UCLA’s women’s basketball team heads into the season with a real shot to make some noise in the NCAA Tournament. The Bruins field a team with experience and a great amount of talent. Juju Watkins will not see the court for USC this season. That is another boost for the Bruins’ chances to make it far. UCLA is the early favorite to come out of the Big Ten.
The Bruins appear ready and retooled in the hope of not only making the Final Four, but avenging their loss versus the eventual national champion UConn Huskies last season. With this team, expectations are high.
In our Southern California Basketball Roundtable, we discuss whether the UCLA Bruins women’s basketball team can make it to the national championship game specifically. Here are each of our answers:
Editor Matt Zemek
No. I think the Final Four is a good bet, but seeing UCLA get carved up by UConn last season tells me that on this stage, an elite team with an elite coach will have answers for the Bruins. UConn might be on the other side of the bracket and a potential title game opponent, but as long as UCLA is playing another No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the national semifinals, I need to see more from this team… with one possible exception: unless it’s South Carolina in the semis. If UCLA is playing South Carolina in the Final Four, I will take the Bruins.
Trojans Wire Writer Micah Huff
No, I think their ceiling is capped at the final 4. Unless they can squeak by South Carolina and UConn, then they have a shot to make it. I still don’t think they have what it takes to knock off one of the two juggernauts.
Trojans Wire Writer Ethan Inman
I think it all depends on how their bracket shakes out. If they play UConn in the semifinals, they will not make the national title game. There are a few other potentially bad matchups for UCLA, like Iowa State and Texas. But if they have a favorable bracket, I don’t see them losing in a major upset. There are maybe 3-5 teams in the country that can beat UCLA on paper.
Trojans Wire Writer Adam Bradford
It’s way too early to be predicting things like this, but I will say no.
UCLA Wire Writer Ryan Lorenz
That’s definitely what the plan is headed into the season and the Bruins have a good chance of actually pulling it out this season with the amount of talent they have compiled on the roster. Unless they pull an unlucky draw in the brackets, they will be one of the best teams and all you can ask for at this point is a chance, which they have.
UCLA Wire Writer Dylan McNeill
I think they will but that’s certainly the expectation for this team. This is Cori Close’s best chance at a national title, with Lauren Betts and Kiki Rice both in their senior season. I loved the moves they made to fill out their rotation and I think they’re absolutely title contenders.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Southern California Basketball Roundtable: What is the ceiling for UCLA women’s hoops?
Reporting by Micah Huff, Adam Bradford, Ethan Inman and Matt Zemek, Trojans Wire / Trojans Wire
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