UCLA Bruins Insider Podcast: Floor and Ceiling For UCLA Men's Hoops

The UCLA Bruins (12-6, 3-4) earned a massive win over the Iowa Hawkeyes (12-6, 3-4) at home on Friday night to snap their four-game losing streak. After several lackluster performances, this team scored their second highest total of 94 points and are moving in the right direction.

In this episode of the UCLA Bruins Insider Podcast, UCLA Bruins On SI beat writer Tom Cavanaugh takes a look at the Bruins' future this season and where their floor and ceiling are after getting a good feel for how good this team really is.

You can watch the episode below:

We have seen the highs and lows of this Bruins team through 18 games and their season could easily go one way or the other. Will it become a season of triumph, competing for a Big Ten title and a National Championship, or will it be a repeat from last year, missing the tournament and falling short.

UCLA is not anywhere close to a bad team in terms of the bottom barrel of the Big Ten and a majority of Division I basketball. This team is very talented even though they have seen their share of struggles. Their floor is not nearly as low as some might expect after losing four of their last six.

At worst, the Bruins will be a middle of the pack in the conference standings, fighting and clawing for a quality win at the end of the year to qualify them for the NCAA Tournament. They will not be a team that finishes under .500 and will be in the mix for a tournament bid with a likely 7-11 seeding

If this group is able to completely wipe away their recent struggles and turn the page onto a second half of the season that exceeds expectations, we could be talking about a team that could compete in the tournament and potentially a conference tournament championship.

With already four conference losses, it is tough to make the case that UCLA is still in the running for a Big Ten regular season title. They will have a chance in early March to win their conference tournament and if the right buttons begin to be pushed, they have a great shot at it.

With a few more statement victories against ranked Big Ten teams to finish out the season, the Bruins could be a comfortable 4-7 seed in the NCAA Tournament, finishing the season on a very strong note. There is no reason why they could not make a deep postseason push with the defense that they possess.

UCLA owns the No. 1 defense in the conference at just 63.7 points per game and are forcing 17 turnover per game to lead the Big Ten as well. If this team strings together a few impressive defensive performances followed by serviceable shooting, they will make some serious noise.

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