to watch

Keion Brooks Jr., Washington

In only two years at Washington, Keion Brooks Jr. has established himself as one of the best Huskies of all time.

A Kentucky transfer, Brooks leads the Pac-12 with 21.3 points per game this season. Brooks also averages 6.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.

The Huskies (17-14, 9-11 Pac-12) are in the middle of the pack in the conference. But Brooks is the kind of player that can lead a middling team on a run in March.

KJ Simpson, Colorado

As Colorado (21-9, 12-7) sits firmly on the bubble, the Buffaloes will need some magic from KJ Simpson.

The junior guard is one of the league’s most electric players, averaging 19.8 points and 4.8 assists per game. And despite standing 6-foot-2, Simpson averages 5.6 rebounds per contest.

Most impressive? Simpson’s improvement from deep. After shooting 27.6% on 3-pointers a year ago, Simpson’s clip has improved to 44.5%.

Fardaws Aimaq, California

Playing at his fourth school in five years, Fardaws Aimaq has been crucial for Cal.

The 6-foot-11 forward is fifth in the nation in rebounds per game (11). Aimaq is also the Golden Bears’ second-leading scorer with 14.7 points per game.

Aimaq’s big presence has allowed Cal to field its best team in several years.

While the Golden Bears’ 13-18 overall record isn’t overly impressive, they enter the Pac-12 tourney with a 9-11 conference record and the No. 7 seed. Cal went 3-29 in the 2022-23 season and hasn’t surpassed 13 wins since 2019-20.

Caleb Love, Arizona

Formerly a star at North Carolina, Caleb Love has played his basketball at Arizona.

Love averages 18.7 points per game. That leads the Wildcats, and Love also averages 4.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists per contest.

Throughout his career, Love has been a perennial scorer, averaging in each of his three seasons at UNC. But his 18.7 points per game are a career high.

Despite a few bad losses (to Stanford, Oregon State and USC), the Wildcats enter the Pac-12 Tournament as the heavy favorites. They are 24-7 and No. 4 in the NET rankings.

Bronny James, USC

Bronny James, son of NBA superstar LeBron James, has the least impressive stat line of the five players mentioned here. But James, alone, is a story.

The 19-year-old freshman averages 4.8 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. James logged five points and six rebounds as USC upset Arizona 78-65 on Saturday.

James has played in 23 games this year, which is impressive, considering he went into cardiac arrest during a USC workout over the summer. Between that and his status as LeBron’s son, he will almost certainly draw crowds in Las Vegas.

USC (14-17, 8-12) is the No. 9 seed and opens the tourney against Washington.

Who’s hot?

Washington State

The Cougars were picked to finish 10th in the Pac-12’s preseason poll. Now, they are a lock for the NCAA Tournament.

Washington State will be the No. 2 seed in the conference tourney. The Cougars have won 10 of their last 12 games, and one of those wins came against No. 4 Arizona.

Four WSU players average double figures, including forward Isaac Jones. Jones leads the Cougars in both scoring (15.4 points per game) and rebounding (7.6).

Washington State is No. 45 in the NET, and ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has the Cougars as a No. 6 seed in his latest bracketology.

Colorado

While Washington State is all but a lock, Colorado has some work to do.

That said, the Buffaloes’ recent play sets them up well for March. CU enters the conference tournament on a six-game winning streak.

Colorado sits No. 27 in the NET. While the Buffaloes have just two quad-one wins, they don’t have any losses worse than quad-two.

Lunardi has Colorado in his “last four in.”

Who’s not?

Arizona State

The Bobby Hurley era in Tempe could be coming to an end.

After ASU began Pac-12 play 4-0, the Sun Devils slumped. They lost 12 of their final 16 conference games to enter the conference tournament as the No. 11 seed.

The Sun Devils open their Vegas slate against No. 6, which, oddly enough, might be the best-case matchup for them. Arizona State beat the Utes twice in the regular season.

California

While Cal has played its best season in years, the Golden Bears enter the postseason slumping.

They finished the regular season with three losses in a row. All three of those came by double digits, including an 80-58 drubbing to Stanford in the season finale.

The good news for Cal? It gets a shot at revenge against Stanford to open the Pac-12 Tournament.

Cal is the seven-seed; Stanford is the 10-seed.