When the buzzer sounded at Gill Coliseum and Thursday’s Pac-12 slate was complete, I noticed a lot of buzz, once again, surrounding the ups and downs of the Conference.

Yes, yes. Washington State had an explosive second half and UCLA lost, but ask yourself: were you really that surprised? Was UCLA losing to a hungry and beleaguered Oregon State team who’d previously beat the same Texas Longhorns that UCLA was handled by? Was it that upsetting that a Stanford team that struggles offensively couldn’t quite keep up with the 38th most accurate shooting team in the nation (47% FGs for WSU) and red hot Faisal Aden?

Beyond that, the conference held suit and further beyond that, who wants this stuff to be predictable? Sure, we’d all appreciate a better brand of basketball on the Left Coast but there’s a reason the games are played.

You want to talk unpredictability? How about UConn’s 4-3 Big East start or Pitt’s 0-6 run? Those Huskies were once ranked 4th in the nation and the Panther’s 11th. For a “basketball conference” the BE sure could be more “predictable.” 11-8 South Florida is tied for third? And don’t get me started on two-for-eleven into last year’s sweet sixteen.

But enough finger pointing.

Unpredictable is the nature of sports and I say carry on Pac-12! For all its roller coaster faults, there is still a definitive team to beat (Cal), a large group of contenders nipping at their heels (Stan, UW, UO, CU, UA, UCLA), and an upset minded duo (OSU, WSU). Nice little recipe for an enjoyable conference season.

So while it may be an easy complaining point, the reality is, you’re going to tune in to the games, especially if they unfold like the OSU-UCLA game. That was a very well played, fun game to watch. Both teams shot 58% from the field and outside of Howland spending his last timeout with 11 minutes remaining and a few stretches of back-and-forth slop, it was solid. Bravo Bruins and Beavers.

When discussing the nature of the conference and last night’s games, a buddy of mine coined Saturday’s games “moving day” for a lot of teams. Arizona, Colorado, UCLA, Oregon, Stanford, and Washington are playing each other in critical games. That’s the six, aforementioned teams nipping at the heels of Cal. And they’re playing eachother!

Moving day indeed. And then of course there’s just going to be next weekend.

Unpredicatable, crazy, awful, painful, embarassing. Call it what you will but I’m going to watch because when it’s all said and done, someone’s gotta win this thing and subsequently go dancing.

And dancing is what it’s all about.

Andre Roberson and Jordan Bachynski (courtesy of @jlucas4092 and the team at allbuffs.com. Good CU stuff):