UCLA Basketball: Bruins Land In Top 20 After NBA Draft Withdrawal Deadline

Solid ranking for UCLA after last season.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA Draft withdrawal deadline passed earlier this week, giving college players the final chance to withdraw from the NBA Draft and stay in college basketball for another season. With that deadline passing, the latest power rankings from the NCAA have come out, ranking the top 36 teams in college basketball.

🚨 NEW #Power36 from @TheAndyKatz following the NBA Draft withdrawal deadline 👇

1. Alabama
2. Kansas
3. Gonzaga
4. Houston
5. UConn
6. Iowa State
7. Baylor
8. UNC
9. Duke
10. Purdue

🗞️: https://t.co/ZfPGFuqZQ2 pic.twitter.com/1tRSAzWhyF

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) May 30, 2024

UCLA men's basketball comes in 18th on these rankings, a huge boost from when they ended the 2023-24 season failing to make the NCAA Tournament and finishing the year with a losing record. After an undoubtedly disappointing season, head coach Mick Cronin went to work to improve the team, adding transfers like Kobe Johnson, Skyy Clark, Tyler Bilodeau, Dominick Harris, and Eric Dailey and securing the commitment of local star product Trent Perry.

These moves have launched them into the top 20 after they were outside of the AP Top 25 rankings for much of last year.

The most surprising ranking is perhaps the two-time reigning champion UConn coming in fifth, despite putting in another dominant season to defend their title. Ahead of UConn, Alabama comes in first, Kansas comes in second, UCLA-rival Gonzaga comes in third, and Houston comes in fourth.

Other notable teams ahead of UCLA in these rankings are Indiana, Purdue, and Ohio State. These three teams are new rivals for the Bruins as they join the Big Ten in 2024-25. Purdue ranks the highest of the three in 10th after coming off a national title run in which they finished as the runner-ups.

They will, however, be without Zach Edey, who declared for the NBA Draft after a dominant college career. After Purdue, Indiana comes in 12th and Ohio State comes in 14th place.

With a revamped roster, the Bruins will look to climb the rankings and challenge fellow Big Ten powers for a chance at winning the conference title and securing their spot in the NCAA Tournament after missing it a season ago. While a top 20 ranking is generous after last season, the Bruins will be itching to continue climbing and make up for last year.

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