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It's been a rough week for Bruins basketball. On Sunday night, a disjointed performance by UCLA Women's basketball led to its first Pac-12 loss of the season. Worse yet, the defeat came at the hands of the Trojans.
Three days later, Steve Alford's Bruins produced a lackluster defensive effort that resulted in an ugly 14 point loss to our crosstown rivals. Two losses to Southern Cal in the space of four days is an awfully painful way to start the week.
Thankfully our men's volleyball team looks set to compete for a national title this season. Although Coach Speraw has a young team, it made a statement on its season-opening east coast road trip with wins over #14 George Mason, #6 Ohio State, and #10 Penn State. The Bruins not only picked up three good wins and valuable experience against top teams, Coach Speraw also managed to give several of his bench players significant playing time. The fact that the Bruins were able to defeat the Buckeyes and the Nittany Lions without super sophomore JT Hatch on the court shows the depth of talent that Coach Speraw has developed in his squad.
A pair of home wins over the Arizona schools was not enough to lift our men's basketball team back into the top-25. Of course, that was before the Bruins lost to the Trojans, so it seems highly probable that UCLA will be even further adrift of the top-25 in next week's polls. Only one Pac-12 team (#17 Arizona) earned a spot in the AP Poll this week.
UCLA Women's Basketball started last week with an impressive 71-51 win over #11 Oregon State before dropping their Sunday game against Southern Cal. As a result, Coach Close's Bruins fell only two spots in each of this week's polls. Three Pac-12 teams (#10 Arizona State, #11 Oregon State, and #12 Stanford) are ahead of UCLA in this week's AP Poll, while #25 USC debuts in the poll after its win over the Bruins.
Both of UCLA's tennis teams are in the top-15 in the preseason ITA rankings. UCLA Women's Tennis debuts at #9 in the initial ITA rankings of 2016, while the men start at #14. Among Pac-12 schools, only Southern Cal at #8 is ranked higher than UCLA in men's tennis. On the women's side, three Pac-12 schools are ranked ahead of the Bruins: #2 USC, #6 California, and #8 Stanford.
Men's Basketball
Last Week: UCLA defeated #7 Arizona 87-84, and defeated Arizona State 81-74.
Associated Press Poll (January 11, 2016)
RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | PREVIOUS |
1 | Kansas (63) | 14-1 | 1,621 | 1 |
2 | Oklahoma (1) | 13-1 | 1,551 | 2 |
3 | Maryland | 15-1 | 1,472 | 3 |
4 | Michigan State (1) | 16-1 | 1,446 | 5 |
5 | North Carolina | 15-2 | 1,371 | 6 |
6 | Villanova | 14-2 | 1,246 | 11 |
7 | Xavier | 14-1 | 1,200 | 10 |
8 | Miami (Fla.) | 13-1 | 1,139 | 12 |
9 | Duke | 14-2 | 1,100 | 14 |
10 | SMU | 15-0 | 1,040 | 15 |
11 | West Virginia | 14-1 | 867 | 17 |
12 | Providence | 14-2 | 862 | 8 |
13 | Virginia | 12-3 | 818 | 4 |
14 | Kentucky | 12-3 | 698 | 9 |
15 | Texas A&M | 13-2 | 668 | 21 |
16 | Iowa | 12-3 | 656 | 19 |
17 | Iowa State | 12-3 | 555 | 13 |
18 | Arizona | 13-3 | 537 | 7 |
19 | South Carolina | 15-0 | 527 | 22 |
20 | Pittsburgh | 14-1 | 334 | 24 |
21 | Louisville | 13-3 | 330 | 16 |
22 | Baylor | 12-3 | 325 | NR |
23 | Butler | 12-4 | 302 | 18 |
24 | Purdue | 14-3 | 145 | 20 |
25 | Gonzaga | 13-3 | 101 | 26 |
UCLA (11-6, 2-2) received 21 points.
