Key takeaways from UCLA's win over Michigan State

UCLA won their sixth straight game to climb the Big Ten standings and defeated the first-place Spartans to do it.

Michigan State Spartans guard Jaden Akins scores past the defense of UCLA Bruins center Aday Mara and forward Tyler Bilodeau. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Michigan State Spartans guard Jaden Akins scores past the defense of UCLA Bruins center Aday Mara and forward Tyler Bilodeau. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

In a defensive battle of Blue Blood programs, UCLA at home defeated Michigan State and moved to 8-4 in Big Ten play.

Here is a look at the key takeaways from UCLA's win over Michigan State.

UCLA followed USC's blueprint against the Spartans and dared Michigan State to shoot three's and take away the Spartans driving to the basket.

The Spartans only made five three-pointers against the Trojans and UCLA allowed Michigan State to shoot 22 three-pointers and the Spartans only made five of those attempts to shoot 22.7% from beyond the arc. The Bruins also didn't allow Michigan State to get to the basket often and made the Spartans settle for outside shots.

USC's coach, Eric Musselman, was quoted as saying after their game against MSU, "We had extra help defenders on dribble-drive penetration." Around the 15-minute mark of the first half, the UCLA defense significantly stepped up, preventing many of the Spartans guards from scoring this game, except for one player. No one is saying Cronin and UCLA took the exact blueprint from their rivals across the street, but it is certain they watched the game file from MSU's game against USC and saw some strategies that they could use against the Spartans.

Jeremy Fears Jr. and Jaden Akins made back-to-back threes to put the Spartans up 8-3 early in the game, and that was with over 17 minutes left in the first half. For the rest of the game, MSU would only make three more three-pointers. Fears only ended up with six points, and another starting guard for the Spartans, Tre Holloman, only had four points in the game. Holloman, Jace Richardson, and Frankie Fidler combined for 0-10 from beyond the arc, and all three Spartans have been reliable outside shooters for MSU this season.

The team stats do not tell the story of this game, as UCLA was able to do the intangibles to get them the victory.

Michigan State shot better from the field by 2.7% and from the free throw line by 10.5%. The Spartans also out-rebounded the Bruins by a 45-27 margin. Michigan State also had nine fast break points to UCLA's three and they also had 26 points in the paint compared to the Bruins 22 points.

The intangibles of UCLA's movement on defense, their intensity shown on getting open on offense, and their ability to not make ill-timed passes helped the Bruins win this game. Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo summed it up best after the game, "They lost four in a row and everyone pronounced them dead," Izzo said. "Sometimes you need a jolt, and he gave them one. You better hope he (Cronin) keeps yelling."

Mentally, even when UCLA shot only 35% from the field—it’s their worst shooting performance of the season, and they went nearly eight minutes in the second half without a field goal—the Bruins showed how mentally strong they were. They overcame a bad offensive performance to win this game.

One stat that did matter and was arguably the reason that UCLA won was that they won the turnover battle against Michigan State.

UCLA head coach Mick Cronin said it well, ""But the story of the game is one stat—points off turnovers. We only had three turnovers. I told the guys, if we get to the NCAA Tournament and we play every game with three turnovers, we'll cut the nets down."

The Bruins only committed three turnovers compared to the Spartans committing 16. UCLA also had 19 points off of Michigan State turnovers. In comparison, the Spartans only had three points off the few Bruin turnovers. It is rare for any Division I basketball team to play a top 10-ranked team only to commit three turnovers; that is very impressive. Michigan State's basketball program is predicated on defense, and for UCLA to only turn the ball over three times is a fantastic accomplishment.

UCLA made free throws when it mattered, and Tyler Bilodeau and Skyy Clark were near-perfect from the line.

Bilodeau and Clark both had solid games, combining for 17 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. However, their most significant contribution in the win over the Spartans was that Clark made six of his seven free throw attempts, and Bilodeau made four of his five free throw attempts. In a two-point victory, they combined to make 10 free throws, which helped secure the win for UCLA.

Michigan State was 16 for 19 from the free throw line in comparison to UCLA making 14 of their 19 free throw attempts. The Spartans outscored the Bruins in the second half, 33-28, and that margin could have been larger had UCLA not made key free throws in the second half.

UCLA has momentum and their toughness showed in this game.

UCLA didn't dominate the stat sheet for this game, but they did whatever they needed to do to win this game with toughness, grit, and effort. The student section was very vocal for this game when it was apparent there were many Spartan fans in attendance, including legendary former Michigan State national champion winner Magic Johnson. Still, the UCLA students were energetic and loud as they appreciated the toughness their team displayed against the Spartans.

Finally, we wrote after the Bruin's loss against Rutgers that UCLA was not done yet, and the Bruins are now on a six-game winning streak. Many fans, media members, and college basketball experts were very critical of UCLA and Cronin during their four-game winning streak. Still, the players, coaching staff, team managers, and anyone closely associated with the UCLA basketball program shut out the outside noise and came together, and now they are looking to win their seventh straight game in hopes of continuing to climb the Big Ten standings.

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