UCLA Bruins earn No. 7 seed in NCAA Mens' Basketball Tournament
After a strong showing in the Big Ten Tournament, the UCLA Bruins men's basketball team was selected as a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament on Sunday.
The field was announced by tournament organizers in the late afternoon, marking the second consecutive season that the Bruins will be going dancing in March Madness. They'll now face the No. 10-seeded University of Central Florida on Friday in the first round of play. It will be the first time the two teams face off.
The Bruins were 23-11 on the year. They were a No. 6 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and upset the No. 3 Michigan State Spartans to earn a spot in the semifinals, where they fell to the eventual champions, the Purdue Boilermakers.
UCLA has won six of its last eight games, ending with wins over the Top 25 Nebraska Cornhuskers and crosstown rivals USC, who did not make the tournament for the third-straight season.
They lost leading scorer Tyler Bliodeau before the semifinal matchup, and the team's second-best scorer, Donovan Dent, missed the entire second half due to an injury. Both are expected to play come Friday, however.
For college basketball's winningest program, it will now be their second straight year in the tournament and fifth appearance in the last six seasons, all under head coach Mick Cronin.
UCF was also 23-11 this year, but ended the season on an opposite trend of the Bruins, losing four of their last five games, including an 81-59 trouncing by the No.1 seed Arizona Wildcats in the Big 12 Conference Tournament quarterfinal.
It's the Knights' sixth-ever tournament appearance and first since 2019.
The winner of Friday's game will go on to play the winner of No. 2 UConn and No. 15 Furman.
UCLA's women's team also earned a spot in tournament play following a stellar 32-1 campaign. They are the women's bracket's No. 2 overall seed and look to make another deep run after finishing in the Final Four last year.
