UCLA Basketball: Bruins’ 125-73 exhibition win shows depth of the roster

The UCLA basketball team defeated the New York Institute of Technology 125-73 in their exhibition game that saw contributions from every scholarship player on the team.

It was a fast-paced affair for the UCLA basketball team as the latest edition of Bruin hoops showed that they not only have talent but will push the pace all season long.

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So what are we to expect from this latest incarnation of the Bruins under Steve Alford? The Bruins have a mixture of young talent and experience and it came together better than expected as UCLA ran the New York Institute of Technology out of Pauley Pavilion on Saturday night. Make no mistake, this was an exhibition game and the Bruins were expected to win, even by a margin as big as this one, but you can only take away so much from a game against an opponent that went 5-25 last season.

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One thing we can take away from his game is that the Bruins have 10 players that have the ability to contribute to different parts of head coach Steve Alford’s uptempo offense.

Five Bruins had scored in double figures with 7’2 freshman center Moses Brown leading the way. He collected a double-double off of a 20-point, 13 rebound performance. He also added in 4 blocks. His presence in the paint made quite the difference as he was able to easily move around the rim, albeit around smaller and less skilled players. Still, his 8/9 shooting showed that he is going to be a matchup nightmare for several opponents.

Prince Ali was probably the biggest surprise. After playing as a reserve in the last few years as he came alive and dominated as an upperclassman should. He had a game-high 25 points off 10/17 shooting. He also kicked things up a notch from behind the arc with a 4/8 long-range shooting performance. Part of Alford’s offensive style requires solid outside shooting and if Ali can be that go-to guy, he will be a very effective and often-utilized weapon.

Jaylen Hands was very steady in this game. He did not do too much in one area but did a great job keeping the flow of the game moving and getting everyone involved. He finished the game with 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. His issue last season was playing slightly out of control and was plagued by turnovers. Last night he had one and looked like a seasoned veteran as he was poised commanding the offense.

The other returning sophomore, Kris Wilkes, was a bit of no-show in the first half but turned things up a notch in the second as he led several scoring charges to finish with 13 points. Jules Bernard was another nice surprise as he quietly collected for 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists.

Even though the rest of the squad did not score in double figures, you could see the effort they were trying to put out there. Cody Riley gave a strong effort as he chipped in 9 points and 4 rebounds. Kenny Nwuba, who was not expected to play a lot, had 8 points and did a decent job of clogging the middle. Chris Smith came on slow with 6 points. At times he looked like he didn’t know what to do with the ball, but should get more comfortable at the point as the season goes on.

As for defense, the Bruins continued to show that it is not their strong point. They played off the ball, had trouble boxing out, and allowed more shots in the paint than they should have, given their size advantage. UCLA did a good job of contesting shots, and have some insurance with a guy like Brown and his ability to block, but LAford needs to have his team stop drives before they get that far into the paint. Other than that, UCLA looks to have a very exciting team this season.