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San Francisco • It's a title that seems to merit a tangible prize, like a trophy or a belt: Kelsey Plum returns as the nation's leading scorer.
But the Washington senior forward is far from worrying about defending it.
She's more concerned about getting the Huskies, picked to finish 3rd in the Pac-12, back to the Final Four for a second straight year.
"My job is to trying to win games," she said. "And one of the ways I do that is by scoring a lot of points."
It sounds easy when she says it.
Plum was a sensation last season, averaging 25.9 points per game and setting team records in points (908), field goals made (308) and free throws made (266). Her ability to get to the line for a nation-leading 299 attempts from the stripe served her well, as she scored in double figures in all 37 UW games and reached the 2,000-point plateau.
She's still got a season left. Asked what she worked on improving, she said her shooting range: "I don't think I'll ever get there — I'm actually a horrible half-court shooter."
No one has truly found an answer to stopping Plum, one of the reasons the Huskies were in the Final Four last year despite finishing 5th in the league. Coach Mike Neighbors called it a testament to Plum's growth since her freshman year.
"The game continues to evolve because she's never satisfied," Neighbors said. "It's still a work in progress. She's motivated every day to be her best — not worrying about being 'the best,' but being her best."
Pac-12 fine with expansion status quo
The Big 12 was in headlines this week for choosing to do nothing after considering potential expansion candidates, holding a press conference on Monday to announce it had decided to stand pat.
The Pac-12 will similarly stay put for the foreseeable future, commissioner Larry Scott said — but he only responded when prompted by a reporter's question.
He said whether the Big 12 had expanded or not, the Pac-12 was always going to stick with its current alignment, unlike the last time expansion debate set off a chain reaction in 2010, when Utah and Colorado were brought into the fold.
"We love having 12 teams. We feel like it's a great fit for us," he said. "I feel like whatever they decided wasn't going to have an impact on us."
To ring or not to ring
A Final Four berth has its perks — most notably hardware.
But neither of the Final Four coaches from last season, Oregon State's Scott Rueck and Washington's Neighbors, wear their rings from reaching college basketball's most elite stage when they recruit.
Rueck joked that he sometimes wears it "at home alone." But the coaches said they want to signal to recruits that they aren't resting on their laurels.
"They want to see a coach who is moving their program forward," Rueck said.
Twitter: @kylegoon