There’s only one path to the postseason for the UCLA men’s basketball team and that’s to win four games in as many days.

The Bruins, the fifth seed in the Pac-12 tournament, first have to pass test No. 1 Wednesday against No. 12 seed Oregon State in the opening round. Tip-off at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

“In the Pac-12 tournament, anything is possible,” UCLA sophomore forward/center and league defensive player of the year Adem Bona told reporters Tuesday.

“Obviously, this tournament is going to be big for us, but as a team we’re taking it day by day, one step at a time.”

The Bruins (15-16) swept the regular season series, defeating the Beavers 69-62 in Corvallis (Dec. 28) and once more 71-63 in Westwood (Feb. 1).

Most recently, the Bruins needed a 59-47 win last Saturday in the regular-season finale against Arizona State to snap a five-game losing streak and avoid dropping to the No. 9 seed in the field.

“Somehow, we were able to get to fifth place,” UCLA head coach Mick Cronin told reporters. “We got a seed that gives us a couple teams that we’ve had success against, but that doesn’t mean anything this week. Everybody’s 0-0.

“Winning one doesn’t help us. You gotta win ‘em all (to get to the NCAA tournament).”

The winner will face No. 4 seed Oregon (20-11), which has a first-round bye, in Thursday’s quarterfinals. The Bruins and Ducks split the season series.

UCLA, though, has looked nothing like the team that won eight of nine games during a stretch from Jan. 14 to Feb. 15.

Most of Cronin’s young roster, a freshman- and sophomore-heavy group, many of which will be playing in their first Pac-12 tournament including all-conference freshman team guard Sebastian Mack, has yet to experience a single-elimination tournament on the collegiate level.

“They need to be aware that it really is win or go home,” Utah transfer guard Lazar Stefanovic said. “You don’t have space for mistakes anymore.”

In addition, Mack (toe) and Stefanovic (foot) have battled injuries and Cronin said he’s had to be mindful of keeping his players fresh down the stretch of the season with “sharp, but short practices.”

“Conditioning matters, though, this time of the year,” Cronin said. “It can be a secret weapon. But you don’t want to beat your team up.

“But to your question about hoping to have a long week and dealing with all that, you just gotta try to win the first one — or you won’t have to worry about a young team trying to stay fresh and win four games.”

Bona also is looking to stay fresh this time around. Last season, he missed the Pac-12 championship game loss against Arizona because of a shoulder injury in the semifinals and also sat out two of the team’s three NCAA tournament games with the injury.

This season, Bona appeared in all 31 games and averaged 12.4 points on 58.5% shooting to go with 6.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game.

The 6-foot-10 post player was named to the conference’s 10-man first team, but the thing that’s kept him off the floor for long stretches all season is foul trouble. He’s fouled out of seven games this season and logged at least four fouls in 11 other contests.

In Bona’s last meeting with Oregon State, he had 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting but played just 26 1/2 minutes.

UCLA’s success, though, will be determined by its defense. Opponents scored 65 points or fewer in 17 games. The Bruins are 13-4 in those instances.

UCLA’s most recent struggles were because teams scored 70, 94, 77 and 88 during the five-game losing streak.

“We only win when our defense is pretty effective,” Cronin said. “It’s not a secret. We have to be the best defensive team in the tournament.”

The Bruins’ 65.9 points per game is the worst offense in the Pac-12 and ranks 329th of 351 Division I teams in the country. Their 65.6 points allowed is the best in the league and ranks 21st nationally.

Oregon State, which has won just one game away from home this season, is led by sophomore guard Jordan Pope.

Against UCLA this season, Pope totaled 27 points on a combined 11-of-25 shooting. He is averaging 17.6 points on 45.3% shooting, including 37.1% on 3-point attempts.