UCLA struggles from 3-point range in loss to Wisconsin

UCLA fell to Wisconsin on Tuesday night 80-72 to move to 10-5 on the season. Now on a two game losing streak. The Bruins are reeling and need to find answers fast. As we are now halfway through the season and struggling to find an identity as a team still in a crowded Big Ten. On the night, UCLA really struggled at perimeter shooting as they went 1-17 from 3-point range. Wisconsin was 10-30. Meaning they were +27 in that column.

The Bruins were 27-44 from two pointers which is 61.3% which was a positive. But they often settled for long distance shots. Which did not fall at all on the night. Trent Perry was the only Bruin to hit a 3-pointer. Skyy Clark missing this game played a huge role as he is by far the best floor spacer that UCLA has. Mick Cronin went with a smaller lineup pushing Tyler Bilodeau to the center position. It worked well in phases but struggled for consistency.

One note on the night is Donovan Dent played all 40 minutes. That is not sustainable to do. Especially in a loss, to play the whole game is gut wrenching. The bench struggled again and only had four points which all came from Jamar Brown. He ended up fouling out in 17 minutes of play as well. The Bruins are relying heavily on starters to play the bulk of games and score 95% of the points. It is tough to do that long term and expect to win a lot of games with a small rotation of five or six guys.

Eric Dailey Jr. led the Bruins with 18 points on 9-17 shooting. He was 0-5 from 3-point range, so he was effective inside the perimeter at 9-12. The Bruins will next play on Saturday against Maryland who is currently 7-7. That becomes a must win game for this team. They will be favorites in that game and have a lot of things to clean up. There is no more “this team will eventually figure it out” talk. Because the season is almost closer to the finish line than it is to the start now.