Two victories in the previous eight days had erased most doubts about whether the Bruins (21-11) would keep playing meaningful games. The only remaining questions were who the Bruins would play and where.
Opinion varied on where UCLA might end up. While ESPN analyst Joe Lunardi predicted the Bruins would get a No. 10 seeding in the East Regional, CBS Sports' Jerry Palm pegged UCLA for a No. 9 seeding in the West Regional.
UCLA will enter the tournament coming off an inspired stretch in which it defeated cross-town rival USC before beating Stanford in a Pac-12 Conference tournament quarterfinal and playing Arizona to a draw for 40 minutes before fading in overtime.