UCLA Drowns In The Battle 4 Atlantis First Round Game, Lose To Oklahoma 75-65

The #22 UCLA Bruins (4-1) got a reality check in the Battle 4 Atlantis first round game as they fell to the Oklahoma Sooners (3-1) 75-65. The Bruins had their share of runs in this game, but ultimately succumbed to foul trouble, bad free throw shooting and horrible defense. One might also add that the officiating needs some improvement as well, but when it comes down to it, the Bruins had failed to put themselves in position to succeed.

UCLA had hung in their in the back-and-forth first half battle. The Sooners had jumped out early but UCLA muscled their way back in behind the rebounding machine Kevon Looney who had 15 for the game. As far as scoring, Looney had to really work for his 16 points as he only made 6 of 15 shots. Unfortunately, that seemed to be the theme as UCLA could not hit anything on the offensive side for long stretches of this game.

Live Feed

Betsided

The Bruins went 26 of 69 (37.7%) from the field. That is not going to win you a whole lot of games.

It was even worse on the free throw line. The Bruins were given several chances to take control of the games from the charity stripe, but as we have seen plenty early in this season, UCLA were less than flattering in this department. The Bruins had 21 chances at the line but could only make 9 (42.9%).

UCLA did have some bright spots, especially in the second half. Though they trailed 27-32, the Bruins had fought their way back into the game. With nine minutes remaining, UCLA had taken a 57-49 lead off an Isaac Hamilton three pointer. Unfortunately, Oklahoma buried the next ten points to take the lead for good. The Sooner’s Buddy Hield was on fire at that point, nailing two consecutive 3-pointers to give the Sooners the 59-57 lead. He finished 24 points on 7 of 19 shooting.

UCLA’s top two scorers had a tough day themselves as Norman Powell only scored 8 points as he sat for a good portion of the second half due to questionable foul trouble. Bryce Alford was giving the Bruins their only offense as he finished with 19 points, though they were tough to come by as he was 8 for 18 from the field and 3 for 11 from behind the 3-point line. Alford, the Bruins leader in assists, also had trouble in this department as he only notched 2 for the game.

Nov 26, 2014; Paradise Island, BAHAMAS; Oklahoma Sooners guard Buddy Hield (24) celebrates with teammates in front of UCLA Bruins guard Norman Powell (4) during the game at Atlantis Resort Imperial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

This was definitely a bad performance by the Bruins, but it is one that they have to go through if they want to start challenging themselves. Playing four cupcakes to start the season is good to find team identity, but they are not going to learn anything by blowing out lesser opponents. Though Oklahoma did not look at their best, they did enough to pull away from the Bruins late in the game which UCLA allowed. With this loss, UCLA now knows the seriousness of their deficiencies, especially on defense. Let us hope the can correct some of that before the next game.

The Bruins play the #5 North Carolina Tar Heels tomorrow in the second round after they lost to Butler in the first game of the day. If UCLA does not get things in order for this game (and the tournament) than it will be a very long ride back from Paradise.