Oregon has national-title hopes. Arizona is young but really talented -- and trying to get Sean Miller to his first Final Four. UCLA is guaranteed to be compelling. Washington might have the best talent in the league. It's a fun year ahead for the Pac-12. Some intrigue, some compelling talents.

There's a new coach at Stanford, a new expectation level at Oregon State, a new sleeper stud at Utah. The league looks to be in six-team-bid projection for the NCAAs, but who knows? Maybe Bobby Hurley and Arizona State become the team to totally blow past expectations. Let's look extensively at this league and its bevy of stars.

NOTE: Allonzo Trier, whose eligibility status is currently not determined, is on our Pac-12 First Team because he has not been officially ruled unable to play this season.

Below you'll find everything you need to know about the Pac-12 -- including our predictions for Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Coach of the Year, all-conference teams, as well as our predicted order of finish and a scouting report including strengths and weaknesses, X-factors and a projected regular-season win total for each team.

Dillon Brooks, Oregon

Will have a good shot at national player of the year, too, but should get push from within the league thanks to Markelle Fultz at Washington, Bryce Alford/Isaac Hamilton/Lonzo Ball at UCLA, and Allonzo Trier at Arizona. Oregon's got one of the strongest starting fives in college basketball. Brooks is the catalyst for it all. He averaged 16.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.1 steals last season. All those numbers should rise. The key is Brooks staying healthy. He might not start the season-opener.

Markelle Fultz, Washington

A wiz of a talent. (Have you seen this kid fly and hit ridiculous shots?) He's recalibrating expectations for UW, a program in dire need of national relevance and a return to the NCAA Tournament. Fultz, right now, is the player in the 1 slot for the 2017 NBA Draft. Maybe that changes, but his status as the Pac-12's most gifted and athletic all-around freshman won't. He should put up huge numbers and be the most valuable freshman in the nation.

Dana Altman, Oregon

Oregon's the preseason favorite to win the league. Altman took this team to a 1-seed last season, and it would have made the Final Four if not for a player named Buddy Hield. If the Ducks can repeat as Pac-12 champs with Arizona and UCLA most likely right on their heels, then Altman will put himself in position for national coach of the year honors, too. This would be quite the turn of events professionally and personally for Altman, as a rape scandal near the end of the 2013-14 season involving three of his former Oregon players could have cost Altman his job.

G: Lonzo Ball | UCLA | Freshman

G: Markelle Fultz | Washington | Freshman

G: Allonzo Trier | Arizona | Soph.

F: Dillon Brooks | Oregon | Junior

F: Ivan Rabb | California | Junior







Gary

Parrish





Matt

Norlander



Chip

Patterson



Jerry

Palm

1.Oregon

Oregon

Oregon

Oregon

2.UCLA

Arizona

Arizona

Arizona

3.Arizona

UCLA

UCLA

UCLA

4.Cal

UC

UW

Cal

5.UW

Cal

Cal

USC

6.UC

Utah

UC

UC

7.USC

USC

Utah

UW

8.Utah

UW

OSU

Utah

9.ASU

ASU

USC

OSU

10.OSU

OSU

ASU

SU

11.SU

SU

SU

ASU

12.WSU

WSU

WSU

WSU

Scouting reports

(Teams listed in consensus predicted order of finish)

This looks like coach Dana Altman's best team at Oregon. USATSI





Strength: Shot-blocking

The Ducks should certainly be the league's best defensive team. Their 5.9-blocks-per-game rate last season was second only to Washington, but the Huskies lost key components in the middle. The Ducks will likely lead the Pac-12 in swattage. They'll probably lead the league in steals as well.

Weakness: Dillon Brooks' foot injury

At least to start the season, anyway. Brooks required surgery over the summer, and Oregon's been tight-lipped about the nature of the injury and when he'll be back. It looks like he should be in uniform a few games into the season, but Brooks is the team's best player. Oregon's got some schedule challenges early. The team could falter without him to start, then hit full speed just before league play.

X-factor: Dylan Ennis

He's not a top-three production guy, yet you take him off Oregon and this team doesn't look nearly as threatening. He was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA. In doing so, Oregon became the Pac-12 favorites, definitively, over Arizona and UCLA. Ennis is old. He turns 25 in two months. He started his college career at Rice, then went to Villanova, and now we've waited almost two years to see him wrap it up at Oregon.

