Bracketology 2020: Providence, UCLA and Kansas among biggest winners

LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 25: Cody Riley #2 and Chris Smith #5 of the UCLA Bruins line up on the lane against Kolby Lee #40 of the BYU Cougars during the second half at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 25, 2019 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /

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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – DECEMBER 21: Tyger Campbell #10 of the UCLA Bruins (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

UCLA Bruins (17-11, 10-5 Pac-12)

After a brutal stretch in January where they lost six of seven games, UCLA was left for dead it looked as if they would finish near the bottom of the Pac-12. But some rotation fixes from head coach Mick Cronin seemed to have worked, with the team now having won nine of 11 games. The two losses came against Oregon and Arizona State on the road.

Speaking of the road, this week was the toughest pair of games UCLA was going to deal with the entire season. And that’s because it was the road trips to Utah and Colorado, arguably the toughest in the country thanks to the high altitude. The Bruins took care of business against the Utes in a 69-58 win, before upsetting No. 18 Colorado, 70-63 on Saturday.

The Bruins are tied for the most conference wins at the moment and have been playing some of the best ball overall in the Pac-12 in the past month. And the wins against Arizona and Colorado (2x) are starting to add up for their resume. However, UCLA did dig themselves a giant hole from the non-conference, losing to Hofstra and Cal State Fullerton. Their NET ranking is nowhere near good, and their non-conference win was UNLV.

But each of the three remaining games in the regular season is against teams projected in the field, so winning 2/3 would put UCLA at least in the conversation for an at-large big. And considering how bad they were in the first half of the season, that in itself is cause for celebration in Cronin’s first year.

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