FIRST LOOK

UCLA at a glance:

The Bruins had won five in a row before getting hammered Saturday at Arizona in the regular-season finale. Still, their 22-8 mark matches the record at the same stage of the season of the 1997-98 squad that was loaded with seniors.

Detroit Mercy at a glance:

The Midwestern Collegiate Conference champion, both in the regular season and the conference tournament, is in the field of 64 for the second year in a row. Last season, the 10th-seeded Titans beat seventh-seeded St. John’s in Chicago before losing to Purdue in the second round.

UCLA

Probable starters

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F JaRon Rush (6-6, 210) No. 4 F Sean Farnham (6-5 1/2, 213) 30 C Jerome Moiso (6-10 1/2, 230) 0 G Earl Watson (6-0, 183) 25 G Baron Davis (6-2 1/2, 210) 5 KEY RESERVES F Matt Barnes (6-7, 229) 23 F Travis Reed (6-7, 237) 13 G Ryan Bailey (6-1, 210) 21 G/F Ray Young (6-3, 195) 34

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DETROIT

Probable starters

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F Bacari Alexander (6-6, 235) No. 34 C Walter Craft (6-11, 266) 45 G Rashad Phillips (5-10, 160) 3 G Desmond Ferguson (6-7, 203) 5 G Jermaine Jackson (6-5, 198) 32 KEY RESERVES F Daniel Whye (6-8, 210) 15 G Darius Belin (6-3, 170) 24

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FORWARDS

Rush averaged 8.2 rebounds a game in conference play and 7.1 overall and could have another big game in the first round. Detroit’s leading rebounder, Jackson, is a guard. Among Titan forwards, Alexander led at 5.5.

CENTERS

The absence of the injured Dan Gadzuric means this is where the Bruins are most vulnerable. Just probably not against Detroit. Craft has the size that can cause problems, but contributed only 3.8 points and 3.7 rebounds in 16.7 minutes.

GUARDS

The health of Davis is the biggest worry for UCLA here, but not the only one. Jackson and Phillips were both on the MCC all-defensive team. Not only that, Ferguson is 6-7 and Jackson 6-5.

INTANGIBLES

Detroit gets to play relatively close to home, allowing for the possibility of strong crowd support when a dome can be tough enough to play in anyway for the Bruins.

COACHING

The programs have never met before, but the coaches have. Steve Lavin was an assistant at Purdue when Perry Watson was an assistant at another Big Ten school, Michigan.

THE PICK

Getting to full strength is unrealistic for the Bruins, but they need to at least get close to healthy, especially Davis. If that happens, UCLA advances. Detroit may be formidable, but Davis has been phenomenal.