Predicting both Semifinals games of the 2024 Pac-12 Basketball Tournament

Arizona: The Wildcats flexed their muscles defensively and rebounded with a decisive 70-49 win after losing the regular season finale to USC. The 'Cats step to the plate when it matters most, and that's especially true of bench warriors Jaden Bradley and KJ Lewis. They are starting-caliber players coming in as the sixth and seventh men and give Arizona a rotation of seven players who can wear teams down. Oumar Ballo recorded another double-double and logged a trio of heavy-handed blocks while Caleb Love was back to knocking down key 3-pointers.

Oregon: The Ducks managed to squeak out the win against a UCLA squad that wanted it badly and escaped with the 68-66 win over the Bruins. N'Faly Dante was a menace and gave 2024 Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year Adem Bona fits. Not only did Dante drop 22 points, but he stymied Bona and held him to just 8 points. Even Jermaine Couisnard was a solid contributor on a cold shooting night: he scored 10 points on just 3-16 shooting but paired it with seven rebounds and six assists. However, Oregon was swept by Arizona in the regular season and won't be able to summit the peak.

Prediction: Arizona wins 87-79.

Washington State: The Cougars took care of business and handily put No. 10 seed Stanford to bed for the final time in the Jerod Haase era with the 79-62 throttling of the Cardinal. The Cougs saw four starters and five players reach double-figures led by the three-headed monster of Jaylen Wells (16), Isaac Jones (14), and Myles Rice (14). Andrej Jakimovski logged 13 points and Kymany Houinsou logged his second-highest total of the season with 11. They also held the Cardinal to an uncharacteristically low 6-21 from distance, and are well-prepared to move past Colorado.

Colorado: The Buffaloes ran away in the second half of the game against Utah to extend the hot streak to seven in the 72-58 win. KJ Simpson was a menace for the Buffs, posting a game-high 18 points and nailing four of his six shots from distance to pair with his 10 rebounds for the double-double. Eddie Lampkin Jr. was the second Colorado player to post a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds, and they are a team that's peaking at the right time. Colorado will steal the win from Washington State with an NCAA Tournament berth so close to being cemented.

Prediction: Colorado wins 74-71.

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