Q&A: Former Daily Bruin Sports editor weighs in on UCLA’s upcoming Elite Eight matchup

With No. 11 seed UCLA men’s basketball (21-9, 13-6 Pac-12) and No. 1 seed Michigan (23-4, 14-3 Big Ten) set to face off in the Elite Eight on Tuesday, Daily Bruin senior staffer Sam Connon sought out the help of someone who’s familiar with both programs. Making his return to the Daily Bruin nearly a decade since his last byline, Connon spoke with former Sports Editor Jacob Ruffman, who now works for the Big Ten Network in the greater Chicago area.

Daily Bruin: You used to work here at the Daily Bruin, but you’ve been at Big Ten Network for a while now – can you just run through how long you’ve been there and what you’ve done?

Jacob Ruffman: Yeah, I was the Sports editor from 2011 to 2012 and covered the men’s basketball beat the following season for Ben Howland’s final season. I’ve been an associate producer at Big Ten Network since 2018, working on the studio shows. It’s a lot of producing graphics, content and, of course, watching basketball.

DB: How familiar are you with Michigan’s roster? What do you think the biggest concerns are going to be for UCLA?

JR: Very. I’ve watched the majority of their games the last three seasons so I have a pretty extensive knowledge of the roster and how they’ve developed. It’s an incredibly balanced team with no major weaknesses. For UCLA, the defensive strength of Michigan will be a huge challenge. Franz Wagner and Eli Brooks are elite perimeter defenders, and center Hunter Dickinson does a great job defending the post, which will be tough for (redshirt junior forward) Cody Riley to make his presence felt. If UCLA wants to win, they’re going to need to hit their open looks because there won’t be a lot of easy buckets.

DB: Juwan Howard and Mick Cronin were both hired two years ago and now took their teams to the Elite Eight but got there in very different ways. What is Howard like as a coach in terms of his mentality and how he runs the program?

JR: Juwan Howard was an interesting hire coming off John Beilein because of his lack of head coaching and college experience. That being said, he’s been a home run thus far. This Michigan team was supposed to have a dropoff last year after losing All-Big Ten senior Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske. Instead, they improved drastically and only dropped four games this season. Howard’s experience as a Michigan alum and NBA player is tangible every time you hear him speak. He loves being in Ann Arbor, and similar to Cronin, his team emulates his energy and swagger. What might be scariest is Michigan has three McDonald’s All-Americans coming in their next recruiting class, meaning Howard is just starting to lay the groundwork for an already excellent program.

DB: The Wolverines have made it this far without forward Isaiah Livers, but is there anything about how they match up with the Bruins that makes you think they’ll miss him more Tuesday night?

JR: Livers is not only one of Michigan’s better players, but he’s their clear emotional leader. When he was hurt in the Big Ten tournament, everyone here at the network felt the gravity of the loss immediately. When he suffered a similar injury last season, Michigan was a totally different team without him. This year, they were much more equipped to handle his loss, as they added Wake Forest transfer Chaundee Brown, and senior Eli Brooks took a big step this season, so they’ve filled the void admirably. Livers did offer tremendous defensive versatility, and that isn’t easily replaced. Brandon Johns Jr. has been starting in his place, and he’s more of a stretch four than a wing, which means (sophomore guard/forward) Jaime Jaquez Jr. should have some opportunities to take advantage in isolation situations.

DB: Michigan is the last Big Ten team remaining in March Madness, while three Pac-12 teams made the Elite Eight. As a Midwest transplant, do you notice any kind of anti-West Coast basketball bias from the media or fanbases in your area?

JR: This is a great question, and I have a lot of thoughts about it – I’ll try to keep it brief. I firmly believe there’s a general East Coast bias in sports because the West Coast teams play so dang late. I work in TV, so I regularly end up awake at 11 p.m. or midnight, but there were multiple times this year where I’d try to watch a UCLA game but it’d be midnight when the game hit halftime. It’s hard to evaluate teams when you can’t stay awake to watch them. I’ll also say that anyone who watches a lot of basketball could see the Pac-12 was objectively down this year. Arizona didn’t have much top-end talent, Cal and Washington were awful, UCLA lost (senior guard) Chris Smith and (redshirt junior forward/center) Jalen Hill, et cetera. Evan Mobley and Ziaire Williams are the only bona fide first-round picks out of the whole conference. Even in down years before, there’s usually elite talent on most teams even if the team doesn’t have a lot of success. I watched maybe 15 to 20 Pac-12 games this season, and it felt like I was watching a JV game after some of the Big Ten games I’d just watched – this applies specifically to the UCLA beatdowns of Washington State, Cal and Utah. The poor nonconference performances, advanced metrics and eye test all said the Pac-12 just wasn’t very good this year. Then March happened – that’s why it’s called madness.

DB: With what you know about both UCLA and Michigan, what’s your final prediction for who gets to the Final Four and how?

JR: Yeesh, this is a tough question. I started at UCLA in 2009, and I’ve seen some incredibly talented teams play since then. This team playing right now is easily the most disciplined, physical and competitive UCLA squad I’ve seen. Cronin has these guys playing to the most of their abilities in a year where they had every excuse to mail it in. The problem is, they’re running into a Michigan team that has a chip on their shoulder after being written off following the Livers injury. I feel confident that this will be a competitive game, but I think Michigan’s defensive versatility, balanced offensive attack and depth make them hard to pick against. Not to hedge my bets, but UCLA isn’t afraid of anyone and if (sophomore guard) Johnny Juzang and Jaime Jaquez deliver strong offensive performances, UCLA can win this game and advance to its first Final Four since 2008.