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UCLA Basketball: The Bruins have a great shooting night vs Wazzu

By Mike Regalado

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - DECEMBER 22: Jaylen Hands #4 of the UCLA Bruins reacts in the first half against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the CBS Sports Classic at the United Center on December 22, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - DECEMBER 22: Jaylen Hands #4 of the UCLA Bruins reacts in the first half against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the CBS Sports Classic at the United Center on December 22, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /
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The UCLA basketball team shoot nearly 60% from the field as they dominated the Washington State Cougars for their second win in a row and their second road win in conference play.

Things could not have gone better for the UCLA basketball team on Wednesday night as they annihilated Washington State with a strong shooting performance from both the field and the free throw line.

One of the Bruins’ biggest weaknesses this season has been the inability to play consistency on both ends of the floor, but that changed as they put in the extra effort against the Cougars to get a huge road win. Despite the fact that it was against a bad Washington State team, UCLA played for a full 40 minutes in the Palouse.

Game Stats

  • UCLA: FG – 30/51 (58.8%) | 3FG – 9/19 (47.4%) | Rebs – 36 | Ast – 15 | Turnovers – 11
  • Kris Wilkes – 18 pts | Prince Ali – 18 pts | Moses Brown 16 pts, 7 rebs
  • WSU: FG – 25/57 (43.9%) | 3FG – 11/31 (35.5%) | Rebs – 23 | Ast – 13 | Turnovers – 11
  • Robert Franks – 21 pts, 5 rebs | CJ Elleby – 15 pts, 8 asts

This had the makings of a let down as the Bruins were 1-3 in their last three appearances at Beasley Coliseum. Additionally, before this game, the Bruins were 1-6 away from Pauley Pavilion (1-2 in Pac-12 play). The way UCLA has been playing this season, you couldn’t blame Bruins’ fans for expecting a loss.

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Fortunately, the Bruins had other plans.

The game did not begin ideally as Wazzu started the contest with a dunk right from tipoff. It also did not help that the first three UCLA possessions resulted in three turnovers. Luckily, the Bruins woke up midway through the first half and started putting on a clinic, especially in the paint. UCLA scored 40 of their points under the basket as they finally figured out how to use their length.

Moses Brown, who has had trouble bodying guys up, did a great job of making space and going to the rim with authority as he finished the night with 16 points and 7 rebounds. He was one of five Bruin to score in double-digits as UCLA did an admirable job of sharing the ball.

Prince Ali once again came out of nowhere as he led all Bruins in scoring with 18 points. Kris Wilkes had another productive game as he finished with 14. Both Jaylen Hands and Cody Riley (who came off the bench) had ten apiece.

For the game, the Bruins shot an unprecedented 58.8% from the field, but what was even more mindblowing was the fact that they were not horrible from the free throw line, hitting 18/24 (75.0%).

And if that wasn’t enough, UCLA made a change on defense that should be utilized a lot more going forward. With the Bruins still struggling to defend against the corner three, interim head coach Murry Bartow switched the Bruins to a 3-2 zone defense and put Chris Smith at the top of the key, giving the Bruins length and making it hard for the Cougars to penetrate the gaps in the defense.

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Though it was against one of the worst teams in the Pac-12, it was a great overall effort which gives them momentum heading into Saturday’s game against the top team in the Pac-12, Washington.