Arizona State Meets Washington State in Pac-10 Basketball Tournament Opener

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. â€”  Arizona State will play Washington State in the opening game of the Pacific 10 Conference basketball tournament at 7 p.m. Thursday in Pauley Pavilion, according to partial seedings released Friday by the league office.

Arizona State (6-11), seeded eighth, was eliminated from contention for a first-round bye with its 71-65 loss to California Thursday night. The six teams with the best conference records advance to next Friday’s tournament quarterfinals.

Washington State (5-12) clinched ninth place with a 73-63 victory over Oregon State. USC (4-14) will finish 10th and play the seventh-seeded team Thursday night at 9 p.m.

UCLA (14-4) gained the regular-season title and No. 1 seeding with its 82-76 victory over USC Thursday night and will play the winner of the Arizona State-Washington State game at 3 p.m. Friday. Arizona (12-5) will play at 9 p.m. Friday against the winner of the game between USC and the seventh-seeded team.

The third through seventh seedings will be determined in regular-season-ending games this weekend. With one game remaining, the order was Oregon State, California, Washington, Oregon and Stanford. The Nos. 4 and 5 teams will play at 1 p.m. Friday, Nos. 3 and 6 at 7 p.m.

The semifinals will pit the Friday afternoon winners at 1 p.m. Saturday, with the victors in Friday night’s other quarterfinals playing at 3 p.m. Saturday. The championship game is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday.