UCLA falls apart in second half as Michigan runs away in Aday Mara's revenge game

UCLA went into Michigan on Saturday morning for a matchup with the No. 2 team in the country. The Wolverines were 23-1 and will probably be the No. 1 team in the nation when the new polls drop on Monday. That is due to Arizona losing their first game of the season. Michigan is an elite team on both ends of the floor. They started the game out hot, but UCLA was able to weather the storm going into the first half break only down 40-38 after a good Donovan Dent bucket. Giving the team some hope on the road that they can pull off a big upset as 16-point underdogs.

Then the second half came and UCLA fell apart slowly. Then Trent Perry went out with a minor injury. The five-point deficit quickly turned into a 12-point deficit before he returned again. At that point it became too late and Michigan continued to expand their lead. As they skyrocketed their lead up to 30 and lost 86-56. The Bruins were looking to be sparked by the return of one of their best players in Skyy Clark. Who returned in this game off the bench after missing almost a month and a half a play due to a hamstring injury. He had eight points in 16 minutes of play and hit two 3-pointers.

Michigan made it a point late in the game to get the ball to former Bruin Aday Mara. Almost to prove a point about UCLA not utilizing him right and leading to his transfer.  He had nine points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Also adding in a really nice behind the back pass early in the first half to kickstart the game. UCLA just did not have the size to match up with him at all today.

The Bruins are now 17-8 on the season as they stay in the state of Michigan to play Michigan State. The team is getting closer to bubble talks and will need to split one game between Michigan State and Illinois matchups to quiet those. Perry led the Bruins with 14 points on the day. The team struggled on offense and defense as they only shot 38% on the day. While the defense gave up 86 points and let Michigan shoot 62%. Other than the last minute of the first half not much went right for the Bruins today.