SB Nation Bay Area - 2011 Pac-10 Basketball Tournament Results: Isaiah Thomas, Washington Beats Arizona At The Buzzer In Overtime

Isaiah Thomas & Washington Huskies Are 2011 Pac-10 Basketball Tournament Champions

2011-03-13T02:36:24Z

Derrick Williams of the Arizona Wildcats was the Pac-10 basketball regular season player of the year, but Isaiah Thomas of the Washington Huskies dominated the 2011 Pac-10 basketball tournament at Staples. He saved his best for the championship game against Arizona, putting up 28 points on 10 of 16 shooting, nailed four three pointers, grabbed five rebounds, dished seven assists and got two steals. And he nailed the buzzer-beater, which you can watch here in all its Gus-gasm glory. Washington wins back-to-back Pac-10 tournaments to punch their ticket to March Madness for sure.

Williams was excellent himself, putting up 24 points on 8 of 14 shooting and grabbing 11 rebounds. Terrence Ross supported Thomas with 16 points, and Solomon Hill and Kevin Parrom added 12 points for Arizona. C.J. Wilcox nailed a three of a Thomas pass to tie the game at the end of regulation, and Parrom nailed a three to tie the game near the end of overtime, setting up Thomas's heroics.

This is the final Pac-10 basketball tournament, since next year the conference will expand with the addition of Colorado and Utah to the Pac-12.

Washington vs. Arizona, 2011 Pac-10 Basketball Tournament Championship Betting Odds & Prop Bets

2011-03-12T18:20:51Z

The 2011 Pac-10 championship game will tip off at 3:00pm pacific today and the Washington Huskies are going off as an early three point favorite against the Arizona Wildcats. The two teams split their season series but Washington did dominate their home game, while only losing by a point at Arizona. I’m taking Arizona to cover, but I think it’s going to be a tight matchup.

Over at Bodog you can bet on various prop bets. You can bet on first team to score, first team to score ten points, first team to make a three, total made three pointers, total team points, total assists by Isaiah Thomas, total points by Matthew Bryan-Amaning, total points and rebounds by Derrick Williams, and total points by Lamont Jones.

Both teams will be in the NCAA tournament but that should not take away from the intensity level of today’s game. The Wildcats are a lock while the Huskies would seem to be in at this point. Washington is 22-10 with an 11-7 conference record. They lack some serious marque wins, but they’ve got some quantity over quality in their favor.

2011 Pac-10 Basketball Tournament Championship Schedule: Washington Faces Arizona On CBS

2011-03-12T12:23:29Z

The Washington Huskies looked cooked after stumbling to the finish line, and seemed to be in danger of falling even further in their NCAA tournament seeding entering the conference tourney. Yet here they are, a game away from winning their second straight Pac-10 tournament championship after edging out the Washington St. Cougars and avoiding their third straight loss to their cross-state rivals, and they lucked out by drawing the Oregon Ducks rather than the UCLA Bruins.

The Arizona Wildcats have been by far and away the strongest looking team all season in the Pac-10. Led by Pac-10 coach of the year Sean Miller and Pac-10 player of the year Derrick Williams, they've run their record to a league-best 27-6, muscling their way past the Oregon St. Beavers & the USC Trojans in the tournament to set themselves up for what promises to be an entertaining Saturday showdown with UW.

Arizona and Washington split their season series. The last meeting between these two in Tucson was a classic, with Arizona winning 87-86, the now-legendary block by Williams being the difference. That game helped Arizona clinched sole possession of the regular season title crown.

(via ESPN)

Here is the schedule for Saturday's championship game.

Saturday, March 12

3:10 PM PT/6:10 PM ET -- Pac-10 Tournament Final (on CBS)

2011 Pac-10 Basketball Tournament: Kevin O'Neill Suspended On Eve Of Crucial USC-Arizona Semifinal

2011-03-12T01:21:41Z

Well I’m sure USC Trojans fans have to be THRILLED at this news. After USC beat Cal, head coach Kevin O’Neill and his wife decided to engage in some unusual extracurricular activity. Apparently a little drunk from the thrills of victory, they engaged in a verbal sparring match with an Arizona booster, who knew of O’Neill from his abbreviated stint with Arizona basketball. This was witnessed by enough people first-hand that athletic director Pat Haden had no choice but to suspend O’Neill for the rest of the Pac-10 tournament, as his actions reflected poorly on the University.

Now USC must beat Arizona in what is all but likely an NCAA tournament play-in game without their head coach. Assistant coach Bob Cantu takes over on an interim basis and will hopefully try to lead the Trojans to victory in what has to be a very bizarre time to be a Trojan basketball fan.

