Analyst Has Bold Prediction for UCLA

"UCLA [is] getting all the way to the Elite Eight, just like I thought they would," Rapheal Davis, who played at Purdue, exclaimed as BTN analysts dissected the conference's bubble teams. "They are cooking with gas right now. My boys, Purdue, they fixed UCLA. ... You get Skyy Clark back into this lineup, this UCLA squad can be exactly what we thought we'd see coming into the season."

Reasons for Optimism and Bubble Watch

Other than Clark's potential return from a hamstring injury, Davis pointed to a few recent standouts as reasons for optimism. Guards Donovan Dent and Trent Perry and forward Tyler Bilodeau have emerged as the Bruins' leading scorers in Clark's absence and have developed as leaders for a team that desperately needed someone to step up.

They've formed great chemistry, and it does seem like adding one more high-caliber playoff to the lineup would help UCLA make a run at getting off the bubble and become a potential sleeper come March. It's difficult to see that come to fruition without an official bracket, but Davis's comments may have just ignited fans' hopes.

Still, there's work to be done to get off the bubble.

UCLA's Recent Tournament History

ESPN and CBS have the Bruins as a No. 10 seed, narrowly avoiding the First-Round play-in games, while Big Ten Network expert Andy Katz has them as a No. 11 seed, facing No. 6 seed Miami (FL) in the Midwest Region.

UCLA is looking to make the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in the last six seasons, and it last made a deep run in the "Big Dance" in 2021. That season, the Bruins were a No. 11 seed and had to win a play-in game against Michigan State, which went down to the wire, to cement a spot in the Round of 64. They ended up going all the way to the Final Four in Indianapolis, losing to No.1 seed and national runner-up Gonzaga while snapping a 13-year Final Four drought.

So, while UCLA 's NCAA Tournament fate remains uncertain in 2026, its current standing actually bodes well for a March run, given its recent history. Davis's comments seem a little out of left field, but once you get in the tourney, anything is possible.

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