蜜柚直播

As four non-Pac-12 teams duke it out for a chance to advance to the NCAA Tournament championship game, it feels appropriate to analyze the conference and its lack of postseason bona fides in recent years.

The last Pac-12 team to win a national championship was the 蜜柚直播 Wildcats, who took it all back in 1997. A baby born that day 鈥� call him Lute 鈥� would turn 21 on Saturday. He鈥檇 be legally able to drink 鈥� and if he were a fan of the UA, or UCLA, or Oregon, he鈥檇 probably order a double.

To say the Pac-12 was down this year would be an understatement. Not a single team advanced past the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the first time that has happened for a Power Five conference 鈥� ever. Even with a potential No. 1 pick in 蜜柚直播鈥檚 Deandre Ayton and a half-dozen other potential NBA draftees, things ended in disaster. Yahoo Sports鈥� Jeff Eisenberg called the season a 鈥渇lop.鈥� CBS Sports鈥� Dennis Dodd called it a 鈥渉orrid year.鈥� ESPN called it 鈥渟ubpar.鈥�

Here鈥檚 the cold, hard fact: Since John Wooden won the last of his titles with UCLA in 1975, the Pac-12 has captured precisely two NCAA Tournament championships. Jim Harrick led UCLA to a title in 1995, and Lute Olson and the Wildcats won one two years later.

Since then? Nothing.

The Star talked to nearly a dozen former Pac-12 players and coaches 鈥� some on the record, some off, as some coaches did not want to speak ill of their colleagues 鈥� and found myriad reasons for the conference鈥檚 many disappointments.

Here鈥檚 what those who know say about the conference鈥檚 national title drought:

Almost to a man, those polled alluded to how close the conference has gotten, many pointing to UCLA鈥檚 run of three straight Final Fours in the 2000s and 蜜柚直播鈥檚 close calls both during Sean Miller鈥檚 reign and Lute Olson鈥檚 heyday. The Wildcats made Final Four runs in 1988, 1994 and 2001 only to fall short.

In short, there have been more near-misses than a bridal convention.

鈥淭here have been some really good teams: UCLA has had its moments, 蜜柚直播 has had quite a few moments, Washington had good teams with (Lorenzo) Romar, Oregon鈥檚 had some shots,鈥� said 1988 蜜柚直播 Final Four starter and seven-year NBA-er Tom Tolbert, now a sports radio host in San Francisco. 鈥淭here have been a lot of great players. Lot of Pac-10/12 guys in the NBA. They haven鈥檛 won it, and I would have thought they would鈥檝e won more. But it can鈥檛 be a fluke over, like, 40 years."

鈥淥ur 鈥�88 team was a great example,鈥� added 蜜柚直播 legend Sean Elliott. 鈥淥klahoma, I knew we were going to destroy them. And we had a bad game, and that鈥檚 all it takes. One off night. All the upsets throughout the years 鈥� not always the best team wins. I鈥檓 hoping somewhere along the line we can even it out and progress toward the mean. There have been some great teams in the Pac-12. We鈥檝e been close.鈥�

But how close are they, really?

Since 1997, the Pac-10/12 has produced a grand total of six Final Four teams. In the same span, the SEC has had 10, including four champions; the Big East has had 13, including six champions (Villanova could be its seventh this year); the Big Ten has had 17, including one champion (2000, Michigan State) and Michigan could give it another; the Big 12 has had nine Final Fours, and the ACC has 16 Final Fours and seven titles.

But let鈥檚 not just talk final forays. Just eight current Pac-12 teams have advanced to the Sweet 16 since 1998, and that鈥檚 including Washington State, which last made the Sweet 16 in 2008, and USC, which last advanced to the tourney鈥檚 second weekend in 2007. In the last five years, five teams 鈥� UCLA, 蜜柚直播, Oregon, Utah and Stanford 鈥� advanced to the Sweet 16. Just one team, last year鈥檚 Ducks, advanced to the Final Four.

The consensus among our experts was simple: East Coast bias is real, if exaggerated.

Simply put, more eyeballs are on teams from those on Eastern or Central time than on Pacific, if only because more of them are open. Are you going to stay up until 2 a.m. on a Thursday to watch Oregon State, even if the Beavers are decent? Of course not.

So when it comes tournament time, even the best Pac-12 team is fighting an uphill battle. When is the last time a Pac-12 team got the benefit of the doubt?

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 get the same opportunity to showcase your teams,鈥� said former Oregon State coach Jim Haney, now the executive director for the National Association of Basketball Coaches. 鈥淵ou start a game at 10 on the East Coast and people are going to bed. 鈥� The league has better exposure today, and I think there are some good teams. But I鈥檓 wondering why they didn鈥檛 have four teams (in the tournament) rather than three?鈥�

It鈥檚 not so much a bias as a fact of life: The time-zone changes have a real effect, especially on game day.

