Almost a year ago to the day, UCLA women’s basketball head
coach Kathy Olivier and her Bruins huddled in the press room of the
J.D. Morgan Center, their eyes intently focused on a big screen
television, eagerly waiting for their name to be called on
Selection Sunday.
They’re still waiting.
UCLA’s impressive 18-11 record during the 2002-2003 season
was simply not enough to convince the NCAA Selection Committee into
awarding the team a tournament berth.
Consequently, for those Bruins who were present, sitting in
front of the television has never been the same, which is one of
the reasons they won’t be watching together come this
Sunday.
“Last year was painful,” Olivier said. “I
can’t watch that again. A lot of our players don’t like
scary movies, and that was a scary movie to them.”
Now it’s the year 2004, but what difference does a year
make?
Despite one fewer win, the Bruins have a stronger case as to why
they should be invited to dance come March 14.
The Bruins are arguably the Pac-10’s hottest team heading
into the NCAA Tournament, which is something the NCAA Selection
Committee routinely looks for in teams squarely on the bubble.
“I think they have to let us in,” sophomore guard
Nikki Blue said. “It’d be terrible for the NCAA if they
don’t let a good team like us in.”
UCLA (17-12, 11-7 Pac-10) has won eight of its last 10 games,
the two losses both nail biters at the hand of Pac-10 champion
Stanford (24-6, 14-4).
Washington Associate Athletic Director Marie Tuite, a member of
the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee, has been keeping a close
eye on the Bruins’ recent success. According to Tuite, UCLA
has all the ingredients to distinguish itself from other teams on
the bubble.
“They did a number of things that the committee is going
to look toward,” Tuite said. “I’m pushing for
them. They have one of the strongest perimeter games in the
country.”
Because of their late-season resurgence, the Bruins have also
clearly identified themselves as the third best team in the Pac-10,
which leaves the committee in a bind. Stanford and Arizona have all
but stamped their tickets to the tournament, but UCLA, the next
obvious choice to come from the Pac-10, is on the bubble.
If the Bruins are denied, only two teams from one of the
strongest conferences in the country will make it to the
tournament.
“There’s no way you can only take two teams from the
(Pac-10),” Olivier said. “We’re not chopped
liver. We’ve beaten (Arizona State) the last two times we
played them, Washington we beat twice, and ‘SC, I mean, who
are they?”
“There would be no doubt in my mind (that UCLA would be
the third team),” Tuite said.
Though the Bruins’ case holds water, it’s not
without potentially fatal flaws. An early season loss to lowly
Saint Mary’s, and an uninspiring record represent dark and
dangerous clouds that are lingering over UCLA’s resume.
“We’re going to be denying teams with six or seven
losses,” Tuite said. “The 12 losses will be a bit
glaring.”
So with the weekend looming, the Bruins will be watching the
television, but just not together, as they are still scarred from
the agony of last year.
“The question for UCLA is do I believe it should get in
the tournament,” Tuite said. “Yes.”