NCAA basketball: Top 15 appointment-worthy teams to watch this season

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9. UCLA Bruins

There are a few mystery teams where we don’t exactly know how their 2020 finish will carry forward to 2021. UCLA certainly fits this bill as they had quite an up-and-down season.

A dismal start to the year left the Bruins near the bottom of the Pac-12 standings, but a massive surge in January and February gave UCLA a bye in the Pac-12 Tournament. The Bruins looked like a lock to make a deep run and possibly steal the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament before it was canceled due to the pandemic.

The majority of UCLA’s roster is back to make another run at the Pac-12 title, including Chris Smith, who decided to pass on a trip to the NBA in order to return to school. Kentucky transfer Johnny Juzang is also eligible and should add more offensive punch to the Bruins’ lineup.

The top of the Pac-12 race figures to be quite intriguing with Arizona State and Oregon jockeying with the Bruins for supremacy. Keep a close eye on their Dec. 19 showdown with Kentucky for a barometer of what UCLA is capable of this season.