Ucla Was Snubbed By Women's Ncaa Tournament Selection Committee

UCLA coach Cori Close has said each nan correct things each season, hammering nan value of winning each time and making nan astir of each practice.

After watching her squad struggle during nan Final Four past season, she besides urged nan Bruins to retrieve nan joyousness of their travel together was acold much important than nan last tourney results.

She continued to run nan John Wooden playbook connected Selection Sunday, brushing distant nan proposal that UCLA was snubbed by nan NCAA tourney action committee.

“Everybody other tin talk astir immoderate they want,” Close said. “We’re going to talk astir what that takes, and we are wholly committed to conscionable being really focused connected america and our travel and keeping nan main thing, nan main thing.”

While she rightly is focusing connected her team, location is nary denying UCLA sewage a bad draw.

Not only were nan Bruins denied nan No. 1 wide seed contempt playing a overmuch tougher schedule than wide No. 1 seed UConn, nan Bruins will person to conflict done nan toughest location to scope nan Final Four successful Phoenix.

LSU was nan highest rated No. 2 seed and Duke was nan highest rated No. 3 seed. Both were assigned to nan aforesaid location arsenic UCLA. No. 5 Ole Miss, led by Ohio State transportation and move SEC newcomer of nan twelvemonth Cotie McMahon, is different potent squad slotted successful nan Bruins’ broadside of nan bracket.

“The Sacramento region pinch UCLA, they perfectly person nan toughest region erstwhile you look astatine nan LSU-Duke matchup — nan No. 1 2 seed, nan No. 1 3 seed,” erstwhile Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said connected ESPN. “I don’t cognize really they ended up pinch nan aforesaid bracket arsenic UCLA arsenic nan No. 2 overall. ... I’m perplexed.”

McGraw has been doing nan activity Close arguably couldn’t for weeks without coming crossed arsenic whining. The retired coach questioned nan NCAA tourney selection’s committee erstwhile rankings that slotted UCLA down UConn.

On March 2, McGraw posted connected X, “Does anyone other deliberation UCLA deserved nan wide [No. 1] seed? Undefeated regular play Big Ten champs, hit 11 classed teams, six of which are presently successful nan committee’s apical 16. They person 14 Quad 1 wins, much than anyone successful nan country, and their only nonaccomplishment was to different [No. 1] seed. And what astir SEC champ South Carolina arsenic nan [No. 2] overall?

“UConn is surely bully capable to triumph nan nationalist championship, but UCLA and South Carolina person had arsenic overmuch occurrence against a overmuch tougher schedule.”

UConn fans were speedy to constituent retired McGraw’s losing grounds against Huskies coach Geno Auriemma and their bad blood, but nan erstwhile Notre Dame coach was equipped pinch notable stats that are expected to beryllium nan ground for nan action committee’s bracket.

McGraw made her lawsuit earlier No. 2 UCLA (31-1) hit No. 9 Iowa (26-6) by 51 points successful nan Big Ten tourney title game.

It wasn’t capable to thief nan action committee disregard nan people that seemed to matter nan astir — a 85-51 UCLA nonaccomplishment to UConn successful past season’s Final Four.

“We watched a batch of UConn, we watched a batch of UCLA,” NCAA tourney committee chair Amanda Braun said connected ESPN. “The measurement we watched UConn triumph passim nan twelvemonth from opening to nan end, UCLA did a batch of winning too, but yet we gave UConn nan edge.”

The Bruins person said each squad is reliable successful nan NCAA tourney and they must simply attraction connected being their champion each day. Surviving a challenging location will only make their occurrence sweeter.

And UCLA tin return solace that astatine slightest 1 squad had a worse tie than it did connected Sunday. Crosstown rival USC was awarded a No. 9 seed and will play No. 8 seed Clemson successful Columbia, S.C., a short commute for nan Tigers’ fans. If nan Trojans survive, they astir apt will look No. 1 seed South Carolina connected nan Gamecocks’ notoriously dispute location court.

Survey says

We asked, “How acold will nan UCLA women beforehand successful nan NCAA tournament?”

After 460 votes, nan results:

They triumph it all: 80.8%
They suffer successful nan title game: 14.6%
Just for illustration past year, they suffer successful nan Final Four: 3.5%
A astonishing elimination successful nan Sweet 16: 0.9%
A shocking upset successful nan first aliases 2nd round: 0.2%
They suffer successful nan Elite Eight: No votes

Survey time

How acold will nan UCLA men beforehand successful nan tournament?

They suffer successful nan first round
They suffer successful nan 2nd round
They suffer successful nan Sweet 16
They suffer successful nan Elite Eight
They suffer successful nan Final Four
They suffer successful nan title game
They triumph it all

Click present to ballot successful our survey

In lawsuit you missed it

‘We cognize what it takes to get there.’ No. 1 UCLA fresh to statesman NCAA title chase

UCLA men’s hoops earns No. 7 seed, to look No. 10 UCF successful Philadelphia

NCAA men’s and women’s hoops tourney brackets: A look astatine each matchup

How Gabriela Jaquez became a breakout shooting prima for No. 2 UCLA

UCLA prima Jordan Chiles helps Bruins triumph her last location meet, knocking retired rival Utah

UCLA falls to Purdue successful Big Ten semifinal without injured Tyler Bilodeau

UCLA stuns Michigan State to beforehand to Big Ten tourney semifinals

Donovan Dent achieves Big Ten tourney history successful UCLA triumph complete Rutgers

UCLA won a Big Ten tourney title pinch a group of ‘Pac-12 Avengers’

Have thing Bruin?

Do you person a remark aliases thing you’d for illustration to spot successful a early UCLA newsletter? Email newsletters editor Houston Mitchell astatine houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter successful your inbox, click here.