UCLA drops top 25 matchup with Gonzaga in Seattle

UCLA was in Seattle last night for a top 25 matchup versus Gonzaga. The Bruins gave themselves many opportunities to walk away with an upset win as 10.5 point underdogs. But Gonzaga pulled away late in the game and was able to secure an 82-72 win. Just missing covering the spread. Tyler Bilodeau led the team in scoring with 24. He was easily on his way to 30 points before picking up fourth foul and having to play conservative over the last seven minutes. He had one of his best games as a Bruin, and they are happy he is back.

If you take a look at the stat sheet. Most of the time you will win games with the shooting line. The Bruins shot 49% from the field and 47% from 3-point range. They made 15-19 free throws and at one point were 14-15 before going 1-4 down the stretch. So, what went wrong and led to them losing by 10 if they beat Gonzaga in most shooting categories? Points off of turnovers. Gonzaga turned it into 21, while UCLA turned it into seven. That’s a -14 differential.

Gonzaga is so multidimensional that they can beat you in multiple ways. Getting out in transition and getting easy buckets was the name of the game for them. Braden Huff and Graham Ike continued to dominate in the frontcourt as well as they combined for 46 points. The Bruins continue to get inconsistency from the bench and are relying too much on their starters. Over the past two games they have received a total of 14 points from their bench.

The Bruins who are now 7-3 will play Arizona State next Wednesday who is 9-2. Before two easy matchups with Cal Poly and UC Riverside. Then it is back to Big Ten play against Iowa. They will need to continue to fine-tune things. The main focus will now be slowing teams down and kickstarting the bench. A recipe for success is not playing all of your starters 35 to 38 minutes at some point players are going to battle injuries or get into foul trouble. A bench is key to keeping momentum.