Playing better against tough competition down the stretch?
From Feb 18 onwards -
at Arizona State (17-15) - Loss 68-66
at Arizona (31-3) - Loss 57-47
vs Washington (16-15) - Win 88-66
vs Washington State (13-18) - Win 72-67
vs Southern Cal (12-20) - Win 85-74
Southern Cal in tournament (12-20) - Win 96-70
Arizona in tournament (31-3) - Loss 70-64
Washington, Washington State and Southern Cal finished in the bottom three of the Pac 12, while Arizona State finished mid table.
So basically UCLA got in because they only lost to Arizona by 6 points in the Pac-12 tournament.