UCLA has won 10 games in a row and has the highest top 25 rank (3) of any team in the Pac-12, yet the Bruins were left out of the love last weekend when Arizona and Oregon finished in a tie atop the Pac-12.
But they can flip-flop that fate this weekend, because the Pac-12 Tournament has only one winner – and UCLA may get a chance to beat Oregon in the finals if it can beat Arizona on Friday.
“It’s huge,” UCLA guard Bryce Alford said of the tournament. “Being in third place in the Pac-12, one game behind Oregon and Arizona, we feel we’re the one left out team that hasn’t gotten a piece of the championship in this league.
"Those two have a piece so it would be a blessing to come in here and get a title and keep that momentum rolling. That would be 12 straight wins heading into the NCAA tournament so that would bode well for us.”
That UCLA will have to get that tournament title through Arizona – and possibly Oregon – is hardly a surprise.
“We knew they were very tough team and we figured they would advance,” UCLA forward T.J. Leaf said of Arizona. “It’s given everyone what they’re kind of wishing for -- which is us in the semis. So it should be a really fun game and great atmosphere.”
