UCLA Basketball: Bruins Plummet In Pundit's Pac-12 Power Rankings
Your 5-6 UCLA Bruins men's basketball program hasn't exactly met expectations this season, at least through its non-conference play stage of the year.
The club is riding low on a four-game losing streak, and on the cusp of playing the much better (by record) Oregon State Beavers today.
Appropriately, UCLA has nosedived down the latest Pac-12 power ranking of Busting Brackets' Tristan Freeman. Freeman currently ranks the Bruins as just the 10th best club in the 12-team conference, ahead of the 8-3 Beavers (12th, despite their record) and the 4-7 Cal Beavers (11th).
Freeman places the lion's share of blame on UCLA's thus-far underwhelming freshman class, starting with projected lottery pick Aday Mara. The 7'3" Spanish prospect has barely cracked head coach Mick Cronin's rotation, and is averaging a fairly modest offensive output. The other anticipated top freshman, 6'9" Turkish forward Berke Buyuktuncel, has also not produced at a level consistent with his estimated ability. Through five games, he's averaging five points on 25% shooting from the field and 3.6 rebounds in 16.8 minutes off the bench.
"That leaves a core rotation of [sophomore power forward] Adem Bona, [freshman guard] Sebastian Mack, [sophomore guard] Dylan Andrews, and [junior transfer small forward] Lazar Stefanovic," Freeman writes. "They’re all double-digit scorers to this point and Mack (15.2 ppg) has been playing at an all-league level. But if these are the best players and the bench isn’t giving them anything, then the ceiling for UCLA is extremely low, hence why UC Riverside is the best win for them."
"Currently on a 4-game losing streak that includes a loss to Cal State Northridge, UCLA is closer to the bottom of the Pac-12 than they are to a postseason bid. And now, they have to go on the road to try and get back on track. If they can’t beat Oregon State and Oregon, the season may truly be lost for them."
Climbing out of a 5-8 hole to start the 2023-24 NCAA season is surely not what the Bruins had in mind when they added their starry seven-freshman recruiting class.
