UCLA Basketball: 3 stats to watch as the Bruins take on the Beavers

Go Joe Bruin once again takes a look at 3 stats that could help determine a victory for the UCLA basketball team, this time facing Oregon State.

Tonight, the UCLA basketball team (13-5, 4-2) travel up to Corvallis to take on the Oregon State Beavers (10-7, 2-3). After losing their last game to Colorado, the Bruins dropped out of first place in the PAC-12.

But a win tonight could pull them within a half game of first. So before the Bruins take on the Beavers, let’s look at a few stats that could affect the game.

The Beavers are last in the PAC-12 in three pointers attempted but first in three point percentage

This was the first stat that really jumped out at me when reviewing Oregon State’s numbers. While the Beavers don’t take a lot of 3’s, 17.2 per game in PAC-12 play, they do make the shots they take. Entering the game against UCLA on Thursday, Oregon State is hitting almost 41% of their three pointers in conference play.

That’s a huge improvement from the 29.9% rate they hit in their 12 non-conference games. That includes a horrific 3 for 24 shooting night beyond the arc in a loss to Long Beach State. Junior Stephen Thompson jr leads the team in three point percentage, hitting on 51.9% of his PAC-12 attempts. The Beavs don’t score a lot of points (68.8 ppg) but if they happen to get hot from behind the arc, the Bruins could be in trouble.

In PAC-12 play, Oregon State is taking only 16.2 free throws a game

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The Beavers are not tall (only two players are listed taller than 6’9″) and do not often drive the ball to the basket. Taking these two factors, it stands to reason that Oregon State does not shoot a lot of free throws.

This is actually beneficial to the Beavers as they are shooting just 60.5% from the line in conference play. Incredibly, Oregon State is this bad from the line even with redshirt sophomore Tres Tinkle shooting 94.7%.

Not that the Bruins would ever take a “Hack a Beav” approach, they should feel confident in the fact that Oregon State will be shaky at best when they go to the line.

59 – Total number of points Bruins scored against Colorado, their lowest point total of the season

In a game they were favored to win comfortably, UCLA came out flat and uninterested in their loss to Colorado. Thomas Welsh was UCLA’s only bright spot hitting 9 of 10 shots and ending up with 20 points. Yet down the stretch, Welsh hardly touched the ball. The three point shot was also not falling for the Bruins, especially early in the game.

By the end of the game, the Bruins knocked down just 5 of 25 from behind the three point line. That’s not going to cut it, especially when Aaron Holiday, Kris Wilkes, and Jaylen Hands go a combined 10-35 from the field.

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With the lack of height on Oregon State, the Bruins should make it their first, second, and third priority to run their offense through Welsh. Look for a heavy dose of open shots for him on pick and pops. Welsh should also be able to post up on an undersized Beaver team.