2011 Pac-10 Basketball Tournament: USC Trojans Likely Into NCAA Tourney With Upset Of Arizona Wildcats

2011-03-11T14:27:13Z

As we've mentioned earlier, the USC Trojans are still probably on the outside looking in right now despite their victory over Cal yesterday, as Joe Lunardi has him listed in his first four out in his latest bracketology. But they are at least still in the discussion, and they can really make a name for themselves if they end up in the Pac-10 Tournament Championship game tomorrow.

But first, they'd have to go through the Pac-10 regular season champion Arizona Wildcats.

Arizona gave USC trouble in their first matchup, winning 82-73 in Tucson while scorching the Trojan defense with 62% shooting and 10 three pointers. In the rematch in LA though, the Trojans stymied Derrick Williams and hounded the Wildcats to only 57 points. Nikola Vucevic and Alex Stepheson combined for 37 points and 22 rebounds while holding Williams to 8 points and Arizona to 36% shooting.

Hard to see how this game will turn out, but USC has to like the way they're playing and their ability to match up with their defensive length with Vucevic, Stepheson, and Pac-10 defensive player of the year Marcus Simmons. Moreover, USC has way more to play for than Arizona; the Wildcats are probably locked into a four/five seed regardless of how they perform this weekend, whereas the Trojans are playing to survive for March Madness.

2011 Pac-10 Basketball Tournament Semifinals: Friday Bracket & TV Schedule

2011-03-11T13:20:41Z

After Cal fell to USC in the early Pac-10 tournament quarterfinal game, the rest of the games unfolded somewhat conventionally. Derrick Williams eventually overcome an inspired Oregon St. Beavers team by continuously nailing three pointers (5 of 6 from behind the arc, 22 points overall) to lead the Arizona Wildcats to a 78-69 victory. The Oregon Ducks pounced on a pretty uninspiring effort from the UCLA Bruins, as Dana Altman continues to show he deserved some dap for Pac-10 Coach of the Year. And the Washington Huskies just edged a monstrous effort from Klay Thompson and the Washington St. Cougars, effectively eliminating them from the NCAA tournament race.

So here is tonight's schedule for the semifinals. All games are on Fox Sports Net HD, so check your local listings for which FSN channel is showing the game.

Friday, March 11

6 PM PT/9 PM ET -- USC vs. Arizona

8:30 PM PT/11:30 PM ET -- Oregon vs. Washington

2011 Pac-10 Basketball Tournament: Cal Cannot Overcome Maurice Jones, Donte Smith, USC Defense

2011-03-11T03:09:53Z

Despite the USC Trojans playing two very close games against the California Golden Bears, they've never been a great matchup for Cal because of their length inside and quick guards who could get dribble penetration. Cal is a skilled team, but they're not very athletic, and it doomed them on Thursday afternoon in their hopes for an NCAA tournament bid. The Trojans prevailed in a 70-56 victory over the Bears.

Maurice Jones and Donte Smith had all sorts of penetration as they both caused havoc inside for the Cal defenders. Cal's big men came to double-team outside on pick and roll situations and Jones and Smith had no trouble getting inside and either scoring at will or kicking it out for open threes. Jones had 16 points, Smith added 14 points, and Alex Stepheson put in 14 points and 16 rebounds (5 offensive boards).

Cal's ball-handlers also had all sorts of trouble on offense, as Jorge Gutierrez and Brandon Smith combined for 13 turnovers. Gutierrez, Harper Kamp, and Markhuri Sanders-Frison combined to shoot 6 of 25 from the field. Allen Crabbe led the Bears with 21 points.

USC will face Arizona in the Pac-10 tournament semifinals and hope to add legitimacy to their NCAA at-large chances. Cal is likely bound for the NIT.

2011 Pac-10 Basketball Tournament Quarterfinal Schedule Betting Odds: Cal Slight Underdog

2011-03-10T17:39:28Z

The quarterfinals of the 2011 Pac-10 basketball tournament kick off today at Staples Center and the California Golden Bears find themselves as slight underdogs in their matchup with USC. The Luxor down here in sunny Las Vegas (I’m down here for the Mountain West tournament) has the Trojans as three point favorites over Cal. Here are the spreads on the four quarterfinal games, with the favorite to the right.

Cal vs. USC (-3)
Oregon State vs. Arizona (-10.5)
Oregon vs. UCLA (-9)
Washington State vs. Washington (-5)

I think Cal-USC could prove to be the best matchup and also the closest matchup. Their two matchups this year have been decided by a total of five points with each team winning on the road. I would fully expect this game to live up to those previous games. Given that I’d be more inclined to take Cal to cover.

I also think that whomever can get out of that quarterfinal game in one piece would be the serious dark horse to win the Pac-10 tournament. They’ve both played most of the rest of the Pac-10 incredibly close. Either way today’s matchup should be a lot of fun.