UCLA Men’s Basketball a No. 4 Seed in First March Madness Bracket Reveal
The Bruins are right on the borderline of a top seed with 22 days until Selection Sunday.
The NCAA Selection Committee revealed the current top-16 seeds and their respective regions during the Bracket Preview Show on Saturday, with UCLA men's basketball (18-5, 10-4 Pac-12) coming in as the No. 4 seed in the Midwest Region. That puts the Bruins in the same region as Auburn, who is the second-highest No. 1 seed, as well as Purdue and Texas Tech.
UCLA is currently the No. 14 seed overall.
The release is in agreement with the NET rankings, at least from the Bruins' perspective. UCLA is No. 13 in the NET, but Auburn, Purdue and Texas Tech would all be in line for a No. 3 seed if that same formula directly decided the bracket.
A potential Sweet 16 matchup with the Tigers would pit them against the Bruins for the first time ever. Should UCLA win that new-look matchup, it would set up one of two long-dormant head-to-head series in the Elite Eight.
UCLA and Purdue have played 10 times, with the Bruins holding a 9-1 advantage, but the teams haven't faced off since 2000 and the Boilermakers haven't picked up a win since 1959. Texas Tech and UCLA played as recently as 2005, with the Red Raiders winning that NCAA first round matchup at the McKale Center, but the Bruins won their previous meeting in 1988 and all four showdowns back in the early 1960s.
The Pac-12 only has one other top-16 seed – Arizona, which surprisingly debuted as the No. 1 seed in the South. Gonzaga, which UCLA lost to in November, is the No. 1 overall seed, while Villanova, which the Bruins beat earlier that month, is a No. 3 seed.
UCLA is 3-3 against Quad 1 opponents, 5-2 against Quad 2 opponents and a perfect 10-0 against Quad 3 and 4 opponents.
The full seed list as of Saturday can be found below:
1. Gonzaga (No. 1 West)
2. Auburn (No. 1 Midwest)
3. Arizona (No. 1 South)
4. Kansas (No. 1 East)
5. Baylor (No. 2 South)
6. Kentucky (No. 2 East)
7. Purdue (No. 2 Midwest)
8. Duke (No. 2 West)
9. Villanova (No. 3 East)
10. Texas Tech (No. 3 Midwest)
11. Tennessee (No. 3 South)
12. Illinois (No. 3 West)
13. Wisconsin (No. 4 East)
14. UCLA (No. 4 Midwest)
15. Providence (No. 4 South)
16. Texas (No. 4 West)
West
1. Gonzaga
2. Duke
3. Illinois
4. Texas
Midwest
1. Auburn
2. Purdue
3. Texas Tech
4. UCLA
South
1. Arizona
2. Baylor
3. Tennessee
4. Providence
East
1. Kansas
2. Kentucky
3. Villanova
4. Wisconsin
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