鈥淚 felt it when I coached,鈥� said Ben Braun, who coached Cal from 1996-2008 and led the Bears to the Sweet 16 in his first season. 鈥淚 remember one time we had to play Maryland at noon. It was smart of Gary Williams 鈥� he had us going on White House tours. Game time came, and we were exhausted. We were swimming on the court. We鈥檇 been up since 3 a.m. our time.鈥�

Former Oregon State coach Jay John, a 蜜柚直播 native with five coaching stints at four Pac-12 schools, points out yet one more geographical disadvantage for the league 鈥� and it鈥檚 a valid one.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the proximity of the Pac-12,鈥� he said. 鈥淜ids still tend to not want to go too far away from home; there will be some who traverse multiple time zones, but by and large, you don鈥檛 go too far away. If the talent level in the West Coast isn鈥檛 top-notch, you still have to get people, and you need more than a starting five to win. Teams that do win, they have a better combination of 200 minutes. Players can鈥檛 play the whole game.鈥�

John coached in the Midwest for almost a decade, so he knows hoops in other regions, too.

鈥淚 used to say when I was coaching at Butler: If a kid is from Cincinnati, he could be recruited by the Big Ten, the Big East, the SEC, the ACC and the Big 12 and he might not be too far from home,鈥� Jay said.

The worst thing a coach can do is try to be what he鈥檚 not.

Unfortunately, it seems the glitz and glamour that comes with starring in the West offers a false hope to even the best coaches in the game.

Let鈥檚 take Ben Howland, the UCLA head coach who led the team to three straight Final Fours, 2006-08. Among the game鈥檚 best defensive teachers and thinkers, Howland had a coaching compass from which he barely deviated聽. His teams were tough, principled, hardened and consistent. And because of his reputation as a slow-it-down, grind-it-out, ride-鈥檈m-hard coach, his first few recruiting classes reflected that: A smattering of top-ranked players mixed with hard-nosed defenders, with a key role-player or three.

That was enough to bring Howland and the Bruins to the cusp of greatness.

Even after advancing to back-to-back Final Fours and securing the commitment of Kevin Love, one of the top players in聽聽the class of 2007 and certainly the best player in the West, Howland still had one scholarship to give. Instead of pairing Love with another top prospect, Howland signed the 69th-rated player in the country in forward Chase Stanback.

With that kind of recruiting momentum, surely Howland could have closed with another five-star.

Well, after one more Final Four run with Love and a sophomore Russell Westbrook, it did happen.

UCLA鈥檚 2008 recruiting class was one of the most-heralded in college hoops history: Jrue Holiday, the No. 1-ranked point guard in California, and third-ranked player in the nation; J鈥橫ison Morgan, the No. 3 center (20th overall); Drew Gordon, Aaron鈥檚 older brother, the No. 10 power forward (No. 29 overall); Jerime Anderson, the No. 6 point guard (31 overall); and Malcolm Lee, the No. 6 shooting guard (33 overall). More star power than the Golden Globes runway, sure. And more headaches than Howland could imagine.

Holiday bounced to the pros after a year, Morgan lasted two years before being dismissed and Gordon even less than that, getting the boot six games into his sophomore season. Anderson averaged more than 20 minutes per game in his UCLA career, but never more than nine points, and Lee was solid, if sporadically spectacular, for three seasons.

Howland would never make it out of the second round over the next five seasons. UCLA missed the tournament twice.

鈥淟ook, I can go back to Howland and say, well how can you not take Jrue Holiday?鈥� John said. 鈥淏ut the other thing with Howland for me is he had a staff change. Ben took certain guys and turned them into something. Nobody liked playing against him. But then they missed on Kawhi Leonard. They took Tyler Lamb instead of Allen Crabbe. There are some guys right there they missed on. I don鈥檛 know if that early staff missed on anybody. And that was with Tim Floyd not missing on people, either.鈥�

One crucial part of the head coaching gig is general management, and for whatever reason, the Pac-12 coaches have struggled in that department. That includes, unfortunately for 蜜柚直播 fans, Sean Miller.

Of all the facets of the gig, it may be the hardest.

鈥淚 spent my whole career trying to find those not-top-level kids,鈥� Braun said. 鈥淵ou better get some role players to have a great team. People have no idea how hard it is to manage five egos. How many touches are you getting? Kids think they have to score when the NBA scouts want to see an ability to win. There is always a potential chemistry issue. Guys who are going to be pros and guys who aren鈥檛. Most kids think they鈥檙e going to be pros. To manage all that is really difficult. It鈥檚 really, really hard.鈥