With the Utes of both the men’s and women’s basketball teams set to tip off their seasons in exhibition games Friday night at the Huntsman Center, I look at what to expect on the hardwood among the teams in the Pac-12.
Yesterday I examined the men and today I’ll take a look at the women.
Arizona 
The Wildcats will likely struggle again this season after notching just four wins in conference play a season ago, as star Davellyn Whyte is now in the WNBA. Still, Arizona can be a dangerous team. Two of its four conference wins last year came against the Utes, and head coach Niya Butts has the most fiery personality of anyone in the conference, which will motivate her team.
Still, the fact that Whyte is gone will be too much to overcome for a team that wasn’t very good with her. It will likely be a long season in Tucson.
Arizona State
I feel like I’m picking on the Grand Canyon State coming out of the gates on this preview, but it just seems like the Sun Devils once again won’t be very good this year. Guard Deja Mann and center Joy Burke are decent players but won’t be good enough to bring Arizona State out of the bottom quarter of the Pac-12.
Cal
It’s gotta be frustrating to play for the Golden Bears. Cal will look to be a Top 10 team in the country this season after making the Final Four a season ago but won’t even be the best team in its own neck of the woods (see Stanford below).
Still, the Golden Bears will be an elite squad. All-American Layshia Clarendon drove the Cal bus last season, and she is now in the WNBA, but fellow All-American Gennifer Brandon is back, and she’ll be looking to take on an expanded role for Lindsay Gottlieb’s squad.
In the end, the Golden Bears will be in contention for the conference crown and will be one of the nation’s best squads.
Stanford
For a whopping 13th consecutive time, the Cardinal were picked by the media to win the Pac-12 Championship this season. Quite frankly, no one should vote against Stanford if for no other reason than All-American forward Chiney Ogwumike will be back for her senior season.
Beside having by far the coolest name of any player in the conference, Ogwumike is in a class of her own on the court. After averaging 22.4 points per game a season ago, Ogwumike has got to be considered the frontrunner for National Player of the Year after three of the five players on last year’s First Team All-America list graduated.
Ogwumike will have a nice supporting cast, but her presence and production alone will be enough for the Cardinal to have a great season.
UCLA
Anyone involved in college athletics will tell you that recruiting is the key to maintaining a strong program. Reloading after a key player leaves is key for success. Unfortunately for the Bruins, it appears they will not have anyone to adequately replace All-American Markel Walker, who graduated after last season.
As such, look for UCLA to decline after finishing third in the Pac-12 a season ago, although it’s not as though the Bruins will be terrible. The middle of the pack is their most likely destination.
USC
The biggest news to come out of Los Angeles during the offseason was hiring Cynthia Cooper as head coach. Cooper is one of the best to have ever played in the WNBA, and she’ll be looking to bring her alma mater from mediocrity to Pac-12 elite. Helping Cooper’s cause will be senior forward Cassie Harberts, who is one of the best post players in the conference.
Even with Cooper and Harberts, the Trojans will likely stay in the middle of the Pac-12 this season, though they are certainly a team on the rise.
Colorado
The Buffaloes lost one of the conference’s best players from a season ago in guard Chucky Jeffery, yet life in Boulder will probably be about the same as it was last year when Colorado finished fourth in the conference. Sophomore Arielle Roberson will be looking to both fill Jeffery’s shoes as well as continue on her family’s legacy at Colorado after her brother Andre left Boulder for the NBA.
Even though the Buffaloes will be one of the better teams in the conference, there will likely be a big drop off between them and the Golden Bears.
Oregon
The Oregon athletic department is not perfect, folks. Despite the fact that the Ducks boast some of the best teams in the country in various sports, the women’s basketball team cannot be included in that discussion. After finishing in the cellar of the conference last season, things don’t look much brighter for Oregon heading into this campaign.
That being said, the Ducks do have one of the country’s most unique athletes in Liz Brenner, who also plays volleyball and is on Oregon’s track team. She also has appeared in games for the softball team.
Volleyball is Brenner’s best sport, though, so don’t expect her to star for a team that will likely struggle this year.
Oregon State
Mediocrity will likely be the name of the game once again for the Beavers, as a young team will try to improve upon last season’s 10th place finish in the conference. Jamie Weisner is a nice talent, but Oregon State doesn’t have a whole lot else.
Utah
Like I wrote about the men’s team yesterday, we’ve all heard what will be good and what will be bad about Anthony Levrets’ squad this season. Michelle Plouffe is a star at forward and will look to finish her career as a Ute on a strong note.
The loss of her fellow countrywoman and frontcourt mate Taryn Wicijowski put a huge damper on what could have been an NCAA Tournament team, though. Without Wicijowski, Utah is a good but not great team in terms of the bigger Pac-12 picture. Can others step up and fill that void? We shall see.
Washington
Like Colorado, Washington will be another team that will likely be pretty good but not good enough to challenge the big guns of Stanford and Cal for the conference crown. The Huskies will be under the direction of new head coach Mike Neighbors and will be led on the floor by one of the conference’s more underrated players, guard Jazmine Davis.
Washington State
The Cougars will look to finish this season far better than their male counterparts, although it does not appear they will have the firepower to crack the top half of the conference standings. That would be a nice finish for a team that has a bevy of solid sophomores who will be looking to make a splash in the Pac-12.
Conference champion prediction: I tried to not spill the beans on who I think will win the conference until now, but I guess I failed in that when talking about Stanford. I’m a fan of upsets, and Cal has a shot at ending the Cardinal’s reign, but Tara VanDerveer’s squad will just be too good led by Ogwumike.