BREAKING: UCLA Utterly Disrespected Following Arguably Best Week of the Season

UCLA men's basketball is still unranked despite taking down then-No. 9 Michigan State and dominating Penn State.

Jan 30, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Mick Cronin reacts during the second half against the Oregon Ducks at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Mandatory Credit: Alex Gallardo-Imagn Images | Alex Gallardo-Imagn Images

There could have been an argument as to why UCLA was not ranked in any of the previous recent weeks it was left out of the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls.

Not this time.

For the fourth week in a row, UCLA did not crack the Top 25 in either poll, and this one is the most surprising.

The Bruins upset then-No. 9 Michigan State last Tuesday, marking their third ranked win of their current seven-game win streak.

They then turned around to soundly defeat Penn State by 24 points.

UCLA did receive the most votes (123) of teams to not make the AP Poll, but it wasn't enough. It received just 42 votes in the Coaches Poll.

The Bruins have been on a dominant run since dropping four straight to start the month of January. As it stands right now, they're playing like the best team in the Big Ten, re-inserting themselves back into the conversation as one of the top teams in the conference, a status they had held going into the calendar year.

UCLA rode the momentum of its upset over Michigan State into its meeting with Penn State on Saturday, dominating the visiting Nittany Lions while only committing three turnovers for the second game in a row.

The Bruins did so even with illness being a factor.

"I was concerned with an emotional letdown after a big win, where Michigan State came in here ranked seventh in the country [Spartans were No. 7 prior to their loss to USC]," said UCLA coach Mick Cronin after the win. "It was an emotional win, and closer than it should have been because of our offense, but an emotional win. Pauley was charged. So, concerned with the letdown, but maybe what happened is this illness focused some other guys. Me going down yesterday and sending guys home on Thursday – as we were getting ready for practice, and it was like who drops next, where we had to invoke Covid rules. Shooting at your own basket, sanitizing the practice facility, everybody’s food, and then out the door. I think Michigan State had two guys out today.”

The last time UCLA was ranked in the AP was the week of 1/6 when it was No. 22 in the nation. The week before that, it had been as high as 15, its highest ranking of the season.

Fans had expected the Bruins to be back in the rankings after what was perhaps the team's best week of the season. It seemed almost a given.

But the majority of voters felt otherwise.

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