UCLA Basketball: Bruins Shunned By AP Top 25 Despite Spotless Record

Well, this is fascinating.

Your undefeated (2-0, but still) UCLA Bruins men's basketball program didn't crack The Associated Press' first in-season power rankings of the best 25 clubs in the college game.

Granted, UCLA has played against some incredibly unthreatening foes that it should have flattened, and yes, it did trail the Lafayette Leopards 33-30 after the first half of a Friday matchup, but the fact remains that this is a formidable, if young, Bruins club.

Obviously it's early yet, and the clubs that made the cut did so in large part thanks to the quality of their opponents. It's still fascinating that two teams, Michigan State and Duke, don't even have unblemished records anymore even at this early stage of the 2023-24 campaign. Both are 1-1.

UCLA, meanwhile, has beaten its only two opponents so far this year by an average of 25.5 points per contest. The club has an opportunity to pile on the pain against inferior talent yet again tonight, when it hosts the Long Island University Sharks at Pauley Pavilion.

That action tips off at 7 p.m. PT, and can be streamed on Fubo.

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