USA Today Coaches Poll (January 11, 2016)
RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | PREVIOUS |
1 | Kansas (32) | 14-1 | 800 | 2 |
2 | Oklahoma | 13-1 | 743 | 1 |
3 | Maryland | 15-1 | 742 | 3 |
4 | Michigan State | 16-1 | 694 | 5 |
5 | North Carolina | 15-2 | 673 | 7 |
6 | Duke | 14-2 | 596 | 10 |
7 | Villanova | 14-2 | 557 | 13 |
8 | Xavier | 14-1 | 555 | 12 |
9 | Miami (FL) | 13-1 | 551 | 11 |
10 | West Virginia | 14-1 | 477 | 15 |
11 | Virginia | 12-3 | 426 | 4 |
12 | Providence | 14-2 | 400 | 9 |
13 | Kentucky | 12-3 | 393 | 8 |
14 | Texas A&M | 13-2 | 383 | 17 |
15 | South Carolina | 15-0 | 361 | 20 |
16 | Arizona | 13-3 | 337 | 6 |
17 | Pittsburgh | 14-1 | 263 | 21 |
18 | Iowa State | 12-3 | 253 | 14 |
19 | Iowa | 12-3 | 226 | 23 |
20 | Louisville | 13-3 | 205 | 16 |
21 | Gonzaga | 13-3 | 173 | 22 |
22 | Baylor | 12-3 | 156 | 25 |
23 | Butler | 12-4 | 147 | 19 |
24 | Purdue | 14-3 | 122 | 18 |
25 | Indiana | 14-3 | 38 | NR |
UCLA (11-6, 2-2) received 12 points.
Women's Basketball
Last Week: UCLA defeated #11 Oregon State 71-51, and lost to Southern Cal 71-68.
Associated Press Poll (January 11, 2016)
RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | PREVIOUS |
1 | UConn (32) | 14-0 | 800 | 1 |
2 | South Carolina | 15-0 | 765 | 2 |
3 | Notre Dame | 15-1 | 735 | 3 |
4 | Texas | 15-0 | 706 | 4 |
5 | Ohio State | 12-3 | 640 | 5 |
6 | Baylor | 16-1 | 632 | 6 |
7 | Mississippi State | 16-1 | 621 | 7 |
8 | Maryland | 14-2 | 592 | 8 |
9 | Kentucky | 13-1 | 543 | 10 |
10 | Arizona State | 13-3 | 502 | 14 |
11 | Stanford | 13-3 | 447 | 9 |
12 | Oregon State | 12-3 | 406 | 11 |
13 | Tennessee | 11-4 | 371 | 12 |
14 | Oklahoma | 12-3 | 358 | 17 |
15 | Texas A&M | 12-4 | 301 | 13 |
16 | Florida State | 11-4 | 293 | 19 |
17 | UCLA | 11-4 | 287 | 15 |
18 | Michigan State | 12-3 | 265 | 23 |
19 | South Florida | 10-4 | 234 | 22 |
20 | Florida | 14-2 | 134 | NR |
21 | Miami (Fla.) | 15-2 | 121 | NR |
22 | Duke | 12-5 | 116 | 18 |
23 | Louisville | 12-5 | 111 | NR |
24 | Missouri | 14-2 | 99 | 20 |
25 | Southern Cal | 14-2 | 69 | NR |
USA Today Coaches Poll (January 11, 2016)
RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | PREVIOUS |
1 | Connecticut (32) | 14-0 | 800 | 1 |
2 | South Carolina | 15-0 | 768 | 2 |
3 | Notre Dame | 15-1 | 732 | 3 |
4 | Texas | 15-0 | 708 | 4 |
5 | Ohio State | 12-3 | 655 | 5 |
6 | Mississippi State | 16-1 | 625 | 6 |
7 | Baylor | 16-1 | 618 | 7 |
8 | Maryland | 14-2 | 587 | 8 |
9 | Kentucky | 13-1 | 528 | 9 |
10 | Oregon State | 12-3 | 481 | 12 |
11 | Texas A&M | 12-4 | 454 | 10 |
12 | Stanford | 13-3 | 436 | 13 |
13 | Arizona State | 13-3 | 419 | 14 |
14 | Florida State | 12-4 | 370 | 15 |
15 | Tennessee | 11-4 | 322 | 11 |
16 | South Florida | 10-4 | 278 | 18 |
17 | Oklahoma | 12-3 | 263 | 19 |
18 | Michigan State | 12-3 | 259 | 22 |
19 | Duke | 12-5 | 175 | 16 |
20 | Miami (FL) | 15-2 | 150 | NR |
21 | Florida | 14-2 | 112 | NR |
22 | Louisville | 12-5 | 96 | NR |
23 | UCLA | 11-4 | 93 | 21 |
24 | Northwestern | 12-4 | 81 | 17 |
25 | Duquesne | 15-1 | 65 | 24 |
25 | DePaul | 12-6 | 65 | NR |
Men's Volleyball
Last Week: UCLA defeated #14 George Mason 3-0, defeated #6 Ohio State 3-1, and defeated #10 Penn State 3-2.
