LOS ANGELES _ Seven wins in eight games didn't do much to budge UCLA from where the NCAA tournament selection committee had projected the Bruins to land a month ago.
UCLA received a No. 3 seeding in the South Regional in the only bracket that mattered Sunday, one spot better than the Bruins had been slotted in February. UCLA (29-4) will play 14th-seeded Kent State (22-13) in a first-round game Friday at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
The Bruins have won nine of their last 10 games but did not fare well in the Pac-12 Conference tournament, squeaking past USC by two points in a quarterfinal before falling flat in a semifinal loss to Arizona.
UCLA coach Steve Alford said after the game that freshman point guard Lonzo Ball had played with an injured thumb, though X-rays were negative.
TJ Leaf had also just returned from a sprained left ankle that had forced him to miss nearly two full games, and Alford indicated that his injury had altered the way the team practiced.
The Bruins are returning to the NCAA tournament after a one-year absence.
They could potentially play second-seeded Kentucky in a regional semifinal in Memphis, Tenn., which would be a rematch of a game UCLA won in December in Rupp Arena.