Projected regular-season win total: 25

The Ducks have a very good chance at a second straight 1 seed because their schedule lines up to help their cause. They'll play Georgetown in Maui, then get at least one of these teams, maybe two: Wisconsin, UConn, UNC. The Ducks also play at Baylor and home to Valpo. In the Pac-12, they don't travel to the Arizona schools. Only getting U of A vs. Oregon once in the regular season is a crime.

Strength: 3-point shooting

The Wildcats hit 41.7 percent of their 3s in the league last season, which was significantly better than anyone else. Sean Miller isn't short on scorers, and he'll have tall and small guys alike who can drain it from 22 feet. The Wildcats should continue to be the conference's best from long range.

Weakness: A lot of youth that has to grow up fast

Arizona will have three first-year players factoring into the rotation: Rawle Alkins, Kobi Simmons, Lauri Markkanen. Sophomore Allonzo Trier could lead the team in scoring -- if he takes the court. Miller's group is wicked talented and going to be a lot of fun, but he'll need to get this group to shed a few skins by February.

X-factor: Sean Miller's coaching.

He's a really good coach. But with Trier not even on the plane trip to the season-opener, Arizona fans are now starting to think Trier might not play this season. If that happens, Arizona loses its best offensive option. With this comes a huge challenge for Miller, who will need to alter his scheme and approach greatly. Remember, Ray Smith retired from basketball just last week after a third ACL injury. Smith not being available, plus Trier's status, puts Arizona in the unusual position of being a Pac-12 underdog.

Projected regular-season win total: 21

Michigan State, Gonzaga, New Mexico and Texas A&M seem to be the four toughest games Zona will get prior to Pac-12 play. Only plays Oregon once, and does not have to go up against top-50 competition in Utah and Colorado. Sean Miller's team has a good schedule blend here. Enough challenges without totally overwhelming the new guys to the team.

Strength: Experience and talent in the backcourt

Lonzo Ball enters as a stud point guard, while Bryce Alford had been a lead guard who's done more than he's been given credit for the past two seasons. The Bruins have a lot of strengths, way more than you'd think for a team that was under .500 last season. The combo of Ball and Alford makes for one of the most interesting and potentially perfect backcourts in America.

Weakness: Free-throw rate

Meaning: The Bruins were abysmal at getting to the line and drawing fouls in general. No team was worse in the Pac-12. Given how many really good players are on this team, that number needs to take a big tick up. UCLA should be in the conference's top four in foul-shot rate this season. Aggressiveness!

X-factor: Lonzo Ball

UCLA's 15-17 season in 2015-16 was, basically, horrific for the program and fans alike. Steve Alford's group started the season with a home loss to Monmouth. At the time, it seemed like a weird opening-night anomaly. Monmouth went on to become one of the 40 best at-large candidates in college hoops. UCLA failed to qualify for a postseason tournament beyond the Pac-12.

Lonzo Ball, a five-star point guard, comes in and will obviously need to run some offense. Ball is a one-and-done talent, and he's a point guard first and foremost. Alford's not going to have the ball in his hands as much. Will this work? It can and should. UCLA's talent is terrific this season. The Bruins are a top-15 preseason team, we think. But the fans have been rough on Bryce, harsh on Steve, and now a team with a lot of promise has to balance a father-son/father-coach dynamic with a strong freshmen group and other NBA talent as upperclassmen.

Projected regular-season win total: 21

Non-conference challenges include Long Beach State (the Beach will be good this year), possibly Dayton, then one of New Mexico, Virginia Tech or Texas A&M. The Bruins play at Kentucky, are home to Michigan and get Ohio State in Vegas for the CBS Sports Classic on Dec. 17. UCLA will not play the Bay Area schools on the road. Utah and Colorado, who could jostle with UCLA in the Pac-12 standings, must go to L.A. but do not get to host the Bruins in the mountains.

Strength: Front-line defense

Ivan Rabb, Kam Rooks and Kingsley Okoroh will keep Cal on the fringes of the rankings for most of the season. Rabb, if he's been able to put on weight and expand his game, could have a monster season. Few teams in college basketball build their hopes and expectations around a 6-foot-11 player, but Cal is one of them.