AVCA Coaches Preseason Poll (January 11, 2016)
RANK | TEAM | POINTS | RECORD | PREVIOUS |
1 | BYU (20) | 300 | 2-0 | 1 |
2 | UCLA | 262 | 3-0 | 5 |
3 | Long Beach State | 256 | 3-0 | 4 |
4 | UC Irvine | 226 | 1-1 | 2 |
5 | Hawai'i | 203 | 3-0 | 7 |
6 | Loyola-Chicago | 193 | 1-2 | 3 |
7 | Ohio State | 175 | 2-2 | 6 |
8 | UC Santa Barbara | 158 | 4-1 | 9 |
9 | Lewis | 148 | 3-1 | 8 |
10 | Penn State | 144 | 1-1 | 10 |
11 | Stanford | 104 | 2-0 | 13 |
12 | Pepperdine | 101 | 1-0 | 11 |
13 | Southern California | 34 | 0-2 | 12 |
14 | CSUN | 32 | 4-0 | NR |
15 | Ball State | 19 | 1-1 | T-14 |
Men's Tennis
Last Week: UCLA was not in action.
ITA Preseason Ranking (January 6, 2016)
RANK | TEAM | 2014-15 FINAL RANK |
1 | Virginia | 1 |
2 | Oklahoma | 2 |
3 | TCU | 4 |
4 | Baylor | 3 |
5 | Texas A&M | 5 |
6 | Illinois | 6 |
7 | Georgia | 8 |
8 | USC | 7 |
9 | North Carolina | 11 |
10 | Ohio State | 12 |
11 | Wake Forest | 13 |
12 | Texas | 9 |
13 | Duke | 10 |
14 | UCLA | 15 |
15 | South Florida | 16 |
16 | Virginia Tech | 18 |
17 | Texas Tech | 19 |
18 | Columbia | 14 |
19 | Mississippi | 17 |
20 | Stanford | 20 |
21 | California | 26 |
22 | San Diego | 22 |
23 | Minnesota | 21 |
24 | Florida | 25 |
25 | Vanderbilt | 24 |
Women's Tennis
Last Week: UCLA was not in action.
ITA Preseason Ranking (January 5, 2016)
RANK | TEAM | 2014-15 FINAL RANK |
1 | Vanderbilt | 1 |
2 | USC | 2 |
3 | Florida | 6 |
4 | North Carolina | 4 |
4 | Georgia | 5 |
6 | California | 7 |
7 | Virginia | 9 |
8 | Stanford | 11 |
9 | UCLA | 3 |
10 | Texas A&M | 10 |
11 | Baylor | 8 |
12 | Oklahoma State | 12 |
13 | Miami | 15 |
14 | Michigan | 13 |
15 | Alabama | 14 |
16 | Duke | 19 |
17 | Texas Tech | 16 |
18 | Ohio State | 21 |
19 | Pepperdine | 22 |
20 | Clemson | 18 |
21 | LSU | 23 |
22 | TCU | 17 |
23 | Georgia Tech | 20 |
24 | Kentucky | 25 |
25 | Mississippi | 24 |
This Week In UCLA Sports
Wednesday, January 13
- #5 UCLA Men's Volleyball vs. #14 George Mason in Fairfax, VA (4:00 PM PST)
Thursday, January 14
- #5 UCLA Men's Volleyball vs. #6 Ohio State in University Park, PA (2:00 PM PST)
- UCLA Men's Basketball vs. #7 Arizona at Pauley Pavilion (6:00 PM PST)
Friday, January 15
- #5 UCLA Men's Volleyball vs. #10 Penn State in University Park, PA (4:30 PM PST)
Saturday, January 16
- UCLA Men's Basketball vs. Arizona State at Pauley Pavilion (2:00 PM PST)
Sunday, January 17
- #15 UCLA Women's Basketball vs. Southern California in Los Angeles, CA (6:00 PM PST)
- #6 UCLA Gymnastics vs. #3 Alabama at Pauley Pavilion (2:00 PM PST)
Go BRUINS!