Ten days ago the Bruin basketball team was the toast of the college landscape. Sitting at 26-3, having just won the Pac-10 title outright, holding a three game lead in the conference and generally considered the clear-cut number one overall seed for the NCAA tournament, UCLA fans were talking title and rightfully so.

But a funny thing happened on the way to Arco Arena.

UCLA will still be playing in the same building on the same day against a similar opponent, but the entire aura surrounding this squad has changed dramatically following stunning back-to-back losses to conference foes who didn't even qualify for the NIT.

One could say the season has been a slow rollercoaster of excitement, although the final (and only) dip came late and was certainly unexpected.


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