Is UCLA basketball team’s seeding ‘comical’?

Continued from page 8 leaving the Pac-12 to join the Big Ten in 2024.

“When we left the Pac-12, it cost a lot of people millions of dollars and there was going to be fallout, and I think it’s a direct result,” he said. “I had nothing to do with us leaving the league, but you deal with the fallout being a lame duck.”

The committee placed the 16 teams into the four regions. The Bruins (23-4 overall, 14-2 Pac12) landed in the East Regional, to be played in New York, along with Purdue, No. 11 overall seed Iowa State and No. 14 overall seed Marquette.

Meanwhile, Arizona (24-4, 134) was placed in the West, to be played in Las Vegas, with Kansas, No. 12 seed Kansas State and No. 15 seed Gonzaga.

“A couple years ago we proved your seed doesn’t matter,” Cronin said.

In 2021, the 11th-seeded Bruins reached the Final Four be- fore losing in overtime to Gonzaga in the national semifinals. UCLA’s leading scorer, Jaime Jaquez Jr., said he wasn’t aware the preview bracket had been announced.

“I’ll wait for the final bracket

75 firefighters knocked out Stanton blaze

Comtinued from page 3 the original unit and to the attic of approximately five other units.

OCFA firefighter/paramedics transported one patient to a local hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation later in the incident. There were no other injuries and the fire was knocked down in 37 minutes.

to be excited or not excited,” he said. “Probably excited.’’ The bracket preview show aired on CBS.

Selection Sunday for the NCAA Tournament is March 12.

CIF-SS girls’ soccer finals

Continued from page 8

Margarita High on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach;

• Division 5: Hemet High vs. Crean Lutheran High on Friday at 5 p.m. at Crean Lutheran. General admission tickets are $12. Students with proper school ID will pay $5. Students without ID will pay $12. Children (ages 5 to 13) will pay $5. Tickets can only be purchased online via www.gofan.co .