Weakness: Passing-lane defense

The Cal front line is one of the best in the league, but this team doesn't take many gambles in the lane, and it's on-ball defense did not lead to many steals last season. With Tyrone Wallace and Jordan Mathews, gone, there's not much reason to think Cal will become that much better at swiping.

X-factor: Cuonzo Martin's coaching

Martin's proven to have success at the Missouri Valley level (Missouri State), the SEC level (Tennessee) and now, to a certain extent, the Pac-12 level. But last year's Cal team, a 5 seed, fell on its face in the NCAAs to Hawaii. (This happened as a postscript to a flammable sexual harassment case surrounding former Cal assistant Yanni Hufnagel; Hufnagel resigned from his post and his now at Nevada.)

Martin doesn't have a loaded team this year. He gets Rabb back, which is a big deal. Rabb would've been a lottery pick in last June's draft. Can Martin coach him to top-10 status? Possibly, but he's going to have to try to find success without Jaylen Brown, Tyrone Wallace and Jordan Mathews. Martin can coach 'em up. He'll need to this season to keep Cal in the Pac-12 chase.

Projected regular-season win total: 18

Dangerous games include the season-opener at home against South Dakota State, the Nov. 21 neutral-court tilt against San Diego State, the Dec. 6 game in Pearl Harbor against Princeton, the Dec. 7 game against Seton Hall and the Dec. 21 home game against Virginia. Cal's Pac-12 slate omits a trip to the Washington schools. It will play the Oregon schools once apiece, but those games are on the road.

Strength: Free-throw shooting

The Buffs sank 73.4 percent of their foul shots last year, a mark better than anyone in the league. Given so many shooters are back with CU this season, the team's free-throw clip isn't likely to take a significant dip.

Weakness: Josh Scott was great, and he's gone

Sometimes a weakness is exposure. Without Scott in the lineup, Colorado will lose a pillar of its efficiency and toughness on both ends of the floor. I don't see the Buffaloes replacing Scott by committee this year, either. Scott was a two-time All-Pac-12 defensive honoree and a First Team league guy last season.

X-factor: Killer 3-point shooting.

The Buffs were strange last year. They reached the NCAAs as an 8 seed despite not having a great offense ... yet were abnormally good from 3-point range. The team shot 43.9 percent from 2-point range and 38.6 from deep. So bizarre. George King, Josh Fortune and Dominique Collier carried most of that load, and they're all back. They'll need to keep torching nets to put Colorado in the top five in the conference.

Projected regular-season win total: 19

Notre Dame, then Texas or Northwestern in Brooklyn. The Buffs have a home game against Xavier and follow it up at BYU. The Pac-12 slate starts with three road games (Utah, Arizona State, Arizona) but closes with three home tilts (Utah, Stanford, Cal). They do not travel to play UCLA and USC.

Strength: His name is Markelle Fultz

He's a lead guard, a freak athlete and looks to be ready for the pressure of pumping life into UW. My guess is Washington's fan base will rally around Fultz, he'll put up big numbers, be a top-three draft pick and push UW into the NCAAs. I don't think it will be a Ben Simmons-like situation. Most people haven't seen Fultz play yet. He'll be appointment TV for college basketball fans.

Weakness: Effective field goal percentage

That's the formula that appropriately weighs 3-pointers to show how good your offense is overall and putting the ball in the bucket. Washington's got a long-standing problem here, having failed to put an offense on the floor that ranks anywhere close to the top 100 nationally over the past five years.

X-factor: Speed

Does Lorenzo Romar want his team to be like last year's? In a lot of ways, of course not. Washington had two first-round picks on its roster yet was nowhere near the picture for at-large selections. But the team did average 78 possessions per game, second-most in the nation. Fultz steps in as a highly touted freshman, and he can ago. He's a lead guard with slash ability and a fully charged battery. I'd love to see UW push it again this season but wouldn't fault Romar if he dropped it down a gear.

Projected regular-season win total: 19

The Huskies have challenging non-conference games against Yale, Long Beach State, Gonzaga, TCU (on the road) and Nevada. They play Cal, Stanford, Arizona State, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Washington, UCLA and USC on the road. They don't travel to Oregon or Oregon State. The Huskies should manage to get to 19 victories prior to Pac-12 play.

