UCLA will return to the NCAA men's basketball tournament Thursday after a one-season absence, facing Utah State in a first-round Midwest Region game in Lexington, Kentucky.
"Because Jerrod and I are friends, on my nights sitting at home when they were on, I definitely watched them," Bruins coach Mick Cronin said, referring to Aggies coach Jerrod Calhoun. "I watched them play against Richard Pitino (New Mexico). I saw them play Iowa.
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"I'm well aware of their team. I root for the guys that I know well in the business. Utah State was on an absolute roll at the start of the season. They beat Iowa. They have multiple wins. UCSD got them up there and congratulations to those guys. I did scout the Iowa film in preparation for Iowa, so I watched them closely there. I've seen (them) about five, six, seven times at least."'
Oddsmakers have made UCLA a 5 1/2-point favorite.
The Bruins are seeded seventh in the region and 25th in the 68-team field, Utah State 10th in the region and 40th overall.
Since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, the seventh seeds have an 81-54 record against the 10th seeds in the first round, with the 2021 West Region match-up between seventh-seed Oregon and 10th-seed Virginia Commonwealth considered a no contest due to COVID-19 protocols with Virginia Commonwealth.
Connecticut in 2014 is the only seventh seed to win the NCAA tournament.
The Bruins (22-10) received their invitation after finishing in a three-way tie for fourth in the 18-team Big Ten Conference. UCLA will enter the NCAA tournament after Friday's 86-70 loss to Wisconsin in a quarterfinal game of the Big Ten Tournament.
This is the fourth time in five seasons the Bruins have advanced to the tournament.
Utah State (26-7) was third in the 11-team Mountain West Conference. The Aggies lost to second-seeded Colorado State, 83-72, in a Mountain West Men's Basketball Championship semifinal Friday.
TNT will televise the 6:25 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time game.
The UCLA-Utah State winner will play the winner of Thursday's game between second-seeded Tennessee and 15th-seeded Wofford on Saturday.
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