Nearly a year ago to the day, the Bruins were playing in the First Four.
After dropping four straight games leading up to the NCAA Tournament, the blue and gold was forced to play its way into the Round of 64.
From there, however, UCLA won five consecutive games as a No. 11 seed en route to its first Final Four in the last decade.
“We proved it to everybody in the country that your ranking doesn’t really matter,” said junior guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr.
This time around, the roles are reversed.
Coming off its best regular season in the coach Mick Cronin era, UCLA men’s basketball (25-7, 15-5 Pac-12) earned its highest NCAA Tournament seed in the last five years, clocking in as the No. 4 seed in the East Region. The Bruins will now face a double-digit seed as opposed to being one, taking on No. 13 seed Akron in the Round of 64 on Thursday.
“We told everybody last year that our seed doesn’t matter. … We don’t need anybody teaching us that,” Cronin said.
UCLA took down three single-digit seeds a year ago and was one half-court heave away from potentially knocking out the top overall seed.
Now, the Bruins will be the higher-seeded team in at least their first two matchups, with No. 1 seed Baylor, No. 2 seed Kentucky and No. 3 seed Purdue the only teams ahead of them in their region.
Senior guard Jules Bernard said the key to pulling off the upsets last year was the team’s preparation level – something he said he hopes UCLA can replicate this time around.
“We had a specific game plan (and) certain small things we would focus on that we knew would put us in a good place to win each game,” Bernard said. “If you watched our run last year, everybody was in tune, we all played our hearts out.”
Instead of playing the entirety of the tournament in one location – as last year’s tournament was held exclusively in the Indianapolis area – the Bruins will travel from city to city should they advance past the first weekend.
The blue and gold will stay on the West Coast to begin its journey with its first two games in Portland, Oregon, but would travel to Philadelphia if it advances to the Sweet 16.
Should UCLA make its second consecutive Final Four, the team would travel to New Orleans.
“The biggest thing is we travel to every region and place and then we’re coming back. … So just carrying momentum and focus is big,” said junior guard Johnny Juzang. “It’s definitely going to be different.”
Despite the changing circumstances, Bernard said the team’s focus remains unchanged.
“One thing that’s given when you come to UCLA is that you want to be in the opportunity to win national titles,” Bernard said. “Every year’s different, but the goal is the same.”
Health going up
The Bruins will enter this year’s Big Dance as winners of eight of their last 10, which Cronin attributed to the team’s return to strength.
“We’re as healthy as we’ve been,” Cronin said. “It’s just been a crazy year, but we’ve had some normalcy of late.”
Coming off a run to the Pac-12 tournament finals, UCLA had every member of its active roster available to play in Las Vegas despite the fact that only two Bruins have played in every game this season – Bernard and redshirt senior center Myles Johnson.
Juzang – the team’s leading scorer – is back after missing two games with an ankle injury he sustained on Feb. 24 at Oregon. Before that, Juzang had missed three other contests on the year, including one against Washington on Feb. 19 after falling off a scooter.
The junior guard said the team is feeling good physically and is ready for the grind of the tournament from a mental standpoint as well.
“I feel like we’re very together right now and connected,” Juzang said. “That’s the biggest thing going into the tournament.”
In its stretch to close out the season, UCLA twice beat its crosstown rival USC – which earned a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament – and had a double-digit second-half lead versus No. 1 seed Arizona.
However, while he said the Bruins are playing well right now, Cronin added that the past means nothing in March.
“What’d we teach you last year? It’s all how we start playing now,” Cronin said.
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