REPORT: Analyst Recognizes UCLA as 'Dark Horse' for Final Four Run

A well-renowned analyst believes UCLA is capable of making a Final Four run.

Starr Portice

Considering its quick exit in the Big Ten Tournament after a rather inconsistent season, it would be fair to overlook UCLA men's basketball in this year's NCAA Tournament.

The Bruins are the 7-seed in the Midwest region, where they will face 10-seeded Utah State in the first round on Thursday.

Make no mistake, though, this UCLA is capable beating anyone. It has the recipes for success: depth, defense, shooting, scoring. It just lacks consistency.

But all it takes is one game to get that going.

College basketball analyst Andy Katz thinks it can.

Katz has named the Bruins one of his four "dark horses" to make a Final Four run. He has them joined by Ole Miss, UConn and BYU.

UCLA has a tough path. Should it make it to the Round of 32, it would likely face No. 2-seeded Tennessee. And if they get through the Volunteers, the Bruins would likely face No. 3-seeded Kentucky or No. 6-seeded Illinois, which they narrowly lost to on the road this season.

While Houston is the No. 1 seed, it's anyone's guess who from that side of the region will be in the Final Four.

It would seem the toughest test for UCLA would be a second-round meeting with Tennessee.

The Bruins, of course, are no strangers to the Final Four. The program has been to 18 of them, the second-most of any school, and has 11 national titles. With all that, comes an expectation.

"It's a responsibility that when you go to UCLA, there is an expectation level," said UCLA coach Mick Cronin when he addressed the media at Rupp Arena on Wednesday. "When you have so many Final Fours, 18 or 19, you can't remember, you are at a school like that, right?

" ... [Winning national championships is] kind of just the way it is at UCLA. You try to embed that into your players as you recruit them as well. Look, you have got to understand the score, right? I would be remiss if I didn't try to, I understood the score when I took the job. I think it's important that you impart that on your players as well."

Thursday's contest is set to tip off at 9:25 p.m. EST, 6:25 p.m. PST.

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