Courtesy of Boiler Upload, which covers Purdue on the Rivals network:

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A look at the Bruins’ guards, particularly on offense, going into the NCAA tournament:

A. First round blowout loss?
B. Sweet Sixteen bid?

While I won’t be at UCLA — just got back from the All-22 camp — I am back home and will have a story ready to go when its seeding, region and opponent are announced starting in about 15 minutes.

Pressure is on Close now. It would be a huge upset if they didn’t make the final four after being the #1 seed.

As I begin uploading the players, here are head coach DeShaun Foster and defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe:

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Testing gets underway at 9 a.m., position drills at 10 a.m. and interviews afterward

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Courtesy of UCLA Athletics:

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Instead of being at UCLA today for Selection Sunday, I’m in Manhattan Beach for the All-22 camp.

Some notable recruits in attendance today for the early session.

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Sad if true

Second half of Michigan State/Oregon is underway.

UCLA/Wisconsin is scheduled to follow at 11:30 a.m. PT, or 25 minutes after the conclusion.

Courtesy of the Rivals site that covers Purdue:

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Well…there is always Women’s Basketball

Former Appalachian State wide receiver Kaedin Robinson, who committed to UCLA out of the transfer portal in January, announces that his eligibility was denied by the NCAA and he is now preparing for the NFL draft

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I’ll have a full story going up first thing in the morning on 2026 Bakersfield (Calif.) Liberty offensive tackle Quinn Buckey, who is the younger brother of Bruins defensive end Grant Buckey.

Quinn Buckey released a top 12 earlier today that included UCLA.

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Here’s a preview of those comments he told me just moments ago:

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An early look at Friday’s game, including a look back at the first meeting between the teams and how both teams have looked of late:

This made me think of the difference between basketball and football. Football players generally don’t take risks for post season where basketball players continue through regardless of their draft status. Obviously the physicality of the sport plays a major roll in these decisions.

But, if Flagg was your son would you allow him to go back to the Duke team when you are the clear cut #1 pick in the draft? Especially considering he could do more damage depending on how bad of a sprain it is. For me, I’m advising my son to shut it down.

Right here:

Was unable to make it today due to illness, but here are the press conferences from head coach Mick Cronin, guard Lazar Stefanovic and forward Tyler Bilodeau:

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UCLA now knows its path for the Big Ten men’s basketball tournament.

While the Bruins feel good about how they’re clicking, head coach Mick Cronin knows only one tournament matters.

“They ain't going to hang no banner if you win the Big Ten tournament.”

The league’s coaches named UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau an all-Big Ten third-team selection and guard Kobe Johnson was named to the all-defensive teamin the voting announced Tuesday.

Bilodeau was an honorable mention in the media vote. He was the lone Bruins player eligible for selection.

Bruin Blitz refrained from casting a vote.

UCLA guard Lazar Stefanovic was the team’s sportsmanship award honoree. Each school had one honoree.

Player of the year went to Braden Smith (Purdue), Tom Izzo (Michigan State) was named coach of the year and Derik Queen (Maryland) earned freshman of the year in both votes. Ace Baldwin Jr. (Penn State) earned defensive player of the year from the league’s coaches (the media did not have the category up for vote).

Here’s how the all-conference selections turned out from the league’s coaches:

FIRST TEAM
Derik Queen, Maryland
Brice Williams, Nebraska
TREY KAUFMAN-RENN, Purdue
BRADEN SMITH, Purdue
JOHN TONJE, Wisconsin

SECOND TEAM
Vladislav Goldin, Michigan
Danny Wolf, Michigan
Dawson Garcia, Minnesota
Nick Martinelli, Northwestern
Bruce Thornton, Ohio State

THIRD TEAM*
Kasparas Jakucionis, Illinois
Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Maryland
Jaden Akins, Michigan State
Jase Richardson, Michigan State
Nate Bittle, Oregon
Jackson Shelstad, Oregon
Tyler Bilodeau, UCLA

HONORABLE MENTION
Oumar Ballo, Indiana
Payton Sandfort, Iowa
Julian Reese, Maryland
Ace Baldwin Jr., Penn State
Ace Bailey, Rutgers
Dyler Harper, Rutgers
John Blackwell, Wisconsin

ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Kasparas Jakucionis, Illinois
DERIK QUEEN, Maryland
Jase Richardson, Michigan State
Ace Bailey, Rutgers
Dylan Harper, Rutgers

ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
Jadin Akins, Michigan State
TJ Bamba, Oregon
Nate Bittle, Oregon
Ace Baldwin Jr., Penn State
Kobe Johnson, UCLA

The media vote:

FIRST TEAM
Vladislav Goldin, Michigan
Brice Williams, Nebraska
Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue
BRADEN SMITH, Purdue
JOHN TONJE, Wisconsin

SECOND TEAM
Derik Queen, Maryland
Danny Wolf, Michigan
Dawson Garcia, Minnesota
Nick Martinelli, Northwestern
Bruce Thornton, Ohio State

THIRD TEAM
Kasparas Jakucionis, Illinois
Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Maryland
Jase Richardson, Michigan State
Ace Bailey, Rutgers
Dylan Harper, Rutgers

HONORABLE MENTION
Tomislav Ivisic, Illinois
Malik Reneau, Indiana
Oumar Ballo, Indiana
Payton Sandfort, Iowa
Julian Reese, Maryland
Brooks Barnhizer, Northwestern
Nate Bittle, Oregon
Jackson Shelstad, Oregon
Yanic Konan Niederhauser, Penn State
Ace Baldwin Jr., Penn State
Fletcher Loyer, Purdue
Tyler Bilodeau, UCLA
Desmond Claude, USC
Great Osobor, Washington
John Blackwell, Wisconsin

Unanimous selections in ALL CAPS
*Additional honorees due to ties

Assuming Cronin is back, what do you think we need to do this offseason to make our team better suited for a title run?

We are definitely losing Stef and Kobe. I can’t see Harris or Kyle returning. I don’t think anyone would get drafted.

So let’s assume we can will everyone else to return. What 2 positions do we need to upgrade? What players might make a huge jump?

We have 3 good players redshirting in Freeney, BWill, DWill.

If it were my team, I would do everything I could to get a scoring wing and a solid backup 4/5. I think either Andrews or Perry leave and possibly Mara or one of the RS guys.

I would love to have a true 1 in Perry, two wings who can shoot. A stretch big and a defensive big who can score. Then 3 combo guys and a deadeye shooter off the bench. 1/2 guy like Andrews or Clark, a wing who can score, and a 4/5.

My ideal team would be:
Perry Clark
Scorer Transfer Freeney
Dailey BWill
Bilo Transfer Big 4/5
Mara Transfer Big 4/5

That team is 9 deep. 9 deep is a good rotation. We don’t need 14 good players when we can develop 9-10.

Voters in the AP poll apparently think the Big 10 is a strong basketball conference — it has 7 B1G teams listed among the top 25.
One notable absence is UCLA, which finished 4th in regular season play and beat ranked B1G teams Oregon (twice), Michigan State and Wisconsin.

Congratulations Ladies. Loved seeing Juju pout.?

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UCLA has plenty of company in its pursuit of the 2026 Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman three-star recruit.

The latest from Adam Gorney: