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UCLA Poll Watch: Women's Basketball Drives for a Top-16 Tourney Seed

There are still four games to go in the regular season, but UCLA Women's Basketball is closing in on a possible top-16 seed in the 2016 NCAA Tournament, which would mean that the Bruins would open tournament action at Pauley Pavilion.

@UCLAWBB

Another week, another pair of wins for UCLA Women's Basketball. The Bruins' sweep of the Washington schools last week resulted in a boost of two spots in both polls: UCLA is now #12 in the Associated Press Poll and #14 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. The Pac-12 is well-represented in both polls with two teams in the AP top-10 (#7 Oregon State and #9 Arizona State) and another two teams not far behind (#12 UCLA and #15 Stanford).

The Bruins travel to Oregon this week for their last Pac-12 road trip of the season. UCLA faces a hot Oregon Ducks team first before going to Corvallis for a big Sunday showdown with the Beavers. The Bruins really need to earn a split this weekend if they want to hold on to a top-16 spot in the NCAA Tournament seeding. Those spots are precious in the women's tournament since they represent home court advantage for the first weekend of tourney games.

UCLA Men's Basketball is, unfortunately, in a much worse position as the postseason nears. The Bruins are not receiving votes in either national poll, a consequence of being in a tie for ninth place in the conference. In order to keep their postseason hopes alive, the Bruins probably need to sweep their home games this week against Utah and Colorado. Both teams are much better at home than on the road, so it's certainly not unreasonable to expect UCLA to snare a pair of wins before heading back on the road for a two-game set in the Bay Area.

UCLA Men's Volleyball dropped another spot in the AVCA Coaches Poll after losing at home to #12 UC Irvine last week. The Bruins are now the third-ranked team behind MPSF foes #1 Long Beach State and #2 BYU.

With the Bruins struggling for the last couple of weeks to play consistent volleyball, this week's tough slate of games will really test their ability to bounce back from adversity. First up is an away match against #9 Pepperdine, and then UCLA has to travel to Palo Alto for a Sunday game against #4 Stanford. Although the Bruins are still within half a game of first place in the MPSF standings, they are only two games out of sixth place. In other words, Coach Speraw has to get his team back to winning ways this week.

Everything was looking good for UCLA Women's Water Polo until the final of the Triton Invitational last weekend. The then #1 Bruins squared off against then #2 Southern Cal and sadly finished on the wrong end of an 8-6 scoreline. As a consequence, the Bruins and Trojans have swapped places in this week's CWPA Coaches Poll. Of course it's still early in the season, so UCLA and USC will meet several more times before a new national champion is determined.

UCLA Softball started its 2016 campaign last weekend at the Aggie Classic in Texas, The seventh-ranked Bruins played five games in three days, finishing with a 4-1 tournament record.

Although the Bruins lost only three starters from last season's team, one of them was pitching ace Ally Carda, and she's proving difficult to replace. While UCLA's two best pitching prospects (Paige McDuffee and Rachel Garcia) recover from injuries, the Bruins are relying on sophomores Selina Ta'amilo and Johanna Grauer to pitch a lot of innings. It would be unfair to judge the current state of UCLA's pitching based on just five games, but there's reason for concern. With the Bruins scheduled to play another five games this weekend at the Nutter Classic--including a game against #4 LSU--we will get another chance to see how UCLA manages with a thin and inexperienced pitching staff.

UCLA Men's Tennis jumped nine places to claim the fourth spot in this week's ITA rankings. Wins against #3 Texas A&M and #11 Georgia were responsible for the Bruins' improved ranking, and UCLA seems not to have been hurt much by losses to last week's #1 Virginia and this week's #1 North Carolina. The Bruins have a light schedule this week with a single match against UC Irvine.

UCLA Women's Tennis remains at #21 in the ITA rankings after handily defeating UC Davis and Cal State Northridge in a rare doubleheader last weekend. The Bruins face a much stiffer task this week with matches against #15 Pepperdine and #1 California. This is UCLA's chance to make a move in the rankings, and in that respect, today's match against Pepperdine is very important.

Finally, #9 UCLA Baseball opens the 2016 season this weekend with a three-game set against #21 North Carolina. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 PM PST on Friday evening at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Check out orlandobruin's excellent season preview of the Bruins and join us at Bruins Nation as we follow the action this weekend.

Men's Basketball

Last Week: UCLA lost to Arizona 81-75, and defeated Arizona State 78-65.

