Kent Bewley's News Story Collection

On Sun, Mar 15, the final tickets were punched by NCAA Division I men’s basketball programs and the brackets were finally revealed by the Selection Committee. The UCLA Bruins, with the most national titles in NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball history, were looking to be a top-end seed again and they were as a seven seed. The only problem was that they were placed in the East Region, meaning they have to play their First Round(and potentially Second Round) game in Philadelphia, Pa. For a team from the West Coast merged into the Big Ten Conference for the past two seasons, that feels like a less cruel awakening than it did two years ago. But it still stinks for fans who want to travel all the way to the Liberty Bell city to see the mighty Bruins compete on the biggest stage. As Mick Cronin’s squad looks to go on another magical run to the Final Four, they are in a hard region with some very strong programs who have had more recent national championship glory than UCLA.

They are in a bracket with the top-seeded Duke Blue Devils, who are seeking their first title since 2015. Under Jon Scheyer’s leadership, the Blue Devils are very strong and their freshman one-and-done star player this year is Cameron Boozer, the son of former NBA player Carlos Boozer, and his twin brother Cayden Boozer is a rotation player for Duke as well. But more concerning for the Bruins is a potential second round matchup against the UConn Huskies, who won back-to-back national titles in 2023 and 2024. Dan Hurley is still the head coach in Storrs and the last remaining rotation player for the Huskies from those national title teams is senior forward Alex Karaban, who is surrounded by a bunch of younger stars looking to taste a piece of championship glory. UCLA could have faced the now-six-time national champs in men’s basketball(twice as much for their women’s program) in the Elite Eight in 2023 if not for a heartbreaking loss against Gonzaga in the Sweet 16. But now they could play against each other if the Bruins defeat the tenth-seeded UCF Knights in their first round game on Fri, Mar 20 and UConn assumably cruises to a win over the 15th-seeded Furman Paladins from the Southern Conference. Other great national champs of yesteryear in the East Region include Michigan State(the Bruins beat them in the Big Ten Tournament only to end up in the same bracket as them), Kansas(most recent title was four years ago in 2022, if the Bruins had defeated North Carolina in the Sweet 16 that year, they could have taken the Tar Heels’ place in the title game in New Orleans) and Louisville(their 2013 title was vacated due to violations that occurred under Rick Pitino’s leadership). Other solid teams include St. John’s under the 73-year-old Pitino who have never won a national championship in their program’s history and Ohio State(who hasn’t won a basketball title since 1960). So, the Bruins face a hard road ahead. But they could have been placed in the West or Midwest bracket, where they would be playing their first round games either in San Diego or St. Louis. But the selection committee could not make things easy for a UCLA team that has lost a load of games on the road this season in the Central and Eastern Time Zones and has only won a couple of neutral site games as well(both in the Big Ten tournament).

The Semifinal Round loss in the Big Ten Tournament to Purdue on Sat, Mar 14 was not helpful, especially because Tyler Bilodeau was out with a knee injury and Donovan Dent got hurt in the first half with a slight calf strain. Bilodeau is expected to be back for the Friday game against UCF, but Dent’s status is currently unknown. Hopefully two of the best players on the team will be back for this game and the Bruins can go on another good run to the Final Four in Indianapolis, Ind. Other teams looking to break through in other brackets are the defending champion Florida Gators(number one seed in the South), Houston Cougars(placed in the same region as Florida, who beat them in the national title game in San Antonio last year), Arizona Wildcats(top seed in the West region and seeking their first national title in almost 30 years), Gonzaga Bulldogs(three seed in the West region and still looking for their first natty), Purdue Boilermakers(two seed in the West and national runners-up two years ago), Michigan Wolverines(one seed in the Midwest region), and Iowa State Cyclones(two seed in Midwest).

March Madness has arrived and will feature all kinds of emotions for the fan bases of all the teams competing. From mid-major Cinderellas looking to shock the world to mediocre programs at more-known universities seeking to go on a run and the teams considered to be chalk on brackets from coast to coast, the 2026 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament shall definitely deliver and not be disappointing. The tournament ironically begins on St. Patrick’s Day Tuesday when a couple of First Four matchups are set to happen in Dayton, Oh. Only one team can win it all in the end and Easter Weekend will be the stage for the Final Four in Indy. Hopefully the mighty Bruins will be the last team standing on the big stage of March Madness for the first time in 31 years. Then again, it’s a long shot that even happens, like most of the teams in the tourney.