NCAA Basketball: Reevaluating preseason top 25 power rankings of 2022-23 season

8. UCLA (31-5, 2-seed, Sweet Sixteen)

Two seasons removed from a crazy run to the Final Four, UCLA has its sights set on another magical season, with Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Tyger Campbell still making big plays for the Bruins. The hire of Mick Cronin has been an underrated masterpiece at UCLA and expectations remained pretty high even with Johnny Juzang deciding to leave for the NBA in the offseason.

All things considered, the Bruins lived up to those expectations this season. All five of their losses came against Quad 1 opponents, including to Illinois and Baylor early in the year. A 14-game winning streak included impressive showings against Maryland and Kentucky and the Bruins finished conference play 18-2 against a relatively weak Pac-12. While they fell to rival Arizona in the Pac-12 Tournament final, the Bruins still nabbed a 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament and have gotten the last laugh to this point.

UCLA made quick work of UNC Asheville in the opening round of the Tourney and secured a 5-point win against Northwestern in the second round, all while Arizona watches the rest of the fun from home. Their offense has played excellent basketball these first two games, even with Jaylen Clark out for the rest of the season with an injury. Freshmen Amari Bailey and Adem Bona have come to play this season and it sets up an intriguing matchup with Gonzaga in the Sweet Sixteen, with UCLA no doubt hoping to avenge that incredible Final Four loss from two years ago.