College Basketball Power 10: Welcome To The Top 10, Cincinnati Bearcats
By Jeremy Karll
10. UCLA (21-3)
Following back-to-back losses the previous week, UCLA bounced back with wins over Washington State and Washington. The Bruins topped 95 points in back-to-back games, scoring 95 and 107, for the first time since early December against Michigan and UC Santa Barbara.
Neither Washington team is better than .500, so they won’t go down as quality wins, but UCLA finally looked like itself again on offense. Plus, Lonzo Ball shined in the point guard matchup of the year against Washington’s Markelle Fultz.
Ball recorded 22 points, six rebounds, five assists, four steals and a block in 31 minutes. Fultz had himself a great game, too, with 25 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals. Considering UCLA won 107-66, the matchup between the top two NBA prospects drew most of the attention.
Despite two straight losses a couple of weeks ago, UCLA is still a Final Four contender. It depends on how well they defend against the best teams in the nation because relying on their high-powered offense won’t win them a championship.
UCLA has a big matchup against No. 5 Oregon along with a game against Oregon State this week.