24. UCLA (7-2)
We saw UCLA in these kinds of rankings at the season’s beginning as they took care of business against some weak foes, but the Bruins wasted their early opportunities this season. A 4-point loss against Arizona doesn’t look bad at all, but last week’s troubling performance against California showed some more of the issues for Mick Cronin’s team. Fortunately, there’s plenty of movement in the poll and UCLA redeemed themselves as Big Ten play began.
It wasn’t the surest thing, but the Bruins got a road win on Wednesday by beating Washington 82-80 in their first Big Ten game. Skyy Clark scored 25 points while Tyler Bilodeau added 21 points. After that rough defensive showing, UCLA was better in most aspects on Saturday, winning 74-63 over Oregon back in Los Angeles. All five starters were in double figures, led by an 18-point, 8-rebound effort out of Eric Dailey Jr.
These last two games were perhaps indicative of what UCLA could be as the season progresses. They were really struggling to gain momentum back in November, but the offense was more efficient and got them off to a nice 2-0 start in the Big Ten race. Obviously, UCLA is far from a perfect team and isn’t getting a ton of reliable production off the bench, but the current worry is more about that Gonzaga game next weekend.