Johnny Juzang rested most of the week in hopes of re-energizing before UCLA opens the NCAA Tournament with a first-round matchup against Akron on Thursday.
UCLA’s All-Pac-12 guard is fighting through an ankle injury that emerged in February and forced Juzang to sit 2½ games. He’s averaging 16 points per game but is 23 of 64 from the field in his past six games and noticeably less springy.
“It’s like somebody’s got a voodoo doll poking holes in my team,” Cronin deadpanned before the Pac-12 tournament.
A First Four to Final Four story last March, the Bruins are the No. 4 seed and face Mid-American Conference champion Akron on Thursday in Portland.
UCLA’s path to New Orleans and a repeat Final Four trip could look something like this: No. 5 Saint Mary’s, No. 1 Baylor and No. 2 Kentucky if the East falls according to seed.
“We taught everybody last year that our seed doesn’t matter; it just doesn’t,” Cronin said.
Cronin and UCLA (25-7) lost in the Pac-12 tournament title game to Arizona,…
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