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UCLA Basketball: Bruins Rise One Spot in Latest AP Poll After Rout of USC

By Mike Regalado

February 18, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Bryce Alford (20) reacts with spectators after scoring a basket and drawing a foul against the Southern California Trojans during the second half at Pauley Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
February 18, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Bryce Alford (20) reacts with spectators after scoring a basket and drawing a foul against the Southern California Trojans during the second half at Pauley Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
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The UCLA Basketball team is back in the top five after their blowout win over USC, which was also helped out by a Baylor loss.

The UCLA Basketball team seems to have righted the ship after their back-to-back losses to Arizona and USC at the end of January.

Since then, the Bruins have been on a five-game winning streak which includes a road sweep up in the state of Washington, a win over Oregon (after being 19 points down), and a brutal 32-point mauling of the USC Trojans this past weekend.

With that, UCLA is now the #5 team in the nation in a very tight race that has slightly shifted the Top 10 after a loss from Baylor who was formerly the #4. The top three remain the same as #1 Gonzaga, #2 Villanova and #3 Kansas all stay put after wins last week, while the Pac-12 teams in the poll are still tightly packed together.

Last week, the Pac-12 teams were ranked #5 Arizona, #6 UCLA and #7 Oregon. This week, with Baylor’s loss, all three teams have moved up one spot.

With the Bruins rolling, they are not only in contention for the Pac-12 title, but are also making a case for a possible #1 or #2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

As far as the Pac-12 title, UCLA is 2.5 games behind conference leading Arizona, with four games left to play. One of those games, which will be played next Saturday in Tucson, will be against the Arizona Wildcats.

Next: UCLA bRuins USC's Night With 32-Point Win

UCLA’s other remaining games are this Thursday against Arizona State and the following week with the Washington schools visiting Pauley Pavilion.