UCLA Basketball: 2021-22 season preview and outlook for Bruins

Season Outlook

It should obviously go without saying that the Bruins have the potential to be one of the best teams in college basketball in 2021-22.  Few teams enjoyed as extensive of a successful March Madness resurgence as UCLA did, but the Bruins’ fortune makes it easy to forget that the Bruins also suffered some glaring missteps last season – including early-season struggles against San Diego State and Pepperdine and the four-game losing streak to end the regular season and the Pac-12 Tournament.

What adds additional concern is the fact that, for all intents and purposes, the Bruins’ roster is essentially the same as last season’s – with Johnson, Watson, and McClendon as the lone newcomers.  Whether the Bruins can be consistent throughout the regular season and not falter during the Pac-12 Tournament has yet to be seen – but the NCAA Tournament decidedly proved that UCLA has the blocks necessary to build the foundation of a colossus.

The exposure surrounding UCLA is warranted, and the placement of the Bruins at third in Busting Brackets’ Top 25 preseason power rankings is absolutely justified – as well as most major publications and outlets having Cronin’s crew somewhere in the top 10.

But UCLA has struggled to live up to early-season forecasts – three of the past four seasons have seen the Bruins ranked in the AP Poll preseason top 25, and all three occasions have seen UCLA drop out within a month – including during the 2020-21 season.

If the Bruins can immediately pick back up from where they left off in the Final Four, then a National Championship – the first one since 1995 – is obviously within reach, but that also requires Juzang to continue to play at a high level on a steady basis – something that he struggled to consistently do throughout 2020-21.  If the junior is able to improve his offensive production, then the Bruins have a certified star – in addition to the proven role players and new depth in the roster.

Successfully implementing Johnson as a reliable center who can produce immediately will be crucial for UCLA, and doing so will supply a necessary deadly scoring edge that was not always been there for the Bruins last year.  Finding appropriate opportunities for Watson and McClendon to contribute – on top of keeping Singleton, Kyman, Clark, and Etienne all on board – will also be critical for Cronin.

November 12th’s duel with Villanova – and, to a greater extent, the clash with Gonzaga a week and a half later – both loom large for the Bruins, who need to overcome their troubling history of woeful starts.  Losses will cast doubts on UCLA’s legitimacy as a powerhouse, at least during the regular season – but if last season is any indication, then the Bruins’ real potential may not be actualized until the NCAA Tournament – and this time, UCLA may be talented enough to fall on the right side of a half-court buzzer-beater.