UCLA Basketball: Is this the beginning of the end for Steve Alford?

In a season where UCLA basketball head coach Steve Alford has to win, he just showed the nation that he is (still) far from making this team elite. Is this the beginning of the fall of Alford?

In UCLA basketball‘s first four wins, the Bruins averaged 90.5 points and only gave up 68.5. In their last two games, which happen to be losses against Top 25 teams, they put up 72.5 points and allowed 90.5.

After their losses to #11 Michigan State and #7 North Carolina, the #16 UCLA Bruins are now 4-2 and likely about to drop out of the AP poll at the start of next week. This early 2018-19 season record now puts Steve Alford’s overall UCLA record at 121-59, a 67.2% win percentage. Of the nine coaches that have come after John Wooden, Alford has the 7th best win percentage of them all, or third worst.

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Additionally, he only has one Pac-12 Tournament Championship to his name in five years. His record against Top 25 teams since he took over at UCLA is 11-19, 4-9 against ranked non-conference teams.

If what the Bruins showed us out in the desert the last two days is any indication of what is to come in the remainder of the regular season and post-season tournament play, then it is going to be (another) long and frustrating year.

The Bruins (again) came into this season with a lot of promise backed by another solid recruiting class and (again) they go into a big preseason tournament and show what they aren’t made of.

Last year, in the Hall of Fame Classic, UCLA was downed by Creighton, 100-89. In 2016, they lost to Kansas and Wake Forest in the last two games of the Maui Invitational. In 2015, they were slapped around in the first two games against Oklahoma and North Carolina. You get the idea.

Still, after five years, one would think that Alford would know how to approach these games, tournaments and seasons. Not quite. In Year 6, it is the same result. But it is not just these non-conference games, Alford basketball permeates through the entire season, leaving Bruins fans wondering when things will get better. At this point, they won’t.

The offense is uninspired, especially as they have no obvious leadership. The defense is, well, still not there. In-game changes are nowhere to be found. There is just no sign that this team is progressing.

In 2013, Ben Howland had won UCLA’s last regular season Pac-12 Championship. He then lost in the Pac-12 Tournament final and in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. He was fired shortly after that. The only difference between Howland and Alford is that Howland has won four Pac-12 regular-season championships and has been to three Final Fours, one of which included a national championship game.

Alford, in his career, has never been past the Sweet Sixteen.

So when is it enough for the UCLA Athletic Department? They got rid of a football coach who underachieved, will they do the same for their beloved basketball program? The voices are getting louder. The hashtags are getting bolder. Soon attendance will get lower. The AD has to do something sooner or later.

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But looking forward, it is apparent that this team might not get better. With all the talent on the roster, they will most likely fall short of expectations (again). And if that is the case, then this truly should be the beginning of the end for Steve Alford.