UCLA Bruins Selected as Number Two Seed in West
UCLA Bruins Selected as Number Two Seed in West
The Bruins will face UNC Asheville on Thursday in Sacramento.
The UCLA Bruins have been selected as the number two seed in the West Region. They will face the 15 seed UNC Asheville Bulldogs on Thursday in Sacramento.
A Sweet Sixteen appearance should be a relatively easy task as the Bruins will face the winner of the 7 seed Northwestern Wildcats and the 10 seed Boise State Broncos on Saturday.
Every year, I seem to write that the NCAA Selection Committee really has a weird sense of humor. It isn’t any different this year.
Three of the five potential opponents UCLA could face in the Sweet Sixteen are fellow Pac-12 school Arizona State, Gonzaga, or the Steve Alford-led Nevada Wolfpack. Personally, I think it would be nice to beat the crap out of Nevada, but the reality is that I expect that the Bruins will face the Zags rather than ASU, Nevada, or the other two teams in UCLA’s portion of the bracket, TCU and Grand Canyon University.
Assuming the Bruins make it to the Elite Eight, they will likely face either Kansas or UConn. From there, the West winner will face the Midwest winner in the Final Four.
Overall, I like how the Bruins are positioned. To be sure, the Bruins are likely disappointed that they weren’t chosen as a number one seed, but there are definite question marks surrounding UCLA due to the injuries to Clark and Bona. I do like the fact that this will give Coach Cronin and his guys a bit of a chip on their shoulder, motivating them to prove the “experts” wrong.
They were given the 5th overall seed, which means that last night’s bad calls could have cost them more than the game. They could have cost them a number one seed.
Regardless, they should go deep in this year’s tournament. I don’t usually make predictions this early, but I’m expecting the Bruins to make it to at least the Elite Eight and I think a Final Four appearance (or better) is possible.
Get ready. The madness is about to begin.
Go Bruins!!!
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Thank you for the fine update. One game at a time. Go Bruins.
On Jim Hill's post selection show, Cronin stated that UCLA told the committee that they do not expect Jaylen back but they did expect Adema to be back for the tournament.