Assuming that the Bruins – the No. 1 seed in the West Region – will throttle Mississippi Valley State and not become the first team in NCAA history to lose to a No.16 seed.
UCLA will play either No. 8 seed BYU or No. 9 Texas A&M. The Bruins squeaked by with a 65-62 win over the Aggies in the Wooden Classic here last year. UCLA beat BYU 82-69 in its season opener at Pauley Pavilion lastyear.
The Cougars (27-7) look more appealing, or shall we say beatable, because of their recent history in the NCAA Tournament. BYU has made the NCAA Tournament five of the past eight years – 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007 and 2008 – and failed to make it out of the first round.
Still, BYU has a lot going for it, and has won the Mountain West Conference title outright for the second consecutive year. The Cougars have also won 15 of their past 17games.
Texas A&M, on the other hand, presents plenty of problems for UCLA. The Aggies (24-10) play in the Big 12 and have four formidable frontcourt players. The Aggies dominated Texas 80-63 in January and came close to knocking off No. 1 seed Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals, losing 77-71.
Forward Josh Carter averages 11.9 points per game and forward Joseph Jones, adds 10.4.
The Aggies get consistent production from every player in the lineup, including guards Dominique Kirk and Donald Sloan, who started every game this season.