UCLA Too Good to Be True?

The UCLA college basketball team has had an amazing year, staying near the top of the rankings all season long, yet two losses in a row to bottom feeder's Washington and California have left a few doubts as to their ability to go far in the tournament. Nobody will doubt that the team is solid on all parts of the court and brims with talent, but all this means very little if the players aren't entering the tournament with confidence. Therefore the Bruins, if they retain their number one seed, could be the shakiest of the four.

At the beginning of this season they earned their top ranked position by going 14-0 to start out the season as noted by ESPN, beating more than a few good teams, including Texas A&M in the process. With a powerful attack and a bruising defense they seemed destined to finish the season as they had began, as the top seed.

Then came the loss, at Oregon, and hopes of a perfect season were diminished. Yet the Bruins immediately returned to their winning ways, beating USC and Arizona, among others in a four game win streak following the loss. With this kind of production the second loss at Stanford didn't even make much of a dent in their armor, they still appeared to be the best team. Then only four games later they lost again, this time to unranked West Virginia, and the top spot was lost. However the West Virginia side was better than their ranking implied, so fans and followers didn't worry all that much. In fact after beating Washington state to clinch the Pac-10 a return to number one seemed in the sights, all they had to do was win the tournament.

Unfortunately for the Bruins they backed into the tournament after a loss in their last season game to Washington who had been lurking near the bottom of the division. Newly bruised and with a lack of momentum they lost to Cal in the tournament, possibly wiping out hopes of a 1 seed in the tournament. Now they will not be entering the tournament on the enormous momentum they had been building up, but on a two game losing streak, their first of the season. With this in mind, fans who will be filling out the tournament bracket in a few days might do well to remember that whatever seed the bruins get, they are entering in quite possibly their worst form of the season. So don't be scared if you pencil in a third, or even second round upset for the poor Bruins, as momentum, or the lack thereof, can be a powerful force.