Associated Press Poll (February 15, 2016)
RANK TEAM POINTS RECORD PREVIOUS
1 Villanova (44) 1601 22-3 1
2 Kansas (21) 1578 21-4 6
3 Oklahoma 1471 20-4 3
4 Iowa 1349 20-5 4
5 North Carolina 1343 21-4 9
6 Maryland 1248 22-4 2
7 Virginia 1188 20-5 7
8 Xavier 1174 22-3 5
8 Michigan State 1174 21-5 8
10 West Virginia 1094 20-5 10
11 Miami (Fla.) 1036 20-4 12
12 Arizona 823 21-5 17
13 Iowa State 742 18-7 14
13 Kentucky 692 19-6 22
15 Dayton 681 21-3 19
16 Oregon 529 20-6 11
17 Purdue 497 20-6 18
18 Louisville 494 19-6 13
19 Notre Dame 489 18-7 NR
20 Duke 462 19-6 NR
21 SMU 441 21-3 16
22 Indiana 232 20-6 27
23 Providence 125 19-7 20
24 Texas 123 16-9 24
25 Baylor 97 18-7 21


UCLA (14-11, 5-7) received 0 points.

USA Today Coaches Poll (February 15, 2016)
RANK TEAM RECORD POINTS PREVIOUS
1 Villanova (25) 22-3 785 1
2 Kansas (7) 21-4 764 6
3 Oklahoma 20-4 680 3
4 North Carolina 21-4 674 8
5 Maryland 22-4 636 2
6 Iowa 20-5 624 5
7 Xavier 22-3 615 4
8 Virginia 20-5 579 7
9 Michigan State 21-5 560 9
10 Miami (FL) 20-4 558 11
11 West Virginia 20-5 488 10
12 Arizona 21-5 425 14
13 Dayton 21-3 382 17
14 Kentucky 19-6 346 21
15 Iowa State 18-7 319 15
16 Purdue 20-6 298 16
17 Oregon 20-6 259 12
18 Notre Dame 18-7 203 NR
19 Duke 19-6 183 NR
20 Providence 19-7 161 17
21 Indiana 20-6 154 22
22 Baylor 18-7 109 19
23 South Carolina 21-4 108 20
24 Texas A&M 18-7 106 13
25 Texas 16-9 73 25


UCLA (14-11, 5-7) received 0 points.

Women's Basketball

Last Week: #14 UCLA defeated Washington State 73-61, and defeated Washington 63-59.

Associated Press Poll (February 15, 2016)
RANK TEAM RECORD POINTS PREVIOUS
1 Connecticut (32) 24-0 800 1
2 Notre Dame 24-1 755 3
3 South Carolina 23-1 748 2
4 Baylor 25-1 703 4
5 Ohio State 21-4 662 7
6 Maryland 23-3 614 5
7 Oregon State 22-3 604 8
8 Texas 22-2 569 6
9 Arizona State 22-4 558 9
10 Florida State 21-4 532 10
11 Louisville 19-6 465 12
12 Texas A&M 17-7 416 15
12 UCLA 19-6 416 14
14 Mississippi State 21-5 398 11
15 Stanford 20-6 371 13
16 Kentucky 17-6 272 18
17 Oklahoma State 19-5 226 20
18 Miami (Fla.) 21-5 215 19
19 South Florida 18-6 174 22
20 Oklahoma 17-7 173 21
21 DePaul 21-7 147 23
22 Florida 19-6 136 16
23 Syracuse 20-6 74 NR
24 Tennessee 15-9 63 25
25 Michigan State 18-7 58 17

USA Today Coaches Poll (February 15, 2016)
RANK TEAM RECORD POINTS PREVIOUS
1 Connecticut (32) 24-0 800 1
2 South Carolina 24-1 755 2
3 Notre Dame 24-1 749 3
4 Baylor 25-1 704 4
5 Ohio State 21-4 659 6
6 Maryland 23-3 618 7
7 Texas 22-2 605 5
8 Oregon State 22-3 601 8
9 Florida State 21-4 529 9
10 Arizona State 22-4 521 10
11 Louisville 20-6 470 12
12 Texas A&M 18-7 443 13
13 Mississippi State 21-5 396 11
14 UCLA 19-6 359 16
15 Stanford 20-6 337 14
16 Kentucky 17-6 284 18
17 Miami (FL) 21-5 281 17
18 Syracuse 20-6 196 22
19 DePaul 21-7 185 23
20 South Florida 18-7 176 20
21 Oklahoma 17-7 128 21
22 Michigan State 18-7 121 15
23 Duquesne 23-2 106 24
24 Oklahoma State 19-5 81 24
25 Florida 19-6 76 19

Men's Volleyball

Last Week: #2 UCLA lost to #12 UC Irvine 3-2, and defeated UC San Diego 3-0.

