I don't think the Bruins will be penalized due to injury as both Bilo and Donnie are expected to play next weekend. cronin said they could have played today but kept them out as a precautionary measure.
But the 'committee' will likely ship the Bruins far away into a bracket with the worst matchups possible for the seed they give us, because It's in their DNA.
I don’t think ucla will be penalized since the two players are expected to be back. I would like to see Duke fall out of the 1-seed position for losing their starting PG for the season.
It is being said that our guys will be ready for the Tournament, but, how healthy will they be? 85%? 90%? We all have spent the last two months talking about Skyy's comeback and how even though he seems healthy enough, that a slightly above the sub-conscious concern of re-injury can keep you from playing to your potential. Most of these guys are like finely-tuned racehorses Chen, even a slight pain can cause serious inefficiency/changes in your stride (shot) which impacts performance.....I just hope and pray our injured players don't damage themselves further....
Hey Seau, I made the same observation after we trounced SC this last time, except I was worried about Skyy's hamstring holding up over 2, 3 or 4 games......my BTSD (Bruin Traumatic Stress Disorder) was triggered anyway as the memories of the 2023 pre-NCAA team injuries flashed through my mind as I watched first Bilo and then Dent go down......I never liked the idea of these conference tournaments. No one plays back to backs all year and then at the end, when your body is worn down, you want these kids to play 2, 3 or 4 consecutive back to back high intensity games? It's a wonder that more kids don't get injured......
I highly doubt it. If they would have won the Big 10 tourney, at best would have been a 5-6 seed. However, I’m thinking they are going to be an 8 seed, and I think generally speaking; consensus is that an 8 seed was going to be the seeding UCLA coming into the tourney.
Idk how much UCLA would prefer seeding compared to being closer to campus. In one mock bracket, they had UCLA as an 8 seed playing in San Diego. Then another two brackets as. 7 seed playing in St Louis and another one playing in Tampa if I’m not mistaken .
Ya that’s an interesting question. Would you take an 8 seed and go to San Diego with a chance for a rematch against Arizona (presumably the 1-seed out west) or take a 7-seed somewhere far away and avoid a 1-seed in the sweet. 16? And chances are decent that you won’t see a 2-seed either. 15-2 upsets are becoming more and more common.
Idk UCLA looked good against Arizona throughout the entire game, I know they lost but it was 4 point defeat but UCLA had the lead in a lot of passages of the game. I’d roll the dice on a 8 seed here in San Diego- granted it’s close to Arizona and they travel well, too. However, something makes me believe that might be a better option, than being stuck in a bracket with a potential tough 2 seed further away from home; like a UCONN, Iowa St, Illinois. Not that its entire impossible for UCLA to win a game against any of those hypothetical two seeds, but up until recently UCLA had struggled winning a game outside of the PST.
Again the 2 v 15 matchup has provided that upset, and that roll of the dice might or might not roll UCLA’s favor. I guess tomorrow at this same time, we will know where UCLA is playing and we can start planning our work week around it.
Agree King.....best case scenario, Western Regional, playing Friday as a seven seed.....worst case scenario, Eastern Regional, playing Thursday as an 8 seed. I also agree with you and T above, they still hate us for who we were.....we stole the luster of the NIT and East Coast basketball from them by helping the NCAA's get off the ground with the dominance and star power of Wooden, Alcindor, Walton and the dynasty in the 60's and 70's.......One of BSPN's mandates in the late 70's and early 80's as they were getting off the ground was to bring the popularity of college sports back to the East Coast, which was the genesis of the "east coast bias" we've felt here for decades......and as T and King have noted, it's a DNA thing.....it still exists.....In listening to football and basketball games on the BTN, UCLA still receives coverage tinged with bias.......and the "officiating," man, don't get me started......
The Big 10 tournament was in Indiana -- almost a home game for Purdue. For the Bruins to be so close without their two top players is amazing. Even more, UCLA had been playing with 4 guards and a forward or sometimes a forward/center. Purdue has its share of trees in the lineup -- not a great match for this UCLA team. I thought that UCLA would have picked up more credit in WAB, net, and Kenpom after beating Michigan State. Hopefully coming close to Purdue will not lower our ranking in the important computer projections. To a healthy team next week for the NCAA.
The Women's BIG Ten Tourney was in Indie but the Men's was in Chicago. But yes, there were a lot more Purdue fans.
We lost primarily because of rebounding. Purdue had a lot of second chance points and that was the difference.
If we can resolve the rebounding, then we have a very good chance in the dance. A month ago, I felt that we would miss the dance.
While Bilo and Donnie will play, I do worry if they will be 💯 or not. I also think we will get seeded far away as the 'committee' always sticks it to UCLA.
