Typically when a team advances to the Pac-12 Tournament championship game, it’s not only because of the balanced play of the entire team, but the ability of a star player catching fire.

This was evident last year when Oregon’s Joseph Young carried the Ducks to the championship game by averaging 25 points per game in the tournament.

Here’s a list of players who could perform like Young and lead their respective teams to the championship:

Dillon Brooks, Forward, Oregon: Brooks is Oregon’s leading scorer but what he does for the Ducks goes far beyond his 16.7 points per game. It’s through him that the Ducks get into their rhythmic and efficient offense. On the other side of the ball, he can defend anyone from the opponents point guard to power forward position. If Brooks can find his groove again after his recent slump, the Ducks could be crowned champions Saturday.

Jakob Poeltl, Center, Utah: There isn’t anyone playing better in the conference right now than Poeltl. The Pac-12 player of the year is dominating offensively with his 17.5 ppg and grabs anything near him on the defensive end, evident in his 9.1 rebounds per game. Poeltl forces Utah’s opponents into a huge mismatch down in the low post and when double-teamed, he does a phenomenal job of finding the open man. Utah will go as far as Poeltl takes them.

Gabe York, Guard, Arizona: Arizona has no problem scoring in the post, but what the Wildcats need is a sharpshooter. Enter York, who ended his regular season by scoring 32 points and hitting nine 3-pointers. Not only does he lead the conference with 88 3-pointers on the season, he hits them at an efficient rate (42.9 percent). If York can provide Arizona with the spacing it sorely needs, the Wildcats can beat anyone in the conference.

Andrew Andrews, Guard, Washington: It’s impossible to not have the conference’s leading scorer on this list. Andrews is a complete offensive player. He controls Washington’s offense and is just as willing to play distributor as scorer. The Huskies will always have a chance as long as Andrews has the ball.

Jaylen Brown, Forward, Cal: Cal has used a late-season surge to become a lock for the NCAA Tournament, and Brown is the main reason why. Brown’s ability to dominate smaller defenders in the paint and use his quickness to create his own shot against bigger opponents makes him nearly unguardable. Thanks to Brown playing up to his potential, the Golden Bears are starting to thrive at the right time.

Bryce Alford, Guard, UCLA: Alford is known for hitting the big shots at the end of games — evident in wins over Kentucky, Gonzaga and Arizona. UCLA has a talented starting five, but not much depth beyond. In order to pull off a few unexpected upsets, Alford is going to have to star when the lights shine brightest.

Follow Ryan Kostecka on Twitter @Ryan_Kostecka