Why isn’t it March already?

After Darren Collison decided to stick around in Westwood for another year, and after the 2007 recruiting class was finalized, the UCLA roster was pretty much set for the 2007-2008 season.

But it wasn’t until last week, when the Bruins released their schedule, that any real discussion of the team’s prospects could begin.

And now, as the floodgates of speculation open, it seems that Ben Howland’s team will be spending another year at the top of the polls.

The schedule is solid. It’s probably the hardest since Howland’s first year at UCLA. But unlike that year, the opponents aren’t daunting. The Bruins won’t face a team, in or out of conference, with as much talent or savvy.

If one thing stands out about the first month of play, it’s the Pac-10/Big 12 series. Kansas is clearly the class of the Big 12 and is as talented as UCLA. But the Jayhawks got Arizona, and the Bruins will face a young Texas team that probably won’t be running many plays when they come to Pauley on December 2. The Longhorns still have an exciting team, with two flashy guards in D.J. Augustin and A.J. Abrams, who will score a lot more now that Kevin Durant has abdicated his throne. And that Sunday game will make for a marquee weekend for UCLA sports, as the Bruin football team faces USC that Saturday.

The CBE classic is intriguing, too. UCLA will likely meet Michigan State, a top-10 team, when they travel to Kansas City in November. I already like the Bruins’ chances in that matchup. The Spartans rely on their star point guard, Drew Neitzel, who dominates the Big 10. But Neitzel won’t scare Collison a bit. Michigan State is probably the best team UCLA could face at the tournament, but the Bruins could also face Maryland and Missouri. Still, those are tests the Bruins should easily pass.

The Wooden Classic teams haven’t been announced yet, but the December 8 event could be a significant game for the Bruins. Last year they faced Texas A&M, one of the better teams in the nation.

In the long run it’s the Pac-10 that Howland’s Bruins are focused on. If they aren’t upset, the Bruins could begin conference play without a loss, but it’s foolish to ever expect an undefeated season in college basketball. The Pac-10 is too strong.

The conference schedule sets up nicely for UCLA, though. Every road trip, besides Arizona, begins with UCLA facing the tougher of the two teams. So the Bruins play Stanford before Cal, Oregon before Oregon State and Washington State before Washington.

These road trips are probably the most challenging in college basketball, as most conferences don’t force their teams to play two road games in one weekend.

UCLA’s toughest stretch will probably be in February, when it travels to Washington State, Washington and USC in a span of nine days. But there isn’t an easy moment during Pac-10 play, period. Howland was smart not to schedule an out-of-conference game prior to meeting with USC, like he did in the past two seasons. The Bruins will need all the rest they can get during the intense Pac-10 season.

The schedule doesn’t change the high expectations for UCLA. It’s a difficult one, and the Bruins will lose games, but they’ll be able to handle it all.

They will probably have a shot at a No. 1 seed and a third run to the Final Four. They won’t be able to stay in California throughout the NCAA tournament though; the West regional is in Phoenix this year.

Now I’m getting ahead of myself.

If you too find yourself spending July dreaming of March, Allen can be reached at sallen@media.ucla.edu.

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