LAS VEGAS — Thousands of pilgrims come here each day, searching for a life-changing run of luck.
Wednesday, about 100, grouped into seven squads, wearing the same colors, will seek the same.
All but one of the eight teams that will play the first day of the Pac-12 Tournament know the only way to reach the Big Dance is to rattle off four consecutive wins at the league’s new home, the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
But for Colorado, all lack a resume to entice the NCAA tournament selection committee Sunday, and need the automatic bid that comes with winning the conference tournament.
“I think that we’ve got to, somehow, get some wind in our sails,” Arizona State forward Jonathan Gilling said Saturday. “I don’t know how we’re going to do it, but we’ve got some great leadership right now.”
The Sun Devils’ 20-11 record this season belies their RPI of 91, a figure more suited for the NIT than the Big Dance.
Coach Herb Sendek agreed Saturday, saying that “in all likelihood” ASU, losers of its last three and the No. 9 seed, would need to run the table this week to earn a NCAA tournament bid.
He pledged “every drop of sweat that we have” would be put toward today’s game against No. 8 Stanford.
Read more about the Pac-12 Tournament in Wednesday's Arizona Daily Star.
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