Polls Agree: UCLA No.2 Seed Worthy

By Bruin Basketball Report

In the latest national polls released today, UCLA was ranked No.7 and No.8 in the AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches polls, respectively. In the AP poll, the Bruins were tied with Boston College for the seven spot.

After sweeping through the Pac-10 tournament with convincing wins by margins of 22, 12, and 19, voters awarded the Bruins with their first Top Ten ranking of the season.

Fittingly, UCLA's rank among the top eight in the nation coincides with their No.2 seeding in the NCAA tournament.

According to Ken Pomeroy's RPI ranking, UCLA enters the tourney with a No.9 RPI ranking and a strength of schedule of No.29 in the nation.

Although four Pac-10 teams were named to the NCAA tournament this week, Washington remained the only other Pac-10 team ranked in the polls at No.17. California received votes in both polls, while Arizona received four sympathy votes in the AP.

The top four teams in both polls were also the four No.1 seeds named by the NCAA tournament selection committee: Duke, Connecticut, Memphis, and Villanova. Gonzaga was ranked No.5 in both polls.

(BruinBasketballReport.com)