Sports Illustrated Men’s Basketball Top 25 Reset: UCLA Moves Up Despite Losses
With the season four months away, the Bruins are already on the rise.
UCLA men's basketball came in at No. 11 in Sports Illustrated's way-too-early Top 25 in April, right after March Madness came to a close. SI updated their rankings Saturday, and the Bruins climbed up to No. 7 in the early summer reset.
Earlier in the offseason, it was unknown whether UCLA would get Jaime Jaquez Jr., Tyger Campbell, Johnny Juzang, Jules Bernard, Cody Riley, Myles Johnson or Peyton Watson back for next season. The Bruins lost the latter five – Juzang, Bernard and Watson to the NBA Draft – but with their starting point guard and wing forward back for their fourth seasons in Westwood, there is plenty of returning production.
Campbell and Jaquez are likely to be preseason contenders for the Bob Cousy and Julius Erving Awards, if not All-American teams.
UCLA is bringing two McDonald's All-Americans to campus as well – combo guard Amari Bailey and center Adem Bona. Four-star point guard Dylan Andrews is also joining the rotation, and guard Will McClendon and forward Mac Etienne are returning from the torn ACLs they suffered last fall.
Here's what SI's Kevin Sweeney had to say about UCLA:
The Bruins seem well-positioned to withstand the loss of Johnny Juzang, Jules Bernard and Cody Riley thanks to the return of Jaime Jaquez Jr. and some top incoming talent. Jaquez and point guard Tyger Campbell are as battle-tested as they come and should be among the top 10 players in the country at their respective positions, while returning wing Jaylen Clark showed flashes of brilliance last season when thrust into the lineup at various points due to injuries. How top recruits Amari Bailey and Adem Bona adapt to the college game will be critical, particularly considering Mick Cronin opted to lean on his experience over five-star Peyton Watson this past season. Bona’s high motor should make him a Cronin favorite in the frontcourt though.
UCLA is 68-30 under coach Mick Cronin over the past three seasons. The Bruins opened the 2020-2021 season at No. 22 in the preseason AP Poll before making the Final Four, and they opened last year at No. 2 before getting knocked out in the Sweet 16 to end the campaign.
The Bruins are expected to be the preseason favorites to win the Pac-12 for the third year in a row, but they haven't actually won a regular season title or conference tournament since 2014.
Oregon came in at No. 17 and Oregon came in at No. 24 in Sports Illustrated's most recent rankings, giving the Pac-12 three teams in the top 25.
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