NCAA Basketball top 25 power rankings: Tennessee and Villanova rise, Alabama falls

5. UCLA (8-1)

When they’ve been together on the court and healthy, UCLA has looked the part of a top team again this season, though that’s rarely been the case this season. After last year’s trip to the Final Four, UCLA returned most of their talent and certainly has raised expectations in Mick Cronin’s third year with the Bruins. They are holding up at this point, but again that’s come in limited action.

UCLA picked up a nice win opening week against Villanova, though was really gashed a few weeks later against Gonzaga, a game where much of the team was dealing with illness. Since that loss, the Bruins have picked up a few more wins, including road tilts at Marquette and UNLV, but have been on COVID pause for two weeks. Overall, the Bruins have won the games they are supposed to win but haven’t faced the toughest schedule, aside from those two premier games earlier on.

The COVID pause comes at an inconvenient time, as it’s delayed a big matchup against Arizona that was scheduled for next week. When you look at the analytics, UCLA is in good shape on both sides of the ball, with the defense especially tough during their current winning streak. Between Johnny Juzang, Jaime Jaquez Jr., and Tyger Campbell, there’s plenty of experience and talent on this team; a team that knows how to win big games. When they get their chances, UCLA is built to win this league.