Go Joe Bruin Predicts UCLA Basketball’s Run in the NCAA Tournament

It is time for the UCLA Basketball team to once again embark on a journey through the NCAA Tournament and Go Joe Bruin tells you how far they will go.

The writers of Go Joe Bruin got together to discuss the UCLA Basketball team as they try to make a run in the NCAA Tournament.

We gave our impression before and after the brackets were announced and clearly, the draw affected our projections.

Here is what GJB said before the NCAA Tournament Selection Show:

Related Story: Bruins Talk to the Media About the NCAA Tournament

Michel Hanna: Sweet 16. If the team can find its February form again, then it can win the whole damn thing. If it maintains its March form, they might lose in the round of 32. So let’s split the difference and say they fall short in Steve Alford’s bugaboo round as Bruin fans both celebrate a commendable regular season and become extremely skeptical that Alford is the man to take UCLA to another Final Four, much less win the NCAA Tournament.

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Nathan Eberhardt: I’m much more bullish on this team than Hanna (shocking, I know). I say at least Elite 8, not making the Final 4 would be a disappointment, and we are one of three or four leading title contenders. I expect it to come down to the draw and whether teams built to give us trouble lose before we have to face them.

Hanna: I’m reserving the right to change my mind if the draw is particularly kind, haha. Should point that out too.

Michael Chavez: Think we make it to the elite eight. Have to say we lose in the Final Four unless this team finds a way to play beyond themselves. But if they get through the Final Four they win it all. Lonzo Ball scores 92 total in the tourney.

Andrew Goodman: Final 4. UCLA’s depth proves to be too much, and Ball & TJ. Leaf carry the Bruins down the stretch. UCLA can easily outscore anyone in the field, but the question is, will the defense hold its own?

Matt Wagner: Sweet 16 pending the draw. As we know, UCLA’s offense has been excellent all season, leading the nation in points per game and field goal percentage, but the Bruins shaky defense reared it’s ugly head in the Pac-12 semis vs. Arizona. If the Bruins can fix their defensive problems, they could possibly win the whole thing, but as of now the Bruins have a wide range of tournament possibilites. Here’s hoping the Bruins turn it around starting with game 1.

After Selection Show…

UCLA received a #3 seed in the South Region. If they make it to the Sweet 16 and Elite 8, they could possbly face #2 Kentucky and #1 North Carolina, respectively.

Hanna: So yeah, Sweet 16

Eberhardt: Ugh. This team CAN beat Kentucky in what are essentially two road games in the same season. It is a whole other ballgame to actually predict they will. Sucks.

Ashley Tellier: Final Four. This team was fun to watch, and for a while there, made us think it could go the distance. Instead, the Bruins choked every time it mattered; in the regular season and in the Pac-12 Tournament. Inevitably, they are bound to choke again. I wish LaVar Ball had been right all along, but it hasn’t looked like it for a while.

Mike Regalado: I honestly do not know. If the January Bruins show up, they will not get past Kentucky and the Sweet Sixteen. If the February Bruins show up, I could easily see them marching into the Final Four.

Next: UCLA Basketbal's Path Through the NCAA Tournament

I just don’t know. Leave me alone! I can’t take this pressure! Go Bruins!