LAS VEGAS – Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak couldn’t have summed up the Pac-12 tournament semifinals any better in his post game presser following an 82-78 overtime win over California.
“What a day of basketball here at the MGM, really. First game overtime, our game overtime, all the top seeds winning games. It’s March Madness at its finest.”
Hours before, top-seeded Oregon survived a nail biter of its own, surviving No. 4 seed Arizona 95-89 with the help of Dwayne Benjamin’s late game heroics.
According to Oregonian beat writer Danny Moran, Benjamin has been walking around today with a walking boot, but said he’ll be good to go for tonight’s final.
Oregon forward Dwayne Benjamin is in the MGM Grand with a walking boot. He just smiled and told a fan, “I’ll be good.”
— Danny Moran (@DannyJMoran) March 12, 2016
The top two seeded teams will face off at the MGM Grand Garden Arena at 7 p.m. for the conference tournament final as the Pac-12 says its final farewell to this venue. As announced, the Pac-12 tournament recently signed a new three-year deal to host its tournament at the brand new T-Mobile Arena.
Media members take tour of new T-Mobile Arena that will open its doors on April 6 this year.
Fox Sports 1 will provide the coverage.
Just yesterday, Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott told the media that he believed the conference was “on the verge of the most successful basketball season.” He couldn’t have asked for much better proof than last night as its top four teams showcased some of its best basketball in front of a packed house.
For a conference that may ultimately send half of its teams (conference record) to the upcoming NCAA tournament, tonight’s final will top off the impressive seasons that both No. 8 Oregon and No. 12 Utah put together.
Both teams are coming off nail biters in the semifinals.
Oregon, who went 2-for-7 at the free-throw line in the last few minutes, was fortunate to see Mark Tollefsen rim out his first free throw with 0.4 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into extra minutes.
“Arizona is a very tough team, a great team and they just prepared us for the team ahead,” Dillon Brooks said.
Utah’s bench lost it when guard Lorenzo Bonam went coast to coast with just seconds left on the clock to send the game into overtime.
Tonight will provide both teams with an opportunity to continue to ride those wave of emotions and momentum to conclude the Pac-12 season.
“Both teams are probably running on fumes here a little bit, and I’m pretty pleased that we can represent our league in the final two,” Krystkowiak said. “I think we’ve taken a step forward for our program, but Oregon, there is a reason they finished first. They have an awful lot of firepower. Those kids play hard, and it’s going to be enjoyable to be a part of.”
Oregon is riding a seven-game winning streak, and has seen all of its starters flourish in different moments throughout the tournament. In game one, it was Chris Boucher’s 19-point, 11-rebound, three-block lead performance that sparked a comeback against a red hot Washington team. Last night, it was the quartet of Elgin Cook (22 points), Tyler Dorsey (19 points), Dillon Brooks (19 points), and Benjamin (12 points) that helped lift an ice cold Oregon team at the line past a resilient Arizona team.
“We’re going to figure out a way how to guard them,” forward Jakob Poeltl, who finished with a game-high 29 points against California last night, said. “We’ve got to figure out a way to guard their penetrations. We let them get to our basket way too easy in both of those games, especially Dillon Brooks.”
Utah has been even better than of late having won its last nine. Its last four have been within six points though. It will be focused on avoiding dropping its third straight against Oregon.
Said Krystkowiak: “We’ve got a great game plan but we can’t tell you about it.”
Oregon will have a shot to secure both the regular season and tournament title with the win. The tournament title would be Oregon’s second in four years. It is favored by two points.
“We’re just trying to make history, trying to be the best team we can be, and write our names in the history books,” Brooks said.
Follow Hayden Kim on Twitter @HayDayKim