The Pac-12 should have stopped while it was behind. Turns out, the high point of the week was commissioner Larry Scott complaining about USC not getting in the NCAA Tournament.

Look at this way, Larry: You can't lose anymore.

At least there's that for the (so-called) Conference of Champions. March Madness brought a quick and merciful end this week to what is really an ongoing problem out West.

While Arizona State and UCLA quickly bowed out in the Dayton play-in games, the Pac-12's world came crumbling down Thursday.

Arizona got blown out by Buffalo, introducing the world at large to the Pac-12's larger, continuing woes.

Did you know …

  • The Pac-12 finished 1-8 in bowls. That's the worst postseason record in major-college history.
  • The league once again missed out on the College Football Playoff for the second time in four years.
  • Those late-night starts that create perception problems in the first place are never, ever going away. Ever hear of the Pacific Time Zone? At last check, a large portion of the East Coast isn't giving up that time difference. That's three hours of sleep it enjoys not watching Arizona-Cal kick off at 10 p.m. ET.   
  • Those big-time quarterbacks are going away. USC's Sam Darnold and UCLA's Josh Rosen came from the conference known for its quarterback production, but now they're gone to the draft.
  • And who can forget the Pac-12 is the only conference to surrender both a Heisman (2005) and a national championship (2004)? Thank you Reggie Bush.

At least United Airlines only had a bad week.

Anyone notice arguably the league's best basketball coach -- Sean Miller -- may have coached his last game? If not, given his career at the moment, maybe he ought to consider it.

Following that Buffalo debacle, Arizona's Deandre Ayton and Allonzo Trier declared for the draft quicker than you can say, "wiretap."

Its best football coach? Well, about that. Five schools -- almost half the league -- changed coaches and not because things were going swimmingly.

To be fair, the league now claims accomplished coaches Chip Kelly and Kevin Sumlin. But don't forget the Grand Experiment at Arizona State. Herm Edwards hasn't coached football in 11 years and hasn't coached college football in 29.

The two coordinators he retained left on their own.

It's never good when more schools are the subject of FBI investigations (two, Arizona, USC) than in the Round of 32 (none).

Sure, Cal is still left in the tournament. If you count Cal State-Fullerton from the Big West.

Never mind the Pac-12 going oh-fer into the second round for the first time since 1986, you know the league is slumping when it has to issue an apology for the halftime entertainment at its conference tournament.

(Trust me, the Australian Bee Gees were that bad, "technical issues" or not.)

Yes, this is a time to pile on mostly because everywhere you turn, the Pac-12 is doing what it can to separate itself from the Power Five. Nothing official, mind you, but consider ....

  • The league is dead last in Power Five revenue, buzz and cable juice. It would be charitable to say the Pac-12 Networks have been an abject failure.
  • More folks have the C-Span 2 app on their phone than have P12N on their cable systems.
  • While the Big Ten and SEC networks take over the world, the ACC is launching its own network next year with partner ESPN. The key word there is "partner." The Pac-12 doesn't have one to defray the costs of televising itself.

The league doesn't know how to get out of its own way -- or schedule. Last season, four football programs were made to play Friday night conference games on the road after playing the previous Saturday.

USC, UCLA, Washington and Washington State all lost. It's one thing having two playoff-chasing programs lose those games (USC, Washington), it's another to knowingly schedule those short weeks in the first place.

These trends are cyclical, sure, but right now a once-proud conference is dizzy from running in circles.

The Pac-12 got all sanctimonious earlier this week calling for what it said were "sweeping reforms" in college basketball.

Then it quickly redefined "one-and-done" by actually playing the games.

Some of the finest institutions in the country reside in the Pac-12. But there are plenty of fine institutions in the Big Ten, Big 12 and the SEC, too. The Strength Everywhere Conference wears its mission statement like a grass-stained jersey, "It Just Means More."

The Pac-12 means … what?

It's likely there is a not-so-regional West Regional next week in Los Angeles. Check out these possible regional semifinal games coming out of this week's first- and second-round games:

Xavier vs. Providence and Ohio State vs. Michigan.

That's four from east of the Mississippi. Way east of the Mississippi.

Just this week, the Pac-12 went 0-2 against Western New York alone. St. Bonaventure smacked UCLA. Buffalo knocked off Arizona. In between, Syracuse beat Arizona State.

And that's just March Sadness. Football is right around the corner. That's promise, not a threat.