UCLA earns a No. 4 seed in the East Region, will play Akron in Portland to open NCAA Tournament
As UCLA looks to return to the Final Four after last season’s dream run, the Bruins will do so as a No. 4 seed from the East Region.
The Bruins will open their stay at the NCAA Tournament with a first-round game against 13-seed Akron (24-9) on Thursday in Portland. A win would set up a Saturday matchup with either 5-seed Saint Mary’s (25-7) or First Four teams Wyoming or Indiana as the 12-seed.
Should the Bruins advance to the Sweet Sixteen, they’d face one of 1-seed Baylor (26-6), 8-seed North Carolina (24-9), 9-seed Marquette (19-12), or 16-seed Norfolk State (24-6).
#UCLA gets the No. 4 seed in the East Region.
Open against Akron on Thursday in Portland. #GoBruins pic.twitter.com/GNMwFoM81p
— Saturday Out West (@satoutwest) March 13, 2022
The bottom half of the East Region includes 2-seed Kentucky, 3-seed Purdue, 6-seed Texas, 7-seed Murray State, 10-seed San Francisco, 11-seed Virginia Tech, 14-seed Yale, and 15-seed Saint Peter’s.
UCLA made it all the way to the Pac-12 Tournament championship game Saturday night but fell to Arizona, 84-76. The Bruins went 25-7 this season, finishing second in the Pac-12.
It’s interesting to see the Bruins on the 4-line. UCLA currently ranks eighth in KenPom and 10th in the NET ranking. It finished as the highest-overall 4-seed for the committee, just below Purdue and Texas Tech for the final pair of 3-seeds. UCLA was above Purdue in both KenPom and the NET, and ahead of Texas Tech in KenPom.
This is the sixth time since 1985 the Bruins have earned a 4-seed in the NCAA Tournament. In the previous five times, the Bruins have only advanced as far as the Sweet Sixteen (twice). They’ve lost in the First Round twice and in the Second Round once.