UCLA must overcome seed doubts in the Pac-12 tournament to clear seed doubts

What happens here could earn UCLA a trip back in two weeks.

The Bruins only have to worry about Jaylen Clark’s absence and the potential impact on their NCAA tournament.

Mick Cronin didn’t seem the least bit concerned when a reporter told the coach that he had spoken to ESPN analyst Joe Lunardi about UCLA’s alleged need to win the Pac-12 tournament to get a no. to get 1 rank.

“Who were you talking to?” Cronin asked Tuesday.

“Joe Lunardi,” the reporter replied.

“I’m not sure who it is,” Cronin said dryly.

“ESPN,” the reporter continued.

“Yes,” Cronin said, “I have no comment on that. I’d rather you talk to my dad, someone who really knows basketball.”

Hep Cronin, the unofficial mascot of the Bruins dating back to their Final Four run in 2021, is expected to join the coach’s family at T-Mobile Arena when top-seeded UCLA (27-4) Washington of Colorado plays until Thursday afternoon’s quarterfinals.

He will see a team that has won 10 games in a row climb to No. 2 in the nation, even as the Bruins quietly mourn the loss of Clark to a lower leg injury that could sideline him for the entire postseason.

On the other hand, Mick Cronin remained optimistic when asked if his team’s high ranking and the indefinite loss of its top defensive player are of concern as the Bruins seek their first conference tournament title in a runaway Pac-12 regular season championship which will be followed ever since. 2014.

“No, no,” Cronin said. “…We’re going to Topgolf tonight for some fun in Vegas. You know, it’s time to rock, it’s time to believe in your team, it’s no time to worry.”

Cronin was clearly trying to keep the mood light as he smiled and smiled so often you almost expected him to say the rest of his team’s itinerary would include the Blue Man Group and Cirque du Soleil rather than the Pac -12- tournament to play. . The heavy stuff will come soon enough.

Clark’s absence will remain an important story no matter how long the Bruins hold out in the tournament. The Pac-12’s defensive player of the year did not travel with the team, and Cronin said he would provide the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee with more information on Clark’s status in the future if the committee requested it.

Being reserved can have its advantages. Cronin was an assistant to Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins in 2000 when the committee dropped the Bearcats to the second seed after star Kenyon Martin lost in a Conference USA tournament game against St. Ludwig.

The committee acknowledged that after Martin’s injury, they got to see so little of the Bearcats that they couldn’t judge how different they were without the National College Player of the Year, but that didn’t stop them from penalizing the team.

Cincinnati lost to No. 7 Tulsa in the second round.

Lunardi said earlier this week that the commission will closely monitor how the Bruins fare without Clark. You’re bound to see more from David Singleton, Dylan Andrews, Will McClendon, and maybe even Abramo Canka, whose roles will all expand with Clark on the sidelines.

“I told Abramo, Dylan and Will, these guys before the Jaylen incident, to just get ready,” said UCLA forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., the Pac-12 Player of the Year. “You never know, it’s the craziest time of the year, we need you to be ready, you’re here for a reason, you’re here to help us win games.”

A good performance at the T-Mobile Arena could make UCLA a happy return. The West Regional will be played in the same building, giving Bruins fans another chance to fill the venue.

Their recent memories there aren’t good, with the Bruins dropping back-to-back games against Illinois and Baylor in November as part of a non-conference tournament.

“I’ve been thinking about it and maybe we’ll play three games in Vegas,” said UCLA center Adem Bona. “So I want to take the result to 3-2.”

That would be three less, two in a few weeks.