After upsetting MSU last night, it was interesting to hear from Ethan Sabo on the Locked On UCLA podcast that according to the Torvik rankings, UCLA was the #5 ranked team in the country over the past month, specifically the period after their MSU blowout loss on Feb. 17 (KenPom rankings aren't available across random time periods). After the loss to Purdue, they've dropped to #9, but that's still surprising to me:
I believe the lingering effects of anti-Cronin fever makes folks (including myself) totally forget that the First Four-to-Final Four run back in 2021 had UCLA playing in Indiana and competing in the East Regional:
Based on their recent performances (what a valiant effort against the Boilermakers!), I think (hope) HC Cronin will have the Bruins ready to compete against any team, anywhere, regardless of the bracket they're put in. And March Madness infection is known to make seeding pretty irrelevant.
I do hope Cronin gets the guys ready to gut it out. Although last season against Tennessee, UCLA was down and out pretty early. Two things that would give UCLA a better outlook in the tournament, he a few rebounds and don’t go cold for 4, 5, 6 minute stretches. If they can do that, they can hang with anyone, and at some point you’d figure this team has to have a good defensive outing against a good team.
Yep, last season's team fielded a very different roster that had a much harder time scoring and posted lower shooting percentages than this year's team. If the Bruins are a 7-seed once again, I think they may be more capable of upsetting the 2-seed if they advance to the 2nd round again. I believe the key to their success this time around will be the play of their $3M man.
Hard loss. That said, this is the type of competitive spirit I’ve wanted to see from the Bruins all season. They fought! While losing is never good, I’m high fiving them. Way to compete!
Actually, I think it's a "good" loss for them to avoid fatigue and further injuries, get back home earlier to rest, and watch the March Madness Selection Sunday program.
ESPN still has us as 7th seed. Funny that they keep changing the region. Hard to figure out the committee's sadistic tendencies. When we were an 8th seed, it was either Florida or Arizona in the second round.
More games, more risk of injuries is another knock against conference tournaments.
Will the Bruins again be penalized in their seeding because of injuries?
Hi Sea,
I don't think the Bruins will be penalized due to injury as both Bilo and Donnie are expected to play next weekend. cronin said they could have played today but kept them out as a precautionary measure.
But the 'committee' will likely ship the Bruins far away into a bracket with the worst matchups possible for the seed they give us, because It's in their DNA.
T.
Still being hated for who we were 60 years ago.
I don’t think ucla will be penalized since the two players are expected to be back. I would like to see Duke fall out of the 1-seed position for losing their starting PG for the season.
It is being said that our guys will be ready for the Tournament, but, how healthy will they be? 85%? 90%? We all have spent the last two months talking about Skyy's comeback and how even though he seems healthy enough, that a slightly above the sub-conscious concern of re-injury can keep you from playing to your potential. Most of these guys are like finely-tuned racehorses Chen, even a slight pain can cause serious inefficiency/changes in your stride (shot) which impacts performance.....I just hope and pray our injured players don't damage themselves further....
Hey Seau, I made the same observation after we trounced SC this last time, except I was worried about Skyy's hamstring holding up over 2, 3 or 4 games......my BTSD (Bruin Traumatic Stress Disorder) was triggered anyway as the memories of the 2023 pre-NCAA team injuries flashed through my mind as I watched first Bilo and then Dent go down......I never liked the idea of these conference tournaments. No one plays back to backs all year and then at the end, when your body is worn down, you want these kids to play 2, 3 or 4 consecutive back to back high intensity games? It's a wonder that more kids don't get injured......
I highly doubt it. If they would have won the Big 10 tourney, at best would have been a 5-6 seed. However, I’m thinking they are going to be an 8 seed, and I think generally speaking; consensus is that an 8 seed was going to be the seeding UCLA coming into the tourney.
I think we will be a 7. We beat the #8 team in the country in Michigan State, so that has to help us a seed line or two
Idk how much UCLA would prefer seeding compared to being closer to campus. In one mock bracket, they had UCLA as an 8 seed playing in San Diego. Then another two brackets as. 7 seed playing in St Louis and another one playing in Tampa if I’m not mistaken .
Ya that’s an interesting question. Would you take an 8 seed and go to San Diego with a chance for a rematch against Arizona (presumably the 1-seed out west) or take a 7-seed somewhere far away and avoid a 1-seed in the sweet. 16? And chances are decent that you won’t see a 2-seed either. 15-2 upsets are becoming more and more common.
Idk UCLA looked good against Arizona throughout the entire game, I know they lost but it was 4 point defeat but UCLA had the lead in a lot of passages of the game. I’d roll the dice on a 8 seed here in San Diego- granted it’s close to Arizona and they travel well, too. However, something makes me believe that might be a better option, than being stuck in a bracket with a potential tough 2 seed further away from home; like a UCONN, Iowa St, Illinois. Not that its entire impossible for UCLA to win a game against any of those hypothetical two seeds, but up until recently UCLA had struggled winning a game outside of the PST.
