UCLA Bruins Basketball Tickets - UCLA's Schedule Might Hurt Tourney Seed

The UCLA Bruins men's basketball team has been to the Final Four three straight times, and as they are ranked No. 11 in the latest AP Poll, there are certainly those who think they can make it a fourth. The team plays stiff defense, and their offensive efficiency ranking is No. 3 in the nation at 121.2, according to the basketball efficiency rankings at Kenpom online. Darren Collison takes care of the ball, and they shoot the three at a solid clip. So what's not to like? Wins. UCLA needs wins over better programs.

If you check out the UCLA Bruins scouting report at Kenpom.com, you'll notice that the Bruins have very few "quality wins," the ones marked by a bright green highlight. Their four losses have been to good teams (Michigan, Texas, Arizona State and Washington), but only their wins over USC and Washington State would show up on the radar of the selection Sunday committee, assuming UCLA doesn't win the Pac-10 Tournament. Most of UCLA's upcoming games should be easy wins, as well. Their non-conference matchup with Notre Dame should have been something, but with Notre Dame falling fast, the Bruins' 89-63 beat down of the Irish might not be so impressive. Still, few expect that the Bruins will miss the Tourney. Their seed might take a hit because they have few high profile wins, though.

What might make things a little tougher on the Bruins is that they recently went on a terrible road trip through Arizona. UCLA dropped consecutive games for the first time this year to Pac-10 Conference foes Arizona State on February 12th and Arizona on February 14th. While Arizona State has been in the AP Top 25 consistently all season long, Arizona hasn't, and the fact that the Bruins lost by ten points is not going to do them any favors when the NCAA Tournament seeds come out this March.

Fans who are thinking about going online to purchase some UCLA Bruins basketball tickets should not fret too badly, for UCLA still has a few top-tier opponents left to beat before the Pac-10 Tourney. On February 19th, the Bruins are slated to play Washington, a team that's been surprisingly good this year, and has found a place in the AP Top 25 on at least one occasion. If the Bruins can beat the Huskies, they'll notch another quality win for their resume. After Washington, the competition falls off.

Washington State comes to Westwood on the 21st. UCLA will go on a Bay Area road trip to face Stanford and Cal on the 26th and 28th of February, respectively. These teams are all good but not elite. The Bruins complete their regular season schedule against Oregon State on May 5th and Oregon on March 7th. The two last home game matchups against the Beaver State teams will not do anything for UCLA, and only serve to act as either filler or a possible spoiler right before they enter the postseason.

It's very unlikely that UCLA will lose more games before the end of the season, but fans who buy UCLA Bruins basketball tickets should be concerned about the team's recent struggles in Arizona and the relative ease of their upcoming schedule. Still, the counter to this pessimism is clear. UCLA has a proven record of postseason success. Even if the team comes into the NCAA Tournament at less than full speed, or worse yet limping, it would be foolish to bet against the Bruins when they're playing in March Madness, not matter what happened in the regular season.

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Comments

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 at 4:58 AM, by Axelwyman
I already bought the Basketball tickets for this season. Thank you for sharing the information about the tickets. I`m a big fan of the Basketball game. Love to watch in a huge crowd.

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