3 Quick thoughts and observations on UCLA's win over USC

UCLA basketball went across town and defeated USC by a final score of 82-76 for their fourth straight win to now be tied for fifth place in the Big Ten standings.

UCLA Bruins center Aday Mara dunks the ball against the Southern California Trojans in the first half at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
UCLA Bruins center Aday Mara dunks the ball against the Southern California Trojans in the first half at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Here are three quick takes, observations, and thoughts regarding the game.

No. 3: Mara is the starting center that UCLA has been looking for.

Aday Mara started this game and continued contributing and positively impacting the game for the Bruins. He has shown significant improvement since earlier in the season, and this game was his third straight game, scoring 12 or more points. The sophomore center Aday Mara made the most of the opportunity when UCLA's leading scorer, Tyler Bilodeau, was out with an ankle injury. He also earned a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, in addition to his five blocks and two assists. Mara's presence in the paint was essential to UCLA's defensive strategy and ability to control the defensive glass and deny the Trojans second-chance scoring opportunities.

No. 2: UCLA had balanced scoring in their victory over USC.

Eric Dailey Jr. was the top scorer for UCLA, with 16 points on six-for-ten shooting from the field. The Bruins had four players who scored 12 or more points. Guard Dyland Andrews scored 12 points as well as six assists, and Sebastian Mack came off the bench and scored 14 points and only missed three shot attempts. As mentioned earlier, Mara was the fourth player to score double digits for UCLA. Because of this widespread scoring barrage, USC found it more challenging to focus on guarding a single player and allowing the Bruins offense to space the floor and continue putting points on the board as they scored 82 or more points in three of their last four games.

No. 1: The Bruins defense stepped up once again.

Overall, UCLA out-rebounded USC in defensive rebounds by a 22-16 margin and had six steals to the Trojans four. The Bruins had five blocks on the defensive end and USC was unable to block any Bruin field goal attempts. UCLA's defense created and caused USC to turn over the ball ten times and the Bruin defense didn't commit many fouls. The Trojans overall shot only 57.9% from the free throw line so when UCLA did put USC on the free throw line, it didn't hurt the Bruins due to the poor free throw shooting of the Trojans.

In the game's last moments, UCLA's defense was very effective. USC could only make a few of their shots later in the second half, including not making most of them from three-point range as they had in the first half. The Bruins managed to force turnovers and halt the Trojan offense during crucial moments, particularly in the game's final minutes. This defensive effort was a significant reason for the victory.

Schedule

Schedule