The UCLA basketball team is about to begin Pac-12 Conference play. With the Bruins gunning for championship, we look at five things from non-conference play that could help or hurt those chances.
So here we are. The day the Pac-12 basketball schedule begins. Some call it the real start of the season, and in some ways, it is. Winner of the conference most likely gets an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and the winner of the Pac-12 Tounrament is guaranteed a trip to the NCAA Tournament. So where will the UCLA basketball team land amongst conference play?
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To answer that we have to see what they have done in non-conference play. There were some ups and downs, but will it lead to a conference title? Let’s dive into the five things we learned during non-conference play.
1. Aaron Holiday and Thomas Welsh need to continue to lead
The Bruins have needed some time to get their chemistry flowing and even though it is not consistent, they have had two veterans that have led by example and taken the team on their back in the majority of games in the non-conference.
Aaron holiday was expected to take his game to another level. Last season when he came off the bench for Lonzo Ball at the point guard spot, he emerged with fire and intensity. This is why he was arguably the best six man in the nation. This season, it seems he’s had trouble balancing his leadership and basketball player rolls, but it’s not for lack of trying.
Holiday and his veteran partner Thomas Welsh have had to carry the load in the non-conference. Holiday has had down games, but you have to give a player respect for putting 20 points and 8 assists on Kentucky.
There are things that Welsh could work on, but he seems to get stronger and smarter with every passing game. Sure you want your 7-footer underneath the basket grabbing buckets and rebounds, but he’s also doing a very fine job of being one of UCLA’s top outside shooters. This season he is 48.8% from the field and astonishingly 46.2% from three-point land.
2. Consistently inconsistent
Sure UCLA is 9-3 on the season, but it’s been very spotty at times. UCLA seems to play down to their opponent often and got caught in a few games they should’ve blown teams out of. Georgia Tech was a little too close for comfort. Central Arkansas found a few Bruin weakness when they forced overtime. And against South Dakota, well there’s no excuse for blowing a 25-point lead with five minutes left in the game. Sure, the Bruins won that game, they also lost a lot when it came to fan confidence. “Fire Alford” was all over social media after that game.
And then guess what? In the next contest, UCLA goes out and plays a complete game against the #7 Kentucky Wildcats. UCLA was solid on offense behind behind a collective team effort and their defense was the best it’s been all season long.
UCLA held but Wildcats to 42.6% shooting, which is lower than their season average of 49.5%.
It’s stuff like this that gets Bruin fans worried about the season. They play up to their opponents, except Cincinnati, and then play down to lesser teams. UCLA has also been loose with finishing games. They have been able to step on the gas in several games at the beginning of the season, but then the Bruins get a little bit too confident and let things go. This is a huge theme to watch for a the season progresses.
3. The younger players are slowly making progress
Holiday and Welsh have definitely taken over the majority of duties in the nonconference season. They’re the only ones that have been truly consistent. The younger players, although they’ve had several moments to shine on their own, they have tended to fade away in certain games.
Prince Ali was coming off the bench to start until Jaylen Hands injured his foot. Since then he’s been a very reliable two guard that has given the Bruins a lot of offensive production when needed.
As for Hands himself, he has had his freshman moments but for the most part has been a very explosive point guard. It’s been interesting to see how Hands and Holiday could play on the court together, but that was remedied somewhat when Ali stepped in. Now coming off the bench, he is an extra spark the Bruins need when one of their leaders needs a break.
Kris Wilkes is another freshman who has the ability to take over again. If he can become consistent from game to game with his offensive production, then UCLA will have a legitimate weapon going into Pac-12 play.
The thing about the young players is that, basically, they are young. They’ve had the nonconference to adjust to Division I college basketball and now know what is expected of them. So hopefully they can produce what UCLA needs them to against conference foes.
4. Defense is stil an issue
I guess the main theme of UCLA’s nonconference schedule is the fact that they are inconsistent with a lot of things. Defense is no exception.
With the loss of Jalen Hill and Cody Riley, UCLA lost some length and athleticism which would’ve helped on the defensive side of the ball. Now I’m not saying these players would’ve turned the team into a Ben Howland-type of squad, but they would have helped make the defense a lot bette than it has been so far this season. With the talent and the coaching resume of the Bruins, there should be no reason why UCLA is allowing so many open outside shots, allowing the paint to be attacked and very little on ball pressure.
Currently, UCLA is 258th in scoring defense (76.1 ppg) and 116th in field-goal percentage allowed (42.0%).
With the speed and length the Bruins have on the roster, there should be a little bit more pressure on other teams, especially since Steve Alford has said that he wanted to improve the defense, one of the things he brought up in his letter to the UCLA fan base when he gave back his extension season and a half ago.
Though there have been bright spots, there really hasn’t been a lot to write home about in the area of defense with the Bruins.
5. Steve Alford owns John Calipari
This is probably the most bizarre fact out of all five of these. Nobody would come close to making a statement like this when UCLA first met Kentucky three seasons ago. If you haven’t fully blocked that memory out, you might remember that the Norman Powell-led team only scored seven points in the first half on the way to losing 83-44.
Since then, UCLA took the next three out of four games. UCLA’s first victory was in 2015 when the Bruins shocked the #1 Kentucky Wildcats at Pauley Pavilion. Last season, The Bruins got their second consecutive win over UK when the Lonzo Ball-led Bruins put up the most points against Calapari-coahced Kentucky team with a 97-92 victory.
Kentucky was finally able to once again draw blood in the 2016 NCAA tournament, ousting them in the Sweet 16.
And as you know, the Bruins just beat Kentucky to finish up their non-conference season this year. We’re not exactly sure what happened or can explain the events in that game, but with Alford winning three out of five games against Calapari, Alford has something else to hang on his hat. Now to get a championship.
Next: The Pre-PAC-12 conference power rankings
So what does this all mean for UCLA? They have clearly hit a few bumps in the road, but have had some success as well. As you can see in the Go Joe Bruin Pac-12 power rankings, other teams in the conference had their troubles, but it is wide open. If the Bruins can play consistently (watching for this theme during conference play), then they have a legitimate shot at getting Alford his first Pac-12 regular season title.