UCLA lost back-to-back games in November to Illinois and Baylor, fell to 3-2 on the season and dropped to 19th in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.
The Bruins haven’t lost since.
Their winning streak was extended to 12 games late Thursday via a 68-49 victory over Utah. It’s the longest winning streak in the country among power-conference schools, one that makes UCLA the only power-conference member picked to win its league in the preseason that’s actually meeting expectations.
“As my dad would probably tell me, that winning streak in January and a few bucks would get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks,” said UCLA coach Mick Cronin, his point being that nothing meaningful is won in this sport until the calendar flips to March.
That acknowledged, a 15-2 record featuring a 6-0 league mark at this point in any season is impressive — even if it is true that the Bruins’ still have zero victories over schools also ranked in the CBS Sports Top 25 And 1, the AP Top 25, the Coaches Poll or the top 35 of the NET. Put another way, UCLA has lost to the two best teams it’s played. That’s not great but could change next weekend when the Bruins visit Arizona for a showdown between the Pac-12’s two best teams by far.
UCLA remains No. 9 in Friday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. The Bruins will try to extend their winning streak to 13 games when they play Colorado on Saturday inside Pauley Pavilion.
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