LAS VEGAS – How much will UCLA be dinged by the NCAA selection committee Sunday? A lot? A little? Any?
Should they be penalized for losing an excruciatingly close game, to a quality opponent, in the finals of their conference tournament? Should it matter that it was a game decided by a single basket turned on two plays that replays indicate the officials may have missed? Will it matter, either way, that UCLA was already shorthanded up front after Adem Bona’s injury Friday night, and had both available big men Saturday night foul out?
Will it matter, too, that there are reports Bona’s injury was less serious than feared and he might be available next week?
Or will Saturday’s 61-59 loss to Arizona, a result not certain until Dylan Andrews’ missed jumper from the left wing at the horn, even make a difference in the committee’s evaluations?
If the Bruins are a No. 2 seed, rather than a No. 1, might that not be where the committee had them all along? If they get knocked down to No. 3 but stay in the West, will it really make a difference? They still would have the opportunity to avoid the No. 1 seed until the regional final.
The committee will likely have some explaining to do regardless of the decision they make. But Mick Cronin was having none of that conversation late Saturday night. When I asked him if he had any thoughts about how the selectors might factor in this game, his answer was succinct.
“No,” he said.
This is when it becomes agonizing, for a team that could have left no doubt but feels like it left one on the table instead. The Bruins hadn’t lost in nearly a month and a half, winning 12 in a row, improving their NET ranking to No. 3 behind Houston and Alabama and their ranking in Ken Pomeroy’s computer formula to No. 2 behind Houston, and also improving their Quadrant 1 record from 4-4 to 8-4.
Now it’s 8-5. UCLA is 29-5, Arizona is 28-6 and cut down the nets at UCLA’s expense for the second year in a row at the Pac-12…
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