REPORT: Analyst Names Bruins Top Team in Big Ten

The UCLA Bruins have been putting the Big Ten world on notice with seven straight wins and a strong 2-0 record in conference, including an upset win over No. 12 Oregon last weekend. One college basketball analyst has the Bruins as the Big Ten's top team.

Dec 8, 2024; Eugene, Oregon, USA; UCLA Bruins forward Tyler Bilodeau (34) shoots the ball over Oregon Ducks forward Supreme Cook (7) during the second half at Matthew Knight Arena. Mandatory Credit: Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images | Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images

The No. 24 UCLA Bruins (8-1) are off to a hot start this season with a pair of impressive Big Ten wins to kickstart their first season in the new conference. An 11-point win over the Washington Huskies and an upset victory over the No. 12 Oregon Ducks has begun to turn heads toward Westwood.

College basketball analyst Andy Katz released his latest Big Ten men's basketball power rankings on Friday. Katz must have been very impressed with the Bruins' showing against the Ducks, considering he placed them as the No. 1 team in the conference at this point.

Katz’s got UCLA MBB #1 in latest @B1GMBBall power rankings pic.twitter.com/Tkdr9ECO0j

— Those Four Letters (@krisjohnsonlive) December 13, 2024

There are five Big Ten teams that are ranked higher in the AP poll over the Bruins: No. 11 Purdue, No. 12 Oregon, No. 14 Michigan, No. 20 Wisconsin and No. 21 Michigan State. Katz is the highest on the Bruins after they pulled off one of the more impressive wins of the season last Sunday.

The Bruins went on the road to a hostile environment and beat the Ducks as the better team. They may have stumbled down the stretch, but their resiliency and ability to hit the clutch shot at the end of a game is a major factor as to why Katz likes them the most to this point.

The depth and experience of this Bruins team are advantages that not many teams around the conference can compete with, and a roster full of guys that can score double digits on any given night makes this team extremely dangerous against any opponent in the country.

The next four games for the Bruins will be out of conference, but strong tests to see how this team stacks up against the nation's best. In early January, they will restart Big Ten play with a road battle against Nebraska. It will be strictly conference play for the rest of the regular season.

Much will change from early December until early March when conference tournament seeding starts to unfold, but at this juncture of the season, the Bruins could make a strong push in the conference and surprise some people as the new face of the Big Ten.

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