With all the focus on UCLA Football (and rightly so) this past week, it’s time to switch our attention to Bruins’ basketball tonight as UCLA (5-1) takes on the Roadrunners of Cal State Bakersfield (4-3).
The Bruins have started off the year going 5-1 but it hasn’t been pretty. An overtime win against Central Arkansas and only single digit halftime leads against South Carolina State and UC Irvine has exposed a weakness that the Bruins were not expecting…depth.
RELATED: UCLA vs. Bakersfield Game day info – TV, radio, live stream, stats and more
Coming into this season, Coach Steve Alford was excited about being able to play 10 or 11 guys. But with the indefinite suspension of three Bruins players, Coach Alford has been forced to go back to a mainly eight man rotation.
One player that has made the most of his situation is Alex Olesinski. After redshirting last year due to an injury, the former three star recruit is now averaging six points while playing almost 20 minutes a game.
Tonight Olesinski and the Bruins should have the advantage against a CSU Bakersfield team whose best win this year has been a two point victory over Idaho. Let’s take a look at a few stats and trends that may affect the game tonight.
2 – Bakersfield victories against Division 1 schools this year
The Roadrunners come in with four wins this year and a trip to the Great Alaskan Shootout championship game. Not too bad but their win total is a bit deceiving. Two of their wins have come against Division 3 Whittier College and Division 2 Alaska-Anchorage. Their other two wins are against Lamar University and Idaho.
When the Roadrunners are losing, they are doing it by a margin of 19.6 points. Granted a 32 point loss to Arizona slightly skews this number but what I take from this is CSU Bakersfield has trouble when playing higher quality teams.
85.5 – points per game for the Bruins
Last year the Bruins, led by Lonzo Ball, scored around 90 points a game. But with the loss of Ball, Bryce Alford, TJ Leaf, and others from that squad, the Bruins were expected to take a hit in the offensive department. So far it hasn’t been too bad. Led by Aaron Holiday’s 17 points per game, this year’s UCLA team ranks 25th in the country in scoring. This is beneficial since the Bruins are also giving up over 77 points a game.
With the Roadrunners only averaging 69 points per contest, even with their loose defense, the Bruins should simply be able to outscore Bakersfield.
5 – The number of Bruins averaging double digits in scoring
This season the Bruins have been able to share the ball and play nice team offense. They are sharing the ball at a decent rate (87th in the nation in assists per game) but can also recognize and feed a hot hand as with Prince Ali against UCI. With the “Bruin Three” still suspended, the eight main players in the current rotation have gelled and learned to play well together.
I like the fact that there are five Bruins averaging 10 points or more because with the lack of depth at the moment, UCLA won’t be hamstringed if one player goes down with an injury or gets in foul trouble. A player such as Kris Wilkes, Jaylen Hands, or Thomas Welch can step up if Holiday goes down.
Even though the Bruins lack depth on the bench, they have enough scorers in the starting lineup to pick up one of their teammates on an off night.
After tonight, the Bruins face two lighter opponents before hitting a tough stretch in their schedule. This will be a great opportunity to toughen up their defense before facing Michigan, Kentucky, and opening PAC-12 play.