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In a shocker, not only did UCLA get into the NCAA Tournament, but the team got an 11 seed in the South Regional when many expected them to have to play Tuesday or Wednesday as one of the Nos. 65-68. At best, their consensus seed projection was the No. 12 seed if they got in at all. SBN has a full printable bracket that everyone can use.
It wasn't only UCLA. Texas and Indiana got in as well at the expense of Temple, Colorado State, Old Dominion and Richmond -- just to name a few. It seems that the Selection Committee doubled down on the Power 5 conferences.
UCLA will face the No. 6 seed SMU (coached by former UCLA coach Larry Brown) in Louisville on Thursday. Time and TV are TBA as of this writing.
SMU is the American Athletic Conference Champion. They just beat UConn this afternoon, 62-54. Thank your lucky stars for that because we wouldn't be sitting here talking right now -- UConn would have been a bid stealer (later, an NCAA official told ESPN that Dayton would have been dropped).
The winner of UCLA/SMU will face the winner of No. 3 Iowa State/#14 UAB on Saturday.
SMU's RPI ranking is No. 13, Iowa State is No.9 and UAB is No. 132. UCLA is No. 49. Not a bad draw, but it all depends on the match-ups. Stay tuned for UCLA/SMU previews to tackle those match-ups.
Go Bruins!