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UCLA Basketball: The Bruins are sleepy in Seattle, fall to the Huskies

By Mike Regalado

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - NOVEMBER 23: Jaylen Hands #4, Prince Ali #23, Chris Smith #5 and Kris Wilkes #13 of the UCLA Bruins stand on the court during their game against the North Carolina Tar Heels during the 2018 Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on November 23, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. North Carolina defeated UCLA 94-78. (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - NOVEMBER 23: Jaylen Hands #4, Prince Ali #23, Chris Smith #5 and Kris Wilkes #13 of the UCLA Bruins stand on the court during their game against the North Carolina Tar Heels during the 2018 Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on November 23, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. North Carolina defeated UCLA 94-78. (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images) /
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The UCLA basketball team drops another important game as they sleepwalk through the second half against Washington and fall to 5-4 in the conference.

At this point, there is not much left for the UCLA basketball team to play for. A win against Washington would have them kept them in the hunt for the Pac-12 regular season title. Unfortunately, it did not exactly go the way the Bruins hoped.

Depsite a sloppy performance from both teams, Washington was able to maintain enough focus and stay ahead of the Bruins who were their own worst enemy, especially when it came to controlling the ball.

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UCLA had 18 turnovers in the first half and 23 total. This continues to be a problem for the Bruns who simply cannot hold onto the ball, cannot maintain possession when driving the lane and give up an unprecedented amount of possessions due to lazy passing.

Still, they managed to keep it close in the first half because Washington did not have a great performance either as they gave up the rock 11 times. It was a different story after halftime. The score was 31-23 at the break, but it increased rapidly at the start of the second half.

The Huskies came out on an 8-2 run, which was not a huge deficit to overcome. Midway through the half, UCLA had their own run as they put up seven unanswered points on the Huskies to bring the gap to seven, 46-39. It seemed as if the Bruins were waking up from their midday slumber to make this a game. Unfortunately, their defense was still in a daze as three of Washington’s next five made basket were from behind the arc which gave them a 60-45 lead with just over five minutes left.

That was all Washington needed as UCLA could not break free of their afternoon malaise.

Game Stats

  • UCLA: FG – 23/54 (42.6%) | 3FG – 4/15 (26.7%) | Rebs – 33 | Ast – 13 | Turnovers – 23
  • Kris Wilkes – 20 pts, 6 rebs | Prince Ali – 12 pts, 5 rebs | Moses Brown 9 pts, 7 rebs
  • UW: FG – 23/54 (42.6%) | 3FG – 11/24 (45.8%) | Rebs – 29 | Ast – 11 | Turnovers – 16
  • David Crisp – 15 pts | Matisse Thybulle – 14 pts | Jaylen Nowell – 15 pts, 8 rebs

The second half deficit forced UCLA into old habits as they forced shots, left the Huskies open on the perimeter, and failed to take advantage of the middle after Washington big man Noah Dickerson left the game with an ankle injury.

With this loss, it pretty much buries UCLA’s hopes for a Pac-12 title as they are now tied for 6th place. The Bruins inconsistency has been their downfall, especially when going against better talent.

dark. Next. UCLA Basketball: The 25 Greatest Bruins of all time

Currently, the Bruins are 0-4 against the top 4 teams in the Pac-12 standings and with a tough stretch coming up, they are in danger of continually falling down the ranks.