INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — No. 2 UCLA has spent the past year celebrating one net-cutting ceremony after another.
The Bruins won their first conference tournament title in nearly two decades last March, then reached their first Final Four in nearly half a century and on Sunday completed the Big Ten's first perfect conference season since 2014-15 with a victory at longtime rival Southern California.
Now they begin another potentially historic quest — winning
the program's first national title since 1978 — and bringing home the first back-to-back conference tourney crowns in school history.
“We’ve had a joke all year, since the summer, (assistant coach) Tasha (Brown) always says ‘March is happening now’ like the reps now matter for March, but March is happening now,” Close said after Sunday’s victory. “But I truly believe the key to this team is playing its best basketball in the most pressurized moments. They have broken almost every single record. It’s a pretyt darn fun team to coach.”
Finding flaws with UCLA (28-1, 18-0) is a real challenge for seemingly everyone but Close, who has acknowledged this is the best team she's ever coached.
All-American center Lauren Betts leads a team that has six WNBA prospects and ranks among the top 10 nationally in per game averages in scoring, rebounding, assists and is 26th in points allowed. Still, Close knows her team needs to do more if it wants to extend its 22-game winning streak and 21-game conference winning streak that began with last year's Big Ten Tourney run.
But the Bruins realize this year's pathway could be more daunting. Of the 15 teams in Indianapolis this year, nearly half are ranked in the top 20 — No. 8 Michigan, No. 9 Iowa, No. 11 Ohio State, No. 14 Maryland, No. 18 Michigan State and No. 19 Minnesota. USC and Nebraska also appear in the NET's Top 25, giving the Big Ten nine teams in that grouping.
“Being battle tested and just kind of getting that experience — basically half of our team is sophomores so we have that year under out belts,” Michigan guard Macy Brown said. “So being able to play those teams in the Big Ten, it's always helpful.”
UCLA opens play Friday against either USC, last year’s tourney runner-up, or Washington. A victory would set up a semifinal contest likely against Minnesota, Nebraska or Ohio State and a potential title game rematch with yet another ranked team.
Tough? Yes. But it may be just what the Bruins need to sharpen their game if they want to become the first Big Ten national champ since Purdue in 1999.
Twelve of the 15 teams had already clinched tourney spots heading into the final week of the regular season.
Indiana (17-13, 6-12) won its last three to clinch the No. 13 seed while Purdue (13-16, 5-13) won its regular-season finale to claim the No. 14 seed. Wisconsin (13-16, 5-13) earned the final spot despite losing nine straight.
The three teams that did not qualify for the tournament are Penn State, Rutgers and Northwestern with outgoing longtime coach Joe McKeown.
In addition to Betts, Gabriela Jacquez and Kiki Rice of UCLA, the tourney features two of the nation's top 10 scorers — Ohio State guard Jaloni Cambridge (23.4 points) and Indiana guard Shay Ciezki (23.2) points. Big Ten co-runner-up Michigan (24-5, 15-3) is powered by guard Olivia Olson (19.6). First-year players Jazzy Davidson of Southern Cal (17-12, 9-9) and Cearah Parchment of 10th-seeded Illinois (19-10, 9-9) are among the top freshmen.
Iowa (24-5, 15-3) has won six straight to finish in a second-place tie, a streak powered by the combination of Ava Heiden (17.6) and Hannah Stuelke (13.9). Minnesota (22-7, 13-5) might be the biggest surprise, winning 10 of its last 11 to give traditional power Maryland (23-7, 11-7) the No. 5 seed. The Terrapins had won six straight before losing their regular-season finale to Michigan.
Wednesday's first-round games feature 12th-seeded Nebraska (18-11, 7-11) against Indiana, 10th-seeded Illinois against Wisconsin and 11th-seeded Oregon (20-11, 8-10) against Purdue.
Washington and USC open play Thursday and will be followed by fifth-seeded Ohio State (24-6, 13-5) against either Indiana or Nebraska, sixth-seeded Michigan State (22-7, 11-7) against either Illinois or Wisconsin, and Maryland against Oregon or Purdue.
The top four seeds — UCLA, Iowa, Michigan and Minnesota — open play in Friday's quarterfinals. The semifinals will be played Saturday, with the title game set for Sunday afternoon.
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