REPORT: Bruins Could 'Sweep' This Year's Big Ten Tournaments

The UCLA Bruins (22-9, 13-7) gear up for the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Tournament as they earned a double bye through the opening two rounds of action. With how they have played recently, the Bruins have drawn impressive comments from a certain sharp college basketball mind.

The Bruins are coming off a monumental rivalry win at Pauley Pavilion on Sunday. They defeated the USC Trojans by 27 points, marking one of their most dominant wins of the season. This group has all the momentum riding into the conference tournament and are winners of 10 of their last 14 games.

College basketball analyst and reporter Andy Katz recently discussed the Bruins and their chances to win a Big Ten championship in their first year in the league. It is safe to say that Katz has confidence in this group by the statements he made about this team's potential.

"If they play they did against USC on Saturday night, that's UCLA at its best. I will not be shocked if we have a UCLA sweep of the men's and women's tournaments in this same building, if they can mimic what they did on Saturday night against USC," Katz said on Big Ten Network.

"They defend as well, if not better than any other team in this league, they're certainly one of the top 15 teams defensively. But the key is Tyler Bilodeau, if he can continue to score the way he did.

"Whether it's [Eric] Dailey, getting contributions in a variety of ways, and the play of Sebastian Mack, Dylan Andrews and Skyy Clark. If those three players can play within themselves, not commit turnovers, there's no question that this team is ascending at the right time."

Katz later added to the names of impact players by mentioning his 'X' factor, which is sophomore center Aday Mara. He had loads of praise for the 7-3 center and addressed him as a unicorn of sorts in this conference. Mara is going to be a massive key for this team in all facets of the game.

"When he [Mara] started to play better, UCLA really changed the narrative of their season," Katz said, "There is no one like him in this league, there may not be anyone like him in the country. Look at his size; I mean, you just cannot play him straight up because he can just score over you, and he's a rim protector. He doesn't log a ton of minutes, but when he's on the floor, he's a difference-maker."

Mara was silent for the first half of the season, not receiving much playing time. He broke out for a career-high 22 points midway through the year and has consistently given 15 or so minutes of impactful basketball.

With the UCLA women's team winning its respective Big Ten Tournament, it is time for the men to follow suit. As Katz said, he "would not be shocked" if the Bruins were able to come out on top of the Big Ten on Sunday afternoon inside of Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

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