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How UCLA basketball can make the tournament

By Jake Liker

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Mar 15, 2013; Las Vegas, NV, USA; General view of the Pac-12 basketball tournament logo at midcourt of the MGM Grand arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Pac-12 Tournament

The difference between 20 and 21 wins can be massive when the committee selects the field. For that reason, UCLA fans should be rooting for either Cal or Washington State to beat Arizona on Thursday.

Making the conference tournament final without beating Arizona still doesn’t guarantee the Bruins a spot in the Big Dance, but at this point, quantity matters more than quality for UCLA.

In terms of quality, however, they could still use some help, and with losses from Utah and Stanford, their résumé is only looking worse.

As it stands, the Bruins are 19-12, 52nd in RPI, 35th in SOS, and 2-7 against top 50 teams (1-6 vs top 25). The Bruins desperately need the Cardinal to break into the top 50 again, as it would give the Bruins 4 top 50 wins.

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    • The Cardinal are 58th in RPI, dropping out of the top 50 after losing 3 straight to close the regular season. In order to bounce back, Bruin fans should be rooting for Stanford to beat Washington on Wednesday and Utah on Thursday.

    While a Utah loss makes the Bruins’ best win of the season less impressive, it’s safe to say that the Utes would remain in the top 25.

    Meanwhile, Oregon has a realistic shot at joining Utah in the top 25, as they are currently 29th in RPI.  Should the Bruins and Cardinal get eliminated, success for the Ducks is the next best thing that could happen to UCLA.

    Realistic* Best case scenario

    * – Realistic meaning UCLA doesn’t beat Arizona/doesn’t win the conference tournament

    Friday, in order from most to least important

    UCLA beats Cal

    Stanford beats Oregon

    It’s unlikely that everything goes perfectly, but that’s okay; there are a whole lot more bubble teams that could trip up.