This week on The IX Sports Podcast College Basketball Edition, hosts Michael Waterloo and Melissa Triebwasser walk listeners through the Big East and Pac-12 conferences ahead of the 2026-27 season.
The hosts spent the beginning of the podcast reminding listeners which teams actually make up Pac-12 conference now.
The Pac-12 now includes Boise State University, Colorado State University, California State University Fresno, Gonzaga University, Oregon State University, San Diego State University, Texas State University, Utah State University and Washington State University.
“I think that you’re really — especially when we look at women’s basketball, you’re really counting on Gonzaga to elevate the brand of of this conference. When you look at the list, you know, in a vacuum, it’s not a real sexy group of teams, so to speak. But you have a chance to have some really fun basketball,” Triebwasser said.
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Then the pair jumped into their preseason draft, picking the teams from each conference they think will make the NCAA Tournament. In the Big East, Triebwasser picked Villanova University as the first team she thinks will make the tournament (with the caveat that she doesn’t think it’s likely anyone will knock the University of Connecticut Huskies off their throne). Waterloo promptly snagged the Huskies as his first pick.
In the Pac-12, Triebwasser picked Gonzaga as the best team in the conference and with the strongest chance to join March Madness. Waterloo then picked Oregon State as the next team from the conference to make the tournament, since the team is returning its top three scorers from last season. Triebwasser said San Diego State could be a third team from the conference to make the tournament.
“I think San Diego State is one of those teams that is just pure chaos on the court and can be really, really disruptive with the pace that they play with,” Triebwasser said.
Waterloo picked Colorado State as another team that could get into the tournament from the newly-built Pac-12.
Tune in to this week’s episode to hear more picks from the Big East, plus the reveal of this week’s new face in a new place!
Make sure to subscribe to The IX Sports Podcast for in-depth coverage of women’s soccer, hockey and basketball; and tune in each weekday morning for a quick overview of the biggest headlines on Women’s Sports Daily, like WNBA news and PWHL expansion updates.
