Robyn Norwood sums up UCLA's predicament going into the Selection Show pretty well today in the LA Times:
UCLA still has a chance at a No. 1 when the NCAA tournament pairings are announced today -- the Atlantic Coast Conference final, Big Ten final, Big 12 final and Southeastern Conference final could have some bearing -- but that's not the issue.
If the Bruins are a No. 2 and still get a draw that would give them short-hop flights to Sacramento and San Jose the first two weekends, it's all the same.
A No. 2 worked fine for the Bruins last season, when they took a slightly different Golden State tour, playing in San Diego and Oakland, on their way to the Final Four.
If they can't beat a No. 15 instead of a No. 16 and a No. 7 instead of a No. 8 along the way, they're not on the road to Atlanta anyway. If all goes according to form, they would still get the same opponent in a No. 1-vs.-No. 2 regional final whether they are the No. 1 or the No. 2.
And consider this: Since the NCAA began seeding the field in 1979, half the NCAA champions have been No. 1s. But 71% -- 20 of 28 -- have been No. 1s or No. 2s.
The bigger issue for the Bruins is how they're playing.
Even so, shipping UCLA out of the West would seem a harsh penalty for an overtime loss against a desperate California team after the Bruins finished the season No. 1 overall in the Ratings Percentage Index. The Cal loss dropped UCLA to No. 2 in the RPI behind Ohio State.
I think she is pretty much on the spot. At this point I am not really all that concerned about what seed we are going to get or where we are going to play. I think either way we will be in the West either as a number 1 or number 2 seed. I think we would have had some reason to worry if Wazzu had won the Pac-10 tournament. If the Cougars had won the tournament, I could see the argument of placing the Cougars as a 3 seed out West and then shipping the Bruins out as a 2 seed somewhere else. But now that is not going to happen. So I will be very surprised if we find ourselves in some other region besides West. In any event, I think we all need to worry about how we are playing.If the Bruins are a No. 2 and still get a draw that would give them short-hop flights to Sacramento and San Jose the first two weekends, it's all the same.
A No. 2 worked fine for the Bruins last season, when they took a slightly different Golden State tour, playing in San Diego and Oakland, on their way to the Final Four.
If they can't beat a No. 15 instead of a No. 16 and a No. 7 instead of a No. 8 along the way, they're not on the road to Atlanta anyway. If all goes according to form, they would still get the same opponent in a No. 1-vs.-No. 2 regional final whether they are the No. 1 or the No. 2.
And consider this: Since the NCAA began seeding the field in 1979, half the NCAA champions have been No. 1s. But 71% -- 20 of 28 -- have been No. 1s or No. 2s.
The bigger issue for the Bruins is how they're playing.
Even so, shipping UCLA out of the West would seem a harsh penalty for an overtime loss against a desperate California team after the Bruins finished the season No. 1 overall in the Ratings Percentage Index. The Cal loss dropped UCLA to No. 2 in the RPI behind Ohio State.
Hopefully our boys are having a great weekend of practice and getting themselves readjusted and refocused heading into this Madness week. If they can get back to the same level of preparation and mindset they were in heading into Pullman and stay there from here on out, we will have a great finish to a very good season. So just like MIM stay positive and think good thoughts.
GO BRUINS.