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UCLA Basketball: The men’s team 2017-18 season preview

By Mike Regalado

LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 19: Head coach Steve Alford of the UCLA Bruins applauds during a timeout in the game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Pauley Pavilion on January 19, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 19: Head coach Steve Alford of the UCLA Bruins applauds during a timeout in the game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Pauley Pavilion on January 19, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 09: Head coach Steve Alford of the UCLA Bruins reacts during a quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament against the USC Trojans at T-Mobile Arena on March 9, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. UCLA won 76-74. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 09: Head coach Steve Alford of the UCLA Bruins reacts during a quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament against the USC Trojans at T-Mobile Arena on March 9, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. UCLA won 76-74. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

6. 2016-17 Results

Overall: 31-5

Home: 16-1

Away: 8-2

Neutral: 7-2

The UCLA Men’s Basketball team was on fire out of the gate last season finishing the non-conference season with a 13-0 record and reaching as high as #2 in the AP Poll. The non-conference slate included wins against then #1 ranked Kentucky in Lexington, Michigan at home, and Ohio State in Las Vegas.

The conference slate did not quite go as well as the Bruins finished with a 15-3 record in the Pac-12, which was good for a third place finish behind Arizona and Oregon. The Bruins beat USC in the quarterfinals before losing for a second time to Arizona in the semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament.

The Bruins had a great season at Pauley Pavilion, with a 16-1 record. The only home loss came in a tough matchup with the Arizona Wildcats, who they got revenge on later in the season in Tucson.

The Bruins had a respectable road record as well, as they finished with 8-2 away from Westwood. The two losses came at Oregon and USC, both of whom had success in the NCAA Tournament (Oregon went to the Final Four; USC went to the second round). Impressive road wins included at Kentucky and at Arizona, which are widely regarded as two of the toughest places to play in all of college basketball.

Despite an impressive 29-4 record entering Selection Sunday, the committee gave the Bruins a 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, presumably because of a perceived weak schedule and low quality wins (even though UCLA had two of the best road wins in the country but that’s another story). Worse yet, the Bruins were placed far from home in a South Region that included the soon to be national champions, North Carolina, and arguably the most talented team in the country looking for revenge, Kentucky. The Bruins were eventually bounced by 2 seed Kentucky in the Sweet Sixteen.