UCLA Basketball: 3 stats to watch for before the Bruins take on the Ducks

Go Joe Bruin once again looks at three stats that could affect UCLA basketball team, this time against the Oregon Ducks.

After another disappointing loss Thursday night, the Bruins head to Eugene to finish the second half of their road trip in the Beaver State.

The UCLA basketball team (13-6, 4-3) will try to break their mini two game losing streak against an Oregon Ducks (12-7, 2-4) team that has also lost two in a row. GoJoeBruin takes a look at a three stats that may affect the outcome of the game versus the Ducks.

61 – Average points the Bruins have scored in the past two games

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In 12 non-conference games, UCLA was putting up 82.8 points a game. Even more, after their first five PAC-12 games, the Bruins were averaging a whopping 91.8 points a game while shooting 50% from the field.

But in their past two losses, the Bruins shooting percentage has dropped more than 12 points to 37.5%, including 25% from beyond the arc. If the Bruins are looking to get back into the top four of the PAC-12, they are going to have to start shooting better from the field.

One way to do this is to run the offense through Thomas Welsh, giving him a chance to either look for his 15 foot money shot or let him kick the ball out if doubled teamed.

82.9 – Bruins points per game

80.8 – Ducks points per game

Even with UCLA’s poor shooting performance the past two games, they are still leading the PAC-12 in scoring. After the Ducks lost their top five scorers from last year’s team, it was a question if they would be able to replenish their scoring. They did. Led by Payton Pritchard (15.2 ppg) and Elijah Brown (13.6 ppg), the Ducks are averaging just over 80 points a game in PAC-12 play. Both teams will want to push the ball and with both schools scoring defenses ranked in the middle of the PAC-12, look for both clubs to put up points tonight.

6″4′ – Average height of the Ducks’ leading seven scorers

Of course, the height of a player doesn’t coincide with his/her ability. The nation’s leader in points and assists is 6’2″ Trea Young from Oklahoma. But if a team lacks height, like Oregon, they usually have a difficult time rebounding and controlling the paint. The Bruins are not a group of giants but they still are the best rebounding team in the PAC-12. If the Bruins can box out and control the boards, it should help UCLA steal a few possessions which will be valuable in a close game.