Brad Cesmat
-In a City that was once known for its heavyweight fights, Las Vegas will be the center of attention Friday night for a titanic matchup on the basketball court. #7 Arizona will meet #3 UCLA in the Pac-12 semi-finals. The Wildcats split the two regular season match ups, winning at UCLA, but falling to the Bruins in Tucson. The game will tip at 9:40 pm(MT) on ESPN.
-USC almost knocked the Bruins out of the dream matchup on Thursday night. UCLA hung on for a two point victory. This tournament doesn’t produce upsets. Numbers show that in the last 24 games played in this event, the higher seed has won.
-UCLA star freshman Lonzo Ball has put up 16 assists and just 3 turnovers in the two games against Arizona.
-Arizona super-frosh Kobi Simmons has basically disappeared from the Wildcats rotation. In the last two games, he’s played a combined total of 12 minutes.
-It’s another Pac-12 tournament where the sea of red has taken over. Whether it’s in the building, or out on the streets around the new T-Mobile Arena, this event has basically turned into a University of Arizona convention.
-Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott has been given a contract extension. This came as a surprise to many up here that have covered his tenure. He’s mostly known for putting together a television network that most people have never seen. The Pac-12 Network isn’t on most hotels I’ve stayed in, including the one here in Las Vegas this week.
