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UCLA Basketball: The seat is now warm for Steve Alford after loss to Cincinnati

By Mike Regalado

SACRAMENTO, CA - MARCH 19: Head coach Steve Alford of the UCLA Bruins watches on against the Cincinnati Bearcats during the second round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Golden 1 Center on March 19, 2017 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
SACRAMENTO, CA - MARCH 19: Head coach Steve Alford of the UCLA Bruins watches on against the Cincinnati Bearcats during the second round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Golden 1 Center on March 19, 2017 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /
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The UCLA basketball team is heading down a familiar path, one that tends to get seats warm, and after the Bruins’ embarrassing home loss to #25 Cincinnati, Steve Alford is starting to feel the heat.

The UCLA basketball team’s loss to Michigan last weekend should not have resulted, according to many Bruins fans, in saying that head coach Steve Alford’s seat was getting warm. That was the first true road game of the season, the depth had taken a hit and UCLA was actually doing quite well in the second half. The Bruins ran out of gas, only vets Aaron Holiday and Thomas Welsh, were producing and Michigan got hot at the right time.

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Sure it was a bit of a meltdown, but one the Bruins fought hard in. That was not the case against Cincinnati.

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Yesterday, the Bruins were playing their first big home game at Pauley Pavilion, it was a nationally televised game and the Bruins were looking to bounce back. Unfortunately Alford started the game with a deflated game plan and an inability to get his players to the level of focus that is required against a top 25 team.

It was apparent early on that the Bruins were going to have a long game. UCLA barely found the hoop, as they were not able to put together consistent scoring possessions, which is hard to do when they only shot 38.1% (8/21). Turnovers were an issue all game long as the Bruins committed 18 which directly lead to 23 points for the Bearcats.

Yet the bigger concern is defense. Alford has stated that his defense is improving, which is true to an extent, but not to the level the Bruins need to affect the outcome of games. UCLA is (suppose to be) an uptempo, offensive team. If they cannot score, as they were unable to in stretches against Michigan and Cincinnati, with the defense the way it is, than this will be the downfall of this Bruin team.

Losing big has brought some heat from trigger happy fans who are looking for any reason to end the Alford-era. If it happened to Jim Mora, it could happen to Alford. Alford needs to be aware of this and unless he severely changes things up, and not just bringing back Jalen Hill and Cody Riley fro indefinite suspension, than it is going to get real hot, real soon.

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Unfortunately, we may see it sooner than later as the Bruins take on #8 Kentucky next weekend in New Orleans and looking at the Bruins’ trajectory, it will not be pretty.