UCLA Bruins selected as Pac-12 favorites in the preseason poll
LOS ANGELES — The UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team was selected to finish as the No. 1 team in the Pac-12 this season.
UCLA had a run to remember in the NCAA Tournament last season. They were truly a Cinderella story in the tournament, climbing out of the East Division as a No. 11 seed to make it all the way to the Final Four. Memorably, UCLA then was shocked by Gonzaga and Jalen Suggs as Suggs banked in a game-winning three from 35 feet away to win their Final Four matchup. This knocked UCLA out of the tournament after they had beaten top teams to get there such as No. 2 Alabama and No. 1 Michigan.
“UCLA is the team to beat,” said a coach surveyed by basketball writers Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander. “Experience, toughness and have one of the most underrated coaches in the entire country.”
The Bruins will look to improve even more on their Final Four appearance this season with the ultimate goal of winning the NCAA Championship.
This year in 2021, UCLA has not lost much fire power compared to other teams in the nation and the Pac-12. They will return all five of their starters from that team last season and also return 92.9% of the minutes played. Some notable players returning from last year’s team are Johnny Juzang and Jamie Jaquez Jr. who are both ranked inside college basketball analyst Andy Katz’s list of top 25 players returning to college basketball next season.
Juzang was ranked as the No. 1 player on this list while Jaquez Jr. was ranked as the No. 10 player. No other players from the Pac-12 made it into the top 25 on this list. Juzang averaged 16 points per game on the season and had a tremendous tournament run with 28 points in the Elite Eight game and 29 points in their Final Four loss. He will be one of the top players in the Pac-12 and in the country this season. Jacquez averaged just above 12 points per game on the season but also had a standout tournament performance averaging 15 points per game.
UCLA has gone out and improved this roster by bringing in Rutgers transfer Myles Johnson as a rim protector and a McDonald’s All-American and five-star recruit in freshman Peyton Watson. All three of Juzang, Jacquez and Watson are expected to be picked in the upcoming 2022 NBA Draft.
UCLA was picked to finish first in the Pac-12, getting 32 out of the 34 voters on media day. This is the first time they have been selected to finish first in the conference since the 2011-12 season.
“They know who they are,” a second surveyed college basketball coach said. “Might have caught lightning in a bottle toward the end of the season, but year three with Coach Cronin really establishes who they are and what he expects. I think expectations being high are a good thing for them and something that they will embrace and not shy away from. Depth might be an issue, but they have really developed players the last two years.”
The expectations are indeed high for the UCLA Bruins this year and their team looks poised for another big run.
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