Since the start of the men's college basketball offseason on the first Tuesday morning in April, it's been increasingly difficult to get a true feel for UCLA and its prospects for the 2023-24 season. It's strange not to see the Bruins as a consensus top-25 team, given what they've done under Mick Cronin since late in the 2020-21 season. There was the Final Four run, followed by a 4-seed and Sweet 16 appearance in 2022, followed by a Pac-12 title, 2-seed and Sweet 16 appearance last season.
But UCLA also lost four of five starters from last season, as well as sixth man David Singleton, who started 16 games in his own right.