UCLA Men's Basketball: Bruins Crash Insiders' Top 20 Preseason Teams List

The new College Basketball season isn’t too far off, and we are now seeing different rankings be released. It’s part of the fun for a new year, and the projections within make for great content down the line.

For the UCLA Bruins, they will enter the season with a different feel than that of the previous seasons. The program still wants to compete, something that they won’t ever back away from, but they aren’t seen as a top-tier team this year.

They are expected to take a slight step back this season due to players leaving and the number of freshmen that are in the building. But this UCLA squad does still have a good amount of talented players on the roster.

CJ Moore and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic put together a preseason top-25 ranking for the 2023-2024 season, and the Bruins ended up being ranked in spot 20.

“UCLA is truly going to be the most interesting experiment in college basketball this season. No team has ever brought in this many international players onto one roster and asked them to play an immediate role, a function of NIL opportunities expanding the recruiting marketplace globally in a significant way.”

Per CJ Moore and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic

With their size, they should be able to overmatch some opponents, but their overall lack of experience could cost them down the line. Still, even with the expectation for this team, they could easily find themselves competing for a spot in the NCAA Tournament this year.

“Mick Cronin is certainly in uncharted territory. There is a ton of talent, and Cronin has been terrific throughout his career at making rosters fit together. But will he be willing to play zone? Will he be willing to play a ball-movement, European-style offense? We will find out.”

Per CJ Moore and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic

This is going to be an interesting year for the Bruins and one that most will likely remember. But don’t sleep on UCLA, they may just surprise some people this season.