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UCLA basketball bubble watch: NCAA Tournament odds, path to the dance with 1 week to go
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- UCLA basketball bubble watch: NCAA Tournament odds, path to the dance with 1 week to go
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UCLA basketball sits at 20-10 overall with one regular season game left. The Bruins still looked in great shape to make the NCAA Tournament just six days ago . But the 10 losses still sparks bubble chatter across the college basketball universe before March Madness .
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That's not the only conversation around Westwood. Head coach Mick Cronin has generated his own headlines; from ejecting his own UCLA player Steven Jamerson and questioning the Big Ten's style of scheduling.
Despite the latter complaint, UCLA owns a 12-7 record against conference play. Cronin has navigated through the Big Ten slate the best he can with the Bruins. However its 4-8 record in Quad 1 games places a damper on UCLA's March Madness pursuit.
Time to dive into the latest odds involving the Bruins with one week to go.
UCLA's current March Madness odds
Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images
UCLA indeed lands on the bubble list. Except its in stronger shape compared to the others in the same category, including rival USC .
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The website Team Rankings lists their chances at 99.9% to make the tourney . That includes a 1% automatic bid chance but 98.9% probability to earn an at-large bid. Although Team Rankings handed UCLA a 100% chance nearly a week ago.
The outlet plugs UCLA as no higher than a ninth seed in the 68-team field. CBS Sports bracketology is another predicting a No. 9 seed — with North Carolina State the opponent in the south regional.
ESPN's Joe Lunardi placed UCLA lower, though. The "bracketologist" has the Bruins as a No. 10 seed against Mountain West Conference power Utah State in this scenario .
Path to the Big Dance
The Bruins feel like a lock to make it in. They defeated three teams ranked in the top 10 (No. 10 Illinois , No. 9 Nebraska and No. 4 Purdue ) to boost their tournament resume.
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However, Cronin likely wants to ignite some momentum to ensure the selection committee will take notice. He also must avoid any kind of letdowns in a season that's seen plenty of them on his end. Losses to unranked Minnesota, Ohio State and Wisconsin are three that come to mind for UCLA.
Perhaps UCLA can lock in a No. 7 seed at the highest if it wins the conference tournament. Cronin has the scoring options to make a run.
Skyy Clark returning boosted UCLA during this final push . Tyler Bilodeau ignited conversations for All-Big Ten honors with his 18 points per game. Donovan Dent and Trent Perry comprise the rest of the backcourt and handing Cronin additional scoring options.
The path won't be a cakewalk, though. The Big Ten is one of the more loaded conferences on the basketball court, featuring three teams positioned to land either a one or two seed on March 15. UCLA looks ready to join the lineup of Big Ten teams on Selection Sunday, though.
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