A forgettable one-and-done blowout loss in the Big Ten men’s basketball tournament left UCLA’s seeding and region placement hopes bleak for Selection Sunday.
The Bruins (22-10) earned the seventh seed in the Midwest Region and will face 10th-seeded Utah State (26-7) Thursday in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. The game will be played in Lexington, Ky.
Tip-off is scheduled for 6:25 p.m. Pacific Time and will air on TNT.
The winner will play second-seeded Tennessee (27-7) or 15th-seeded Wofford (19-15) in Saturday’s second round.
UCLA returns to the Big Dance after finishing just 16-17 last season with a roster made up largely of freshmen, including four from overseas.
Head coach Mick Cronin overhauled his roster with six transfers, including All-Big Ten third-team selection Tyler Bilodeau and all-conference defensive team honoree Kobe Johnson.
“Obviously, we’re excited to be back in March Madness,” Cronin told reporters at Pauley Pavilion after the bracket reveal. “Last year was a tough year for us, so we’re extremely excited to be here.
“Been a long, long process getting back here. … A lot of (transfer) portal Zooms, and I’d say about 40 days of no sleep for me last spring putting this team together.”
Bilodeau was one of three double-figure scorers, leading the way with 13.6 points per game. Johnson, meanwhile, spearheaded the conference’s best defense that allowed 65.7 points per game.
The scoring defense is tied for 26th-best in the country.
Bilodeau, a transfer from Oregon State, is among the players on the roster who have yet to experience the NCAA tournament.
“I’m just super excited. I mean, this is why I came to UCLA,” Bilodeau said. “It’s that time so we’re ready for it.”
UCLA appeared to hit its stride entering the Big Ten tournament, winning three of its last four regular-season games and turning in a complete performance in a 90-63 home win over crosstown rival USC in the finale.
Games away from Pauley Pavilion — and, in particular, outside the Pacific Time Zone — have been a different story, though, in a season littered with cross-country travel after leaving the Pac-12 for the program’s inaugural year in the Big Ten.
The Bruins were most recently buried by Wisconsin’s 3-point shooting from the start and never recovered Friday in an 86-70 loss in the conference tournament quarterfinals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
UCLA dropped to 2-7 in contests played outside of the west on road or neutral floors.
“We knew what happened, we knew what we gotta do,” Bruins guard Skyy Clark said, reflecting on a contest that included allowing 19 made 3-pointers — tying the Big Ten tournament record.
“It’s something that we gotta remember, but also put in the past and get ready for Utah State on Thursday.”
The Aggies finished third in the Mountain West and lost to Colorado State in the conference tournament semifinals.
Utah State was led by guards Ian Martinez and Mason Falslev, who averaged 16.8 and 14.9 points, respectively. They combined to make 130 3-pointers, shooting 38.7% beyond the arc as a tandem.
Falslev is one of three Aggies who shoots 40% or better from long range and one of two with at least 50 made 3-pointers.
Falslev is also Utah State’s top playmaker with 3.7 assists per game to go with a team-leading 2.3 steals.
Both UCLA and Utah State are among the best teams in the country in terms of turnover margin. The Bruins led the Big Ten and ranked seventh nationally with a plus-4.6 ratio. The Aggies were second in the Mountain West and tied for 26th nationally at plus-3.2.
UCLA tied for 15th in turnovers forced per game (15.16) in the country.
In all, the Big Ten got eight teams into the field and trailed only the SEC (14).
Auburn (South), Duke (East), Houston (Midwest) and Florida (West) earned the four top seeds. Auburn is the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed.
UCLA was ranked 25th overall by the selection committee.
Video courtesy of UCLA Athletics.
