The UCLA Basketball team is now back into their old habits as they just got swept on the road, topped by a 85-78 loss at Washington State.
Things WERE looking up for the UCLA Basketball team. In the non-conference, they beat a No. 1 ranked team, had their best road win in the Steve Alford era and got ranked in the Top 25, twice.
Unfortunately, all that came crashing down in three days as the Bruins lost consecutive games to start Pac-12 play 0-2. UCLA first lost a double-overtime match on Friday as the Bruins tried to use a late surge to power past Washington, which did not happen.
Then the Bruins went across the state to try to regroup, only to get smacked around by the lowly Washington State Cougars. So what is going on with this team?
Though the Bruins have showed a lot of progress and maturity this season, they are also showing that they can easily get complacent and slip into old habits.
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Against the Cougars, UCLA Basketball seemed listless and unmotivated. I have written that in the non-conference season, there was a fire inside this team that was coming out, which helped them push past teams like Kentucky and Gonzaga. Unfortunately, someone blew that pilot light out because UCLA looks like a high school JV team as of late.
The worrisome thing is that it is all issues we have seen before. Average ball movement, lazy defense, bad decision making and the inability to make in-game adjustments. That last one has to go on Head Coach Steve Alford.
There were several questionable plays he has allowed to happen in the last few games which has hampered the Bruins progress and once again he is not holding the players in question responsible, which allows this type of behavior to continue.
UCLA Basketball HAS shown that they can be a force to reckon with, but with 9 days off between their final non-conference game and their game last Friday against Washington, it seems they have left that game plan behind and are coasting on their resume.
Still, the Bruins need to regroup ASAP because it does get easier. This Friday, the Bruins host No. 8 Arizona at Pauley Pavilion, a team they have not beaten since March 13, 2013. Despite the fact that it should be a packed house for “Russell Westbrook Night”, the team itself needs to get focused because a loud Pauley will not save them if they continue to play the way they have been.