NCAA Basketball top 25 rankings: Gonzaga, Providence rise, Alabama falls

3. UCLA (8-1)

We are almost a month removed from a rough loss at Gonzaga where much of UCLA’s lineup was battling illness, but now the situation seems to be more severe, as the program has been dealing with COVID issues all week long. Both of the Bruins’ scheduled games were cancelled, and it remains to be seen how their current pause will impact the rest of their nonconference slate. Regardless, the Bruins have showed us why they deserve this spot near the top of the rankings.

They’ve got a really nice win over Villanova and have knocked out UNLV, Colorado, and Marquette in recent weeks. The Bruins won two of those games away from home and look like a team that could do some damage in a weak Pac-12 this season. Down the stretch, it’ll be interesting to see how they fare against upstart Arizona, who they’ll face December 30th in what may be their next game. A home date with Cal Poly this coming Wednesday is likely in doubt.

Last season, UCLA’s surprise run to the Final Four was fantastic, but this year’s team could be just as lethal. We’ve seen that the Bruins look great at full strength, and we’ll get to see more of their exploits against some Pac-12 foes in the coming weeks. Does this team have the talent and depth to make another deep run?