If the Pac-12 or any conference — or school, or coach, or athlete — deserves credit for achievements, I won’t stand in the way. It shouldn’t be controversial to say that if something is earned, credit should be given in a direct and straightforward way.

However, giving due credit means just that — due credit, not excessive credit or embellished praise beyond the scope of one’s actual achievements.

The Pac-12 has had a fantastic and wildly successful NCAA Tournament. Nothing — not one thing — can or will change that. If Oregon State and UCLA lose in the Sweet 16, that won’t change anything. If the Oregon-USC winner loses to Gonzaga by 25, that won’t change anything. The NCAA Tournament cannot become LESS successful for the Pac-12 based on any event in the Sweet 16. The conference has dramatically exceeded expectations, and that is unambiguously something worth celebrating here in the Western United States.

I’m happy about it. Some might dispute that, thinking I was waiting for the Pac-12 to soil itself in March. Nope. I think it’s really great that Oregon State and Oregon are thriving alongside USC.

UCLA? The Bruins’ are the Trojans’ archrival, so we can put that in a separate category, but the overall prosperity of the Pac-12 — also including Colorado’s blowout of Georgetown — made me happy. It’s a needed boost in terms of both morale AND revenue for the conference right before Larry Scott leaves.

Things are looking up. That’s good. Why would anyone be mad about it?

I simply don’t think — as I explained here — that we have to insist the Pac-12 was underrated. We can praise the Pac-12 and give it due credit without having to travel along that particular road.

We can do it in a different — and easier, and less controversial — manner.

It doesn’t have to be complicated. It can be as simple as this:

Pac-12 teams had COVID-19 pauses in this pandemic season. They were disrupted. USC had a three-week pause. Oregon had multiple pauses. This prevented teams from practicing and establishing the on-court rapport they need to be really good.

When teams accumulated a few weeks of game play and practice time after their pauses ended, they got better. Oregon needed time to become a cohesive unit. This is why the Ducks lost at home to both Washington State and Oregon State. Once Dana Altman was able to get more on-court time with his team, he whipped his players into shape.

Then, in the NCAA Tournament, the reality of being cooped up in a very confined environment in Indiana gave these teams time to bond and focus on their goals after a regular season in which they didn’t get the seedings they felt they could have attained if COVID-19 hadn’t gotten in the way. Teams which came to Indiana knowing the regular season didn’t deliver as much satisfaction as they had hoped had something extra to play for. They played with the requisite amount of desperation and hunger needed to transcend their opponents and advance in brackets.

Pac-12 teams fit this description and pounced on this opportunity. Everyone faced pandemic limitations and pandemic logistics at this NCAA Tournament in Indiana. The conditions were the same for everyone.

Pac-12 teams handled these situations better and evolved at the right time, when the lights were bright.

Also: Teams seeded where Pac-12 teams were seeded — No. 5 for Colorado, 6 for USC, 7 for Oregon, 11 for UCLA, 12 for Oregon State — normally play away from home on the first weekend. Top-four seeds — called “protected seeds” — play closer to home.

Had there been packed arenas, these Pac-12 teams wouldn’t have had a partisan crowd in their favor; they would have had partisan crowds rooting against them. Without fans, however (full houses or at least half-full houses), these medium-level seeds from the Pac-12 didn’t have to deal with adversarial crowds.

Pac-12 teams made the unique pandemic layout of the NCAA Tournament work in their favor. They deserve all the credit in the world. They don’t deserve an asterisk by their achievements. They really did work hard to earn these Sweet 16 berths and NCAA Tournament win units.

It was an organic process of development.

See how easy that was? We don’t have to refer to the Pac-12 as being underrated. The league’s teams simply evolved. It’s great to see, and we don’t have to make it more complicated than that.

*

USC 85, Kansas 51 — The Men of Troy put the sword to the Jayhawks

Bracket busted? Play USA TODAY Sports Couchketball virtual hoops challenge – the basketball game where your skills determine the outcome.

https://usatodaysports.8thwall.app/basketball/?utm_source=editorial&utm_medium=inline&utm_campaign=brackets-bnm&utm_content=wires