Washington State must beat ASU for Arizona to get first-round bye in Pac-12 Tournament

Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Go Cougs!

The Arizona Wildcats entered the final day of the regular season with a fairly decent shot at earning a first-round bye in next week’s Pac-12 Tournament. But halfway through Saturday, that likelihood has all but shrunk up.

Colorado’s overtime loss at Utah and USC’s last-second win over UCLA means the Wildcats (20-10, 10-7 Pac-12) can finish no better than fourth. And that will only happen if UA beats Washington on Saturday night and ASU falls at home to Washington State.

The Sun Devils (19-11, 10-7) and Cougars (15-15, 6-11) play at 4:30 p.m. MT, with the game being shown on the Pac-12 Network. WSU beat ASU in Pullman on Jan. 29, and ASU has dropped three in a row including Thursday’s 90-83 home loss to Washington.

If ASU loses and Arizona wins, the Wildcats will be the No. 4 seed and not play until Thursday’s quarterfinals, regardless of how they do against UW. An ASU win locks Arizona into the No. 5 seed and a Wednesday afternoon rematch with the same Washington team it finishes the regular season against.

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