March Madness 2017: Three Reasons why UCLA can Win it All

Their Match Ups Play into Their Hands

Going along with their high-octane offense, the match-ups that UCLA has received are nothing more than favorable. Also taking into consideration their regular season results, it seems like UCLA may be able to ease their way into title contention.

First off, their match-up against Kent State. We have already analyzed who exactly their first round opposition is, and it doesn’t look too challenging for the Bruins. Not to knock Kent State, but they have one of the worst defenses in the tournament, so the Bruins should be able to dance through them.

Then in the round of 32 the Bruins are paired up against Kansas State, Wake Forest, or Cincinnati. Chances are Cincinnati will pull through against the winner of KSU and Wake Forest, pitting them against UCLA. Cincinnati’s defense does pose a legitimate challenge to the Bruins, however, Cincinnati was 2-4 against top 25 teams this season.

Then, assuming all is well, the Bruins will likely match up against either Wichita State or Kentucky in the sweet sixteen. In my own personal bracket, I have Wichita upsetting Kentucky, and I believe they would give UCLA a good challenge.

However, being the all-around better team would allow UCLA to prevail, plus, they have already defeated Kentucky, 97-92, in the regular season.

Assuming the higher seeds make the tournament finals UCLA should not have much to worry about until, if it happens, facing Gonzaga in the final. Of course, I am going off of my personal bracket, but UCLA doesn’t face any bad match ups. They do have one of the worst defenses in the league but aren’t likely to face any defensive powerhouse.

UNC is a high scoring team that allows a decent amount of points per game, the same being with Kansas and even Duke. The Achilles Heel for the Bruins lies within Gonzaga, who not only have a high-powered offense and defense.