UCLA could be a legitimate dark horse, explains analyst

Mick Cronin will enter his seventh season as the UCLA head coach and the expectations for his team might be higher this year. The Bruins posted a 23-11 record last season, advancing to the NCAA tournament, where the Tennessee Volunteers sent them home in the second round (67-58). 

Cronin and Co. will try to build on that performance and go further in the 2025-26 season. They have upgraded key positions during the offseason, especially the point guard position, bringing in New Mexico transfer Donovan Dent to help the squad.

NCAA analyst John Rothstein said they could be the third-best team in the Big Ten this season, behind Purdue and Michigan, and Dent is expected to play a key role in their aspirations. 

Analyst says UCLA has chances to compete for big things this season 

On that note, college basketball analyst Rob Dauster didn’t hide his excitement about UCLA’s new chance. On Saturday, Dauster dubbed Cronin’s team a potential dark horse for a Final Four run. Why? Because they added Dent to the roster.

UCLA Bruins head coach Mick Cronin yells at his bench during the first half against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the CBS Sports Classic matchup at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, GA.

“You have an elite point guard,” Dauster said on “The Field of 68.”  “You have spacing bigs, you have a roster that has actually been built around having an elite point guard. I have very high expectations for what this group can be. A large part of that is I have very high expectations for how good Donovan Dent is going to be going back home to LA. We should be talking about UCLA as one of the four teams that can make a Final Four out of the Big Ten.”

After winning 23 games and adding a player who could be the second or third-best in his position nationwide at worst, the Bruins could be cooking something good.