UCLA head coach Mick Cronin wasn't a fan of his team's placement in the NCAA tournament bracket preview released on Saturday, which had the Bruins as the No. 8 overall team.
"If you ask my one-word answer on that ranking — comical," Cronin said Saturday, per Beth Harris of the Associated Press. "I'm going to try not to laugh."
The veteran coach believes the ranking was payback for UCLA and USC leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten, a move that will take place in 2024.
"When we left the Pac-12, it cost a lot of people millions of dollars and there was going to be fallout, and I think it's a direct result," he said.