AVCA Coaches Poll (February 15, 2016)
RANK TEAM POINTS RECORD PREVIOUS
1 Long Beach State (18) 298 11-2 1
2 BYU 273 10-2 3
3 UCLA (2) 258 12-2 2
4 Stanford 251 10-2 6
5 Hawai'i 202 9-4 4
6 Ohio State 186 10-3 9
7 Penn State 172 8-2 7
8 Loyola-Chicago 165 8-3 5
9 Pepperdine 150 6-5 8
10 UC Santa Barbara 128 10-5 10
11 UC Irvine 94 4-8 12
12 Ball State 74 9-3 13
13 CSUN 57 8-5 11
14 Lewis 56 9-5 14
15 Calif. Baptist 22 8-7 NR


Softball

Last Week: #7 UCLA defeated Colorado State 6-5, lost to Texas A&M 5-1, defeated Wichita State 6-5, defeated Texas A&M 7-3, and defeated Colorado State 8-3.

USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll (February 16, 2016)
RANK TEAM RECORD POINTS PREVIOUS
1 Florida (31) 799 4-0 1
2 Michigan 746 4-1 2
3 Auburn (1) 733 5-0 4
4 LSU 675 4-1 3
5 Alabama 662 4-1 5
6 Oregon 643 5-1 6
7 Louisiana Lafayette 563 5-0 11
8 UCLA 555 4-1 7
9 Arizona 479 6-0 13
10 Georgia 472 4-0 12
11 Washington 463 4-0 20
12 Tennessee 430 4-2 8
13 Florida State 411 4-1 10
14 Oklahoma 406 3-2 9
15 UCF 351 4-1 17
16 Missouri 302 0-0 15
17 Arizona State 291 6-0 22
18 Kentucky 266 3-1 18
19 James Madison 259 4-1 19
20 Minnesota 243 3-2 20
21 Baylor 143 2-1 16
22 California 121 3-1 21
23 South Alabama 101 5-0 25
24 Fresno State 83 5-0 RV
25 Texas A&M 76 4-1 RV

ESPN/USA Softball Poll (February 16, 2016)
RANK TEAM RECORD POINTS PREVIOUS
1 Florida (19) 4-0 499 1
2 Michigan 4-1 470 2
3 Auburn 5-0 452 6
4 LSU 4-1 423 3
5 Oregon 5-1 422 4
6 Alabama 4-1 401 5
7 UCLA 4-1 357 7
8 Louisiana-Lafayette 5-0 335 11
9 Washington (1) 4-0 290 19
10 Arizona 6-0 269 15
10 Oklahoma 3-2 269 8
12 Georgia 4-0 261 14
13 Missouri 0-0 258 12
14 Tennessee 4-2 255 9
15 Florida State 4-1 247 10
16 UCF 4-1 218 17
17 Arizona State 6-0 194 20
18 Minnesota 3-2 181 13
19 Kentucky 3-1 156 18
20 James Madison 4-1 130 21
21 Baylor 2-1 112 16
22 Fresno State 5-0 82 RV
23 Texas A&M 4-1 75 24
24 Texas 5-0 54 RV
25 California 3-1 45 22


Women's Water Polo

Last Week: #1 UCLA defeated Sonoma State 17-1, defeated #16 Loyola Marymount 14-7, defeated #7 UC Davis 5-1, and lost to #2 USC 8-6.

CWPA Poll (February 17, 2016)

RANK TEAM POINTS PREVIOUS
1 Southern Cal 100 2
2 UCLA 96 1
3 California 92 3
4 Stanford 89 4
5 UC Davis 80 T7
T6 Michigan 78 6
T6 Hawai'i 78 T7
8 Arizona State 74 5
9 UC Irvine 66 9
T10 Hartwick 61 12
T10 San Jose State 61 10
12 Pacific 52 13
13 UC San Diego 48 T19
T14 Princeton 46 14
T14 Loyola Marymount 46 16
16 Harvard 42 15
17 UC Santa Barbara 37 11
18 Indiana 36 17
19 San Diego State 29 18
20 Wagner 26 T19

Men's Tennis

Last Week: #9 UCLA lost to #1 Virginia 6-1, defeated #11 Georgia 4-3, defeated #3 Texas A&M 4-2, and lost to #7 North Carolina 4-2.

ITA Division I Men's Team Rankings (February 17, 2016)
RANK TEAM PREVIOUS
1 North Carolina 7
2 Virginia 1
3 TCU 2
4 UCLA 9
5 Wake Forest 10
6 Ohio State 8
7 Texas A&M 3
8 Oklahoma 5
9 USC 6
10 Texas Tech 14
11 Georgia 11
12 Illinois 12
13 Baylor 4
14 South Florida 13
15 Oklahoma State 17
16 Columbia 15
17 San Diego 16
18 California 24
19 Mississippi 20
T20 Virginia Tech 19
T20 Northwestern 21
22 Stanford 18
23 Florida 22
24 Texas 26
25 Florida State 28

Women's Tennis

Last Week: #21 UCLA defeated UC Davis 4-0, and defeated Cal State Northridge 4-1.