Strength: Tempo

Andy Enfield likes to play fun and fast, and USC's culture is better for it. The Trojans will again push it. They'll be well-conditioned and capable of keeping up with anyone in the conference, even fast-paced Washington.

Weakness: Loss of two pros

The Trojans took a bigger drop between early April and late May than anyone we were considering for our Top 25 (and one). With Julian Jacobs and Nikola Jovanovic gone, we went from having USC 15th or 16th to not even ranking them in the top 30. What makes it worse: Enfield wasn't planning on either of those guys leaving.

X-factor: Everyone knows their position and their role

The Trojans made their return to the NCAAs last season for the first time since 2011, earning an 8 seed and looking like a team that was ready to become top-four in the Pac-12. Then USC lost its two best players to pro dreams. Lost amid this was the sense that Andy Enfield was a little too positionless for his own good. Was Julian Jacobs the point guard or did Jordan McLaughlin fit that role better? I don't expect USC to be as talented and complete this season, but everything should fit into place better.

Projected regular-season win total: 17

Tricky season-opener against Montana. At Texas A&M on Nov. 18. SMU comes to town Nov. 25. Home to BYU on Dec. 3. That about covers non-conference hurdles. USC is spared traveling to Stanford and Cal. It faces Utah and Colorado just once, on its home floor.

Strength: Capability and point guard again.

I still want to see how Lorenzo Bonam does without Jakob Poeltl to vex defenses, but the Utes should be pretty stable at the 1 yet again. Larry Krystkowiak's scheme seems to magnify the ability of the lead guards he recruits.

Weakness: Perimeter pressure.

Utah's opponents were too often able to get up 3-pointers and didn't face pressure beyond 18 feet. The Utes had a turnover percentage of 15.3, which ranks in the bottom 10 percent of the sport, and teams made 37 percent of their 3s against Utah last year. The other "Coach K" will get that fixed for 2016-17.

X-factor: Point guard play

It hasn't been an issue in years at Utah. Delon Wright and Brandon Taylor have done a great job of putting Larry Krystkowiak's intricate schemes to good work. Now Bonam, a senior, takes the the lead role as point guard. He's a good player and the transition should be seamless, but the overall talent around Bonam this season is a shade or two removed from what Wright and Taylor had in the past three seasons.

Projected regular-season win total: 20

The Utes have Butler at home, are at Xavier, will probably get Illinois State in the Diamond Head Classic, then potentially San Diego State in the title game. Other than that, the Utes will romp through their league. In Pac-12 play, they play all teams on the road and at home except for not traveling to the L.A. schools and not getting to host the Arizona schools.

Strength: Ball-control offense

The Beavers were reliable with the orange last year, turning it over the least amount of any Pac-12 team. Stephen Thompson, Derrick Bruce and Malcolm Duvivier all return, but Gary Payton II does not. The Beavers will need to keep their responsible habits consistent to have a chance to get to a second straight NCAA Tournament.

Weakness: No go-to guy ... yet

Tres Tinkle, the coach's son, is a talent who's coming off injury and is probably a year away from being an alpha. GP2 was such a force for this team, there's no way Oregon State has anyone who can match his all-around play, especially on defense. Some groups don't need a go-to guy to succeed (Xavier comes to mind), but when you're in that 40-60 range of teams overall, having a guy set the standard is often pivotal.

X-factor: Gill Coliseum

The Beavers aren't shaping up to be an NCAA Tournament team this season, but if they're going to flirt with dancing they'll need to basically repeat their performance from the past two years. Holding court at home is pivotal for bubble-like teams.

Projected regular-season win total: 16

Shoutout to Wayne Tinkle for not scheduling scared. This guy puts four true road games on his docket for the 2016-17 season. That kind of ambition should be rewarded. At Nevada, at Tulsa, at Mississippi State, at Charlotte. Are any of those sure-fire tourney teams? No. But you don't see 98 percent of major-conference schools lining up four true road games in non-conference play. In league play OSU dodges a road game against Arizona and Washington. So that's a quirk.

