Selection Sunday 2018: Recapping the start of March Madness

March Madness started with the conference tournaments and Selection Sunday 2018 would show if the local Southern California teams were in or on the outside.

Going into the conference tournaments, both the UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans had lots question marks this past week.

The UCLA Bruins seemingly finished strong at the end of the season by beating Arizona on the road and finishing a season sweep of their rivals the Trojans by again winning on the road. Although they were shockingly swept in the mountain states by Utah and Colorado.

Meanwhile, the Trojans finished second behind conference champions Arizona, but there were some chinks in their armor as well, the Trojans were swept by the Bruins and had bad losses against Stanford and ASU who finished fifth and ninth in the PAC-12.

Seemingly both teams played there way into the NCAA Tournament with strong conference tournament performances. UCLA lost a close game to Arizona taking the eventual champions to overtime before losing. USC made the tournament final playing Arizona tough before succumbing to them in the second half.

More from LA Sports Hub

• Lakers: 5 Players to Target Through Trades to make another championship run
• LA Chargers: Week 8 against Denver Broncos is a must-win
• LA Rams: Jared Goff wants to keep the Los Angeles title streak going
• Lakers Rumors: Los Angeles Clippers interested in Rajon Rondo
• LA Chargers: Justin Herbert wins AFC Rookie of the Month

The consensus was that both teams would be getting at-large tournament bids, but the committee saw something different because when all the picking was done the Bruins were in and the Trojans were not.

The Bruins will be an 11th seed playing St. Bonaventure in a play-in game on Tuesday in Dayton, Ohio, while the Trojans will lament going 0-5 against Arizona, ASU, and UCLA — the only teams chosen by the committee from the PAC-12.

For the Bruins, their quest for their 12th NCAA title will go through the East bracket, which will be imposing if they do win their play-in game. If they beat St. Bonaventure the Bruins will face Florida in Dallas on Thursday.

The Bruins have never beaten the Florida Gators, in four games in the NCAA tournament. Barring major upsets, the Bruins path might mean trying to get through Villanova and Purdue.

The key player for the Bruins will be Aaron Holiday the Pac-12 leading scorer at 20.8 ppg and second in assists with 5.8 apg. Holiday a first team selection on the All-PAC-12 and All-defensive teams will have the national spotlight to showcase his game.

Despite losing key players to injury or suspension, federal indictments and missing the NCAA tournament has marred coach Andy Enfield and the Trojans season. Their basketball future looks very murky as a pay to play scheme might knock out the Trojans from the tournament for years to come.

The Bruins and the Trojans aren’t the only teams in Southern California to make the NCAA tournament. The Cal-State Fullerton Titans gained entry via an automatic slot by winning the Big West conference title.

Next: Why LA vs SF Is Best NFL Match Up Now

The Titans a 15th seed are making their first appearance in the tournament since 2008 and are lead by junior guard Kyle Allman (19.4 points, 43 percent 3-point shooting) and junior guard Khalil Ahmad (15.3 points). The Titans play Purdue in Detroit on Friday.