Selection Monday: UCLA earns no. 3 seed in Hemisfair Region

After finishing the regular season 16-5 as the ninth-ranked team in the most recent AP and Coaches Polls, UCLA earned a no. 3 seed in the 2021 NCAA Tournament.

The Bruins are in the Hemisfair Region; there are no regional alignments this year since the entire competition will be held in San Antonio, so every region is named after a city landmark. Personally, I’d have preferred River Walk for the visuals, but UCLA got a decent draw here.

The no. 1 seed in the Hemisfair is South Carolina, no. 2 is Maryland — who had a realistic argument for being on the top line, and no. 4 is West Virginia, a team that didn’t end the season ranked in the top 16.

UCLA will open the tournament against Wyoming, the Mountain West champions. Wyoming was 14-9 this season and 8-8 in conference play.

This is the fifth straight NCAA appearance for the Bruins (not counting last year, obviously), and the previous four have all ended in trips to the Sweet 16. Should chalk hold in this region, the Bruins should once again advance to the second weekend of the Big Dance against the Terrapins.

The Pac-12 is represented by five teams in this year’s draw, with Stanford as the no. 1 overall seed. Oregon, Oregon State, and Arizona are also in the field.

The entire NCAA tournament schedule is as follows:

• Round of 64: March 21-22
• Round of 32: March 23-24
• Sweet 16: March 27-28
• Elite 8: March 29-30
• Final Four: April 2
• National Championship: April 4