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UCLA selected as No. 7 seed, to face No. 10 Michigan State on Thursday

By Daily Bruin Staff

March 13, 2011 4:35 p.m.

Their seed remained in question after a disappointing loss Thursday night, but the Bruins’ body of work still impressed the NCAA Tournament committee, which announced UCLA as a No. 7 seed on Sunday.

The Bruins, back in the Tournament after a one-year absence, will head to Tampa, Fla., to face No. 10 Michigan State (19-14, 9-9 Big Ten) in the second round on Thursday.

The winner will face No. 2 Florida (26-7, 13-3 SEC) or No. 15 UCSB (18-13, 8-8 Big West) on Saturday.

UCLA finished second in the Pac-10 during the regular season, but fell to Oregon in the Pac-10 Tournament quarterfinals. The Bruins’ had marquee wins over BYU and St. John’s and took down Arizona, the No. 10 team in the country at the time, at home in conference play.

The Spartans, one of seven Big Ten teams in the field, had a dramatic up-and-down season, and might consider themselves lucky to make the Tournament.

They entered the season ranked No. 2 in the country but struggled against a number of ranked teams and fell quickly. Junior guard Korie Lucious was suspended for the remainder of the season in January and star senior guard Kalin Lucas ““ the Big Ten’s preseason player of the year ““ has slowly regained form after suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon last year.

Last season, Michigan State made a surprising run to the Final Four as a No. 5 seed. The season before, the Spartans were defeated in the title game by North Carolina.

Either UCLA or Michigan State has participated in the last five Final Fours.

Four Pac-10 teams made the field: regular-season champion Arizona (No. 5, West), tournament champ Washington (No. 7, East), USC (No. 11, Southwest, to play in the First Four) and UCLA.

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