ITA Division I Women's Team Rankings (February 17, 2016)
RANK TEAM PREVIOUS
1 California 1
2 North Carolina 2
3 Florida 3
4 Georgia 4
5 Ohio State 6
6 Vanderbilt 5
7 Duke 7
8 Michigan 8
9 Virginia 9
10 Texas Tech 10
11 USC 11
12 Miami 12
13 Stanford 14
14 Oklahoma State 15
T15 Texas A&M 16
T15 Pepperdine 17
17 Alabama 18
18 Mississippi 19
19 LSU 13
20 Kentucky 22
21 Clemson 20
22 UCLA 21
23 TCU 23
24 Georgia Tech 24
25 Mississippi State 26

Women's Gymnastics

Last Week: #5 UCLA defeated #16 Oregon State 197.475-196.225.

GymInfo Team Rankings (February 15, 2016)
RANK TEAM AVERAGE HIGH
1 Oklahoma 197.428 197.925
2 Florida 197.258 198.175
3 Michigan 196.993 197.425
4 Alabama 196.959 197.525
5 Utah 196.729 197.15
6 LSU 196.721 197.425
7 UCLA 196.671 197.475
8 Auburn 196.357 197.275
9 Boise State 196.21 196.425
10 Georgia 196.182 197.525
11 Arkansas 196.168 196.7
12 Stanford 195.971 196.675
13 Denver 195.954 196.675
14 Nebraska 195.875 196.775
15 California 195.73 196.825
16 Oregon State 195.721 196.35
17 George Washington 195.675 196.175
18 Minnesota 195.658 196.3
19 Missouri 195.646 196.625
20 Arizona 195.442 196.475
21 Eastern Michigan 195.418 196.6
22 Kentucky 195.357 196.05
23 Southern Utah 195.317 195.975
24 Iowa 195.272 196.65
25 Illinois-Champaign 195.263 195.725


This Week In UCLA Sports

Thursday, February 18

  • #21 UCLA Women's Tennis vs. #15 Pepperdine in Los Angeles, CA (1:30 PM PST)
  • UCLA Men's Basketball vs. Utah at Pauley Pavilion (7:00 PM PST)
  • Friday, February 19

    • #8 UCLA Softball vs. #15 UCF in Cathedral City, CA (6:00 PM PST)
    • #9 UCLA Baseball vs. #21 North Carolina at Jackie Robinson Stadium (6:00 PM PST)
    • #12 UCLA Women's Basketball vs. Oregon in Eugene, OR (6:00 PM PST)
    • #2 UCLA Women's Water Polo vs. #9 UC Irvine in Irvine, CA (7:00 PM PST)
    • #3 UCLA Men's Volleyball vs. #9 Pepperdine in Malibu, CA (7:00 PM PST)

    Saturday, February 20

    • UCLA Track & Field at the Alex Wilson Invitational in South Bend, IN (7:00 AM PST)
    • #4 UCLA Men's Tennis vs. UC Irvine in Los Angeles, CA (10:00 AM PST)
    • #21 UCLA Women's Tennis vs. #1 California in Los Angeles, CA (1:00 PM PST)
    • #9 UCLA Baseball vs. #21 North Carolina at Jackie Robinson Stadium (2:00 PM PST)
    • #8 UCLA Softball vs. Notre Dame in Cathedral City, CA (3:00 PM PST)
    • #8 UCLA Softball vs. Cal Poly in Cathedral City, CA (5:30 PM PST)
    • UCLA Men's Basketball vs.Colorado at Pauley Pavilion (8:00 PM PST)

    Sunday, February 21

    • #8 UCLA Softball vs. #4 LSU in Cathedral City, CA (9:00 AM PST)
    • #3 UCLA Men's Volleyball vs. #4 Stanford in Palo Alto, CA (11:00 AM PST)
    • #8 UCLA Softball vs. Pacific in Cathedral City, CA (11:30 AM PST)
    • #9 UCLA Baseball vs. #21 North Carolina at Jackie Robinson Stadium (1:00 PM PST)
    • #7 UCLA Women's Gymnastics vs. Washington in Seattle, WA (1:00 PM PST)
    • #12 UCLA Women's Basketball vs. #7 Oregon State in Corvallis, OR (6:00 PM PST)
    Go BRUINS!