Again the 2 v 15 matchup has provided that upset, and that roll of the dice might or might not roll UCLA’s favor. I guess tomorrow at this same time, we will know where UCLA is playing and we can start planning our work week around it.
Get us close enough to put some fannies in the seats to make some noise.
Agree King.....best case scenario, Western Regional, playing Friday as a seven seed.....worst case scenario, Eastern Regional, playing Thursday as an 8 seed. I also agree with you and T above, they still hate us for who we were.....we stole the luster of the NIT and East Coast basketball from them by helping the NCAA's get off the ground with the dominance and star power of Wooden, Alcindor, Walton and the dynasty in the 60's and 70's.......One of BSPN's mandates in the late 70's and early 80's as they were getting off the ground was to bring the popularity of college sports back to the East Coast, which was the genesis of the "east coast bias" we've felt here for decades......and as T and King have noted, it's a DNA thing.....it still exists.....In listening to football and basketball games on the BTN, UCLA still receives coverage tinged with bias.......and the "officiating," man, don't get me started......
I might print and frame your comment, perceptive. It's as true as true gets.
"Hopefully, both Dent and Bilodeau will be able to play next weekend."
Amen. And kudos to team for hanging in there and teasing us with that dream of chance!
The Big 10 tournament was in Indiana -- almost a home game for Purdue. For the Bruins to be so close without their two top players is amazing. Even more, UCLA had been playing with 4 guards and a forward or sometimes a forward/center. Purdue has its share of trees in the lineup -- not a great match for this UCLA team. I thought that UCLA would have picked up more credit in WAB, net, and Kenpom after beating Michigan State. Hopefully coming close to Purdue will not lower our ranking in the important computer projections. To a healthy team next week for the NCAA.
The Women's BIG Ten Tourney was in Indie but the Men's was in Chicago. But yes, there were a lot more Purdue fans.
We lost primarily because of rebounding. Purdue had a lot of second chance points and that was the difference.
If we can resolve the rebounding, then we have a very good chance in the dance. A month ago, I felt that we would miss the dance.
While Bilo and Donnie will play, I do worry if they will be 💯 or not. I also think we will get seeded far away as the 'committee' always sticks it to UCLA.
After upsetting MSU last night, it was interesting to hear from Ethan Sabo on the Locked On UCLA podcast that according to the Torvik rankings, UCLA was the #5 ranked team in the country over the past month, specifically the period after their MSU blowout loss on Feb. 17 (KenPom rankings aren't available across random time periods). After the loss to Purdue, they've dropped to #9, but that's still surprising to me:
https://barttorvik.com/?year=2026&sort=&hteam=&t2value=&conlimit=All&state=All&begin=20260218&end=20260501&top=0&revquad=0&quad=5&venue=All&type=All&mingames=0#
I believe the lingering effects of anti-Cronin fever makes folks (including myself) totally forget that the First Four-to-Final Four run back in 2021 had UCLA playing in Indiana and competing in the East Regional:
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/postseason/men/2021-ncaa.html
Based on their recent performances (what a valiant effort against the Boilermakers!), I think (hope) HC Cronin will have the Bruins ready to compete against any team, anywhere, regardless of the bracket they're put in. And March Madness infection is known to make seeding pretty irrelevant.
Go Bruins!
I do hope Cronin gets the guys ready to gut it out. Although last season against Tennessee, UCLA was down and out pretty early. Two things that would give UCLA a better outlook in the tournament, he a few rebounds and don’t go cold for 4, 5, 6 minute stretches. If they can do that, they can hang with anyone, and at some point you’d figure this team has to have a good defensive outing against a good team.
Yep, last season's team fielded a very different roster that had a much harder time scoring and posted lower shooting percentages than this year's team. If the Bruins are a 7-seed once again, I think they may be more capable of upsetting the 2-seed if they advance to the 2nd round again. I believe the key to their success this time around will be the play of their $3M man.
Hard loss. That said, this is the type of competitive spirit I’ve wanted to see from the Bruins all season. They fought! While losing is never good, I’m high fiving them. Way to compete!
Actually, I think it's a "good" loss for them to avoid fatigue and further injuries, get back home earlier to rest, and watch the March Madness Selection Sunday program.
ESPN still has us as 7th seed. Funny that they keep changing the region. Hard to figure out the committee's sadistic tendencies. When we were an 8th seed, it was either Florida or Arizona in the second round.
Sadistic is the key word.
just depends on if we are one of the first 7's or last.