The dust has settled after a chaotic first weekend of the NCAA tournament, and the Oregon Ducks are the only Pac-12 representative left.

The 12-seeded Ducks have navigated their way through the No. 5 seed Wisconsin and the No. 13 seed UC Irvine. Their play has been far from perfect. However, survive and advance is all that matters in the NCAA Tournament, and Oregon is thriving at that.

With their latest 73-54 win over UC Irvine, the Ducks punched their ticket into the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament. Unfortunately, no other Pac-12 team will be joining them.

The Arizona State Sun Devils bowed out of the tournament with a 91-74 defeat to the Buffalo Bulls. Meanwhile, the North Carolina Tar Heels eliminated the Washington Huskies with a 81-59 beatdown. However, even with those losses, this has still been a good postseason for the Pac-12.

The Positives for the Pac-12

All three Pac-12 teams registered a win in the tournament this year. The Sun Devils and Huskies picked up wins over St. John’s and Utah State respectively. Combined with Oregon’s two wins, that’s a 4-3 record so far, which is a significant improvement for the conference.

Yes, ASU’s and UW’s blowout losses to Buffalo and UNC look bad. However, the wins matter more because it means the conference avoids last year’s horrific showing in the NCAA Tournament.

Last year, the conference’s three teams in ASU, UCLA and Arizona went 0-3 in the NCAA tournament. Both ASU and UCLA fell in the play-in games, while Arizona, the regular season and conference tournament champ, fell to Buffalo 89-68.

Last year’s postseason debacle plummeted the Pac-12’s reputation, and this year’s regular season did nothing to change that. So at this point, the conference will take any wins on a national stage it can get.

Can the Pac-12 Capitalize on this Small Success?

Again, the Pac-12’s postseason is not over yet as Oregon is still alive to build the conference’s stock. The Ducks’ opponent will be the No. 1 seed Virginia. Tipoff scheduled for 6:59 pm PT in Louisville, Kent.

Hopefully, the Ducks can keep their marvelous run going. The longer their run lasts, the more positive of a light it shines on the conference, which will help overshadow a poor regular season.

Overall, the postseason showings by UW, ASU and Oregon showed that the Pac-12 programs can beat the best when they play at their best. However, these results also lead to what will continue to be the burning question for the conference next year: Can the Pac-12 be at its best more consistently?

If the answer is “yes,” the conference can move back towards seasons like the 2015-16 where it had seven teams in the national tournament. If the answer remains “no,” then the stories of the Pac-12 being a “one-bid league” or a “horrendous” conference won’t stop any time soon.