LOS ANGELES _ UCLA will have to take a longer route to a possible fourth NCAA tournament regional semifinal appearance in as many tries under coach Steve Alford.
The 11th-seeded Bruins (22-11) learned they would play fellow 11th-seeded St. Bonaventure (25-7) on Tuesday in the East Regional as part of a "First Four" game in Dayton, Ohio.
It's UCLA's first-ever appearance in the so-called play-in game.
The winner of the game between the Bruins and the Bonnies will play sixth-seeeded Florida (20-12) on Thursday in Dallas.
St. Bonaventure had won 13 consecutive games before falling to Davidson in an Atlantic 10 Conference tournament semifinal Saturday. The Bonnies' best triumph this season came over then-No. 14 Rhode Island last month.
Opinion varied earlier in the day on where UCLA might end up. While ESPN analyst Joe Lunardi predicted the Bruins would get a No. 10 seeding in the East Regional, CBS Sports' Jerry Palm pegged UCLA for a No. 9 seeding in the West Regional.
UCLA will enter the tournament coming off an inspired stretch in which it defeated cross-town rival USC before beating Stanford in a Pac-12 Conference tournament quarterfinal and playing Arizona to a draw for 40 minutes before fading in overtime.
The Bruins have experienced only one result in the NCAA tournament under Alford, reaching a regional semifinal in 2014, 2015 and 2017. They could go no further in any of those years.