Arizona State is making progress under coach Bobby Hurley. USATSI

Strength: Consistency in the backcourt

Arizona State dealt with plenty of roster issues last season, and suspensions led to players not coming back. Bobby Hurley needs two more years to construct the roster to his desires. But at least Tra Holder, Shannon Evans and Kodi Justice provide consistency and a backcourt that should rank in the top half of the league. Holder could be in for a big season; ASU will need all it can get from the junior point guard.

Weakness: Dodging blocks

Arizona State had 13 percent of its attempts sent back last season, an incredibly high rate for a major-conference team. Only three teams in the nation (Virginia Tech, UTSA, La Salle) were blocked more frequently. The wrinkle here is that Bobby Hurley's team was fairly good at not turning the ball over. The decisions there were much better than interior shot selection.

X-factor: The Curtain of Distraction

Oh, yeah. We're going there. Because it's one of the best charms in college hoops now. Arizona State's fan base came up with something ridiculous, hilarious, original and complete within the rules of gamesmanship. Every ASU home game offers up an opportunity for something you've never seen before. And celebrities are getting in on the fun now, too. Remember Michael Phelps appearance last year?

Projected regular-season win total: 15

The Sun Devils will be better this year than last, but the schedule has its challenges. In non-conference play, Northern Iowa is a tricky one to start the Tire Pros Invitational (formerly the Puerto Rico Tip-Off), then they'll get two of these teams -- Xavier, Oklahoma, Clemson, Northern Iowa, Davidson or Tulane. The first five mentioned have solid chances at being NCAA tourney teams. They've gotta play Kentucky in the Bahamas (random), Purdue in the Jimmy V Classic, at San Diego State and home vs. Creighton. In league play, ASU is spared road trips to Colorado and Utah, two teams that many believe are headed back to the NCAAs.

Strength: Reid Travis is back

Travis will be a standout for Stanford in Jerod Haase's first season with the Cardinal. There's a lot here that will be tinkered with, but Travis will be a Pac-12 Second Team selection at worst. He missed last season with a stress reaction in his left leg. He's the team's best rebounder, too. Word is he's healthy and champing at the bit.

Weakness: Lack of perimeter presence

Stanford needs to mightily improve its 3-point shooting and its perimeter defense. The group ranked last in deep-ball rate last season, and teams were able to puncture the perimeter almost at will.

X-factor: Embrace the block

Stanford was an efficient and fairly consistent shot-blocking team until the Johnny Dawkins era began in 2008. Now with Jerod Haase, the Cardinal might become more adept on the release, as Haase's UAB team ranked 36th in block rate two years ago and fifth in the country last season. Stanford's not a program stuck in transition. It can become a top-40 program in short order, but tweaks like this will need to be made. This team has to play taller.

Projected regular-season win total: 14

Opening the season with Harvard is daring. I approve! The next challenge comes on Nov. 24 against Miami in the AdvoCare Invitational. From there, the Tree could face two of these teams: Gonzaga, Florida, Iowa State, Indiana State, Seton Hall, Quinnipiac. Probably will lose two of three. Then it has to play Saint Mary's, at Kansas and at SMU. This schedule is ridiculous. Will be a trying year on the whole.

Strength: Josh Hawkinson's rebounding.

Hawkinson's underrated nationally because of the team he plays for, but he's a top-15 guy in the Pac-12. Maybe top 10? He's as valuable as almost any other player in the conference.

Weakness: Overall offense.

Wazzu has been the worst offensive team in the Pac-12 across the past three seasons. Ernie Kent's team is probably going to be at or near the bottom again, as the schedule isn't super-duper easy, and the team is not build to beat you with guard play.

X-factor: The schedule

Ernie Kent knows what's in his stable. There's a lot of fluff there. But this is a program that can't afford to have another single digit-win season. WSU won 13 in Kent's first year, then nine last season. It needs to get above 13 again. Playing Montana State, San Jose State, Idaho, New Orleans and Sacramento State is a necessity to the collective team ego.

Projected regular-season win total: 11

An easy non-conference schedule (Montana State, San Jose State, Idaho, New Orleans and Sacramento State) makes way for Wazzu to land at least seven victories before Pac-12 play starts. Then you figure this team will be able to beat Arizona State, USC, maybe Colorado at home? It might pull of one road win in the league. Might. The Pac-12 schedule-makers did the Cougs no favors.