SAN FRANCISCO - The Pac-12 Conference has released the weekly matchups and site designations for the league's 2016-17 men's basketball season.

The announcement reflects the games being played and the home/away designations each week of the Pac-12 regular season. Specific dates and times for each game within a week will be announced later this summer after selections by the league's television partners are finalized. All Conference games will be televised by either ESPN, FOX, CBS or Pac-12 Network.

Tip-off of the league's regular season will begin no earlier than Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2016. Opening week will be highlighted by traditional rivalry games between COLORADO and UTAH and in the Apple Cup between WASHINGTON and WASHINGTON STATE, as well as defending conference champion OREGON hosting UCLA and USC.

The midpoint of the 18-game conference slate - week of Jan. 23-29 - will feature a rematch of the 2016 Pac-12 Tournament title game with Oregon visiting UTAH along with rivalry games between CALIFORNIA and STANFORD, and UCLA and USC.

Regular-season play will conclude on Saturday, March 4, 2017, with the final week highlighted by rivalry games in the Civil War series between Oregon and Oregon State and the Territorial Cup between ARIZONA and ARIZONA STATE ahead of the Pac-12 Tournament's debut at the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas from March 8-11.

Pac-12 men's basketball enjoyed one of its most exciting and competitive seasons in 2015-16. A record seven teams earned bids to the 2016 NCAA Tournament, nine teams finished the year ranked in the RPI Top 100, all 12 teams posted Top 100 Strengths of Schedule, and league play featured seven matchups between AP Top 25 teams, the most for the conference since 2007-08.

2015-16 Pac-12 All-Conference performers Dillon Brooks (OREGON), Isaac Hamilton (UCLA) and Ivan Rabb (CALIFORNIA) headline the list of the league's top returners, and the Conference is slated to add 18 freshmen rated in Scout's Class of 2016 Top 100 recruit rankings, the second-most of any league in the country.

2016-17 Pac-12 Conference Men's Basketball Weekly Pairings (Wednesday-Sunday)

Week of Dec. 28-Jan. 1

Arizona/Arizona State at California/Stanford

UCLA/USC at Oregon/Oregon State

Colorado at Utah

Washington State at Washington