Men's College Basketball 2021-2022 Season Preview: UCLA Bruins

The Pac-12 doesn’t get a whole lot of respect in college basketball lately, but that’s the conference’s own fault, as it’s been a fairly pathetic conference over the last couple of seasons. Many of the teams took advantage of the largest transfer portal ever, and we will see a lot of new faces this season. There will be plenty of hype surrounding the UCLA Bruins after their unlikely final four run last year while teams like Oregon, Arizona and USC try to gain relevance once more. There is plenty of excitement surrounding the WSU Cougars and their juicy roster, but the amount of projected bottom feeders could lead to another disappointing season for the Pac-12.

Nevertheless, there will be firepower on each of these rosters and Pac-12 Thursday DFS slates tend to be some of the most chaotic of the week. Let’s break down each team and identify the players to watch for this upcoming season.

In this one, UCLA.

(Check out our full college basketball season preview!)

UCLA Bruins 2021-2022 Season Preview

2020-2021 record: 22-10 (13-6 Pac-12), fourth in Pac-12
Postseason: Lost in NCAA Tournament Final Four

Key Departures | UCLA Bruins

Chris Smith (playing professionally)
Jalen Hill (retired from basketball)

Key Additions | UCLA Bruins

Myles Johnson (transferred from Rutgers)
Peyton Watson (top 15 recruit)
Will McClendon (top 60 recruit)

Returners | UCLA Bruins

Johnny Juzang (15.5 PPG/4 RPG)
Tyger Campbell (10.2 PPG/2.1 RPG/5.3 APG/1.1 SPG)
Cody Riley (9.8 PPG/5.2 RPG)
Jaime Jaquez (12.1 PPG/6.1 RPG/1.2 SPG)
Jules Bernard (10.5 PPG/5.2 RPG/1.6 APG)
Jake Kyman (3.1 PPG)
Jaylen Clark (2.5 PPG/2.4 RPG)
David Singleton (4.8 PPG/1.6 RPG)
Mac Etienne (2.6 PPG/2.8 RPG)

UCLA Bruins Outlook for 2021-2022

While I feel that the public is overrating the Bruins a tad after their tourney run, I simply can’t deny that this team has major talent and invaluable experience. Mick Cronin got this team to buy in and they could very well be primed for another big run. On the other hand, there is a solid chance that the team simply overachieved and comes back down to Earth this year. Time will obviously tell.

They’ve brought in a key rim protector in Myles Johnson. He had the 19th-best block rate in the country at 10.6% and will bring a key element to a Mick Cronin coached team. They’re also bringing in two hyper athletic recruits in Will McClendon and Peyton Watson that should compete right away.

Everyone’s pick to win conference POY, Johnny Juzang returns and will look to build on his monster tournament performance. He averaged 22.8 PPG during their tourney run and will be a big-time player all season long. Tyger Campbell is back to run the point and he had a 30.2% assist rate a year ago. Jaime Jaquez is a stat sheet stuffer and Cody Riley is a strong low post presence. Jules Bernard worked himself from a role player into a quality starter and should be able to build on his numbers from last year.

(Check out our rankings of the top 100 teams and top 100 players for men’s college basketball in 2021-2022.)

Summary

This team is experienced, well coached and has all the tools necessary to make another big tournament run. On top of their strong starting five they have solid role players coming off the bench that can do a myriad of things from shoot the three, defend well or attack the boards. I’m tempering expectations, but I will not be surprised if the Bruins win the conference.