With win over Stanford, Arizona clinches Pac-12 title outright
Mar 3, 2014, 3:47 AM | Updated: 5:20 am
After a brief two-year drought, the Arizona Wildcats (27-2, 13-2) are back atop the Pac-12 conference.
With a 79-66 win over the Stanford Cardinal Sunday night at the McKale Center, Arizona locked up its 13th conference title in school history.
In the win, the Wildcats received a terrific contribution from freshman Aaron Gordon (19 points and a career-high 15 rebounds) and junior T.J. McConnell (14 points and four assists) and never trailed.
Arizona had already earned the top seed in the Pac-12 Tournament with its victory over California Thursday and will play its first game of the Pac-12 tournament March 13 at noon against either the No. 8 or No. 9 seed after a first-round bye.
As the standings currently sit, Utah and Oregon State would occupy the eighth and ninth seeds in Las Vegas.
The Pac-12 Tournament Championship Game will be held on March 15 at 3 p.m. MST.
Head coach Sean Miller has grown accustomed to winning conference championships. Arizona’s 2014 Pac-12 title marks his second since coming to Old Pueblo. He also accrued three in a row in the Atlantic 10 during his time at Xavier from 2007-09.
The last time Arizona took home the conference title, the ‘Cats, led by sophomore Derrick Williams upset top-seeded Duke en route to an appearance in the Elite Eight.
According to ESPN.com bracketologist Joe Lunardi, Arizona is currently the No. 1 seed in the West Region.
