UCLA Basketball: 10 Reasons Why the Bruins Are Still NCAA Tournament Pretenders

Forget the fact that UCLA might not even make the NCAA Tournament for only the third time under coach Ben Howland's tenure.

With a current 15-12 record, the only plausible way for the Bruins to make postseason play would be to win the Pac-12 Tournament and claim an automatic qualifying bid.

Even if that were to happen, here are 10 reasons why the Bruins wouldn't threaten the field of 64.

Stubborn Coaching

It all starts from the bench.

The man in charge of recruiting, conditioning, defensive schemes, offensive sets and distributing playing time is Howland.

Since his arrival to Westwood, he's had a pretty impressive track record. 

Excluding this year, his clubs have made it to postseason play in six of his eight seasons and he owns an overall record of 182-80.  His record amongst conference play is also an impressive 77-33.

His previous successes helped establish a blueprint for his program—one which he seems unwilling to compromise, whether it's for the better or worse.

This season, it's for the worse.

Not only is this year's team unsuited to run his aggressive style of full-court man-to-man defense, but they also seem to be lacking in motivational aspects of the game—a responsibility that falls completely on the coach.

While I'm not actively promoting his firing, I am seeking a change in his philosophy.

As we continue on, you'll begin to notice how a lot of UCLA's struggles falls on Howland's shoulders.

Howland's Love Affair with the Wears

After Howland poached David and Travis Wear from North Carolina's roster, hopes were high for the Bruins.

The two former McDonald's All-Americans were highly recruited by Howland and his staff since their high school days and are still held in high regard.

Maybe in too high of a regard.

Since joining the Bruins this year, both Wears have found their way onto the starting lineup.

Both of them have scoring averages just above 10 and shoot the ball close to 50 percent from the field; however, just like the picture above suggests, the brothers offer the team almost identical skill sets and deficiencies.

Both Wears stand tall at 6'10", but rebound the ball with startling passiveness.  They combine to average less than 12 rebounds per game, yet manage to accrue over 53 minutes of playing time per contest.

By giving the twins so much court time, Howland is crippling his team by essentially playing the same player.

The Wear twins are drastically different from the hard-nosed post players that Howland used to employ.  Some of those names include Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Alfred Aboya, Lorenzo Mata and Kevin Love.

Road Woes

Out of their 15  total victories, only one has come against a Division-I opponent outside the state of California (Washington State).

That is a startling and shocking number. 

Simply put: Howland can't get his team ready.

On the road, the Bruins seem to be unfocused and undisciplined.

Thanks to blown leads and silly mistakes, UCLA has cost themselves victories over Stanford, Oregon, Oregon State, Washington and St. John's.  In those five road losses, the Bruins lost by a combined 16 points.

When victories away from home are hard to come by, it's up to the coaching staff to maintain poise and composure amongst their players.

The Bruins' most recent 66-63 defeat at Madison Square Garden against St. John's highlights a few reasons why UCLA would not fare well in the tournament.

Lack of Hustle

Throughout the season, the Bruins have looked lackadaisical and slow to react on defense.

Their loss to St. John's proves it.

Although Travis Wear grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds in that contest, don't let the number mislead you.

As a team, UCLA let their opponent score 26 second-chance points by allowing them 19 offensive rebounds. Nineteen!  An astonishing number that indicates just how unmotivated and how undisciplined this team really is.

To makes things worse, the Red Storm only played six players.  All five starters logged 32 minutes or more and two of them played the entire game.

Even with the outcome of the game undecided till the very end, the Bruins still failed to chase down loose balls and even box-out—the most basic signs of effort.

Lack of Senior Leadership

Howland's teams have always been noted for their strong guard play.

Not this year.

After giving the NBA pro players like Malcolm Lee, Jordan Farmar, Arron Afflalo, Jrue Holliday, Darren Collison and Russell Westbrook, it was time for Lazeric Jones and Jerime Anderson to shine.

So far, they haven't.

Each player averages just around 33 minutes per game, yet only combine for 21.8 points and 8.4 assists, while turning the ball over 4.5 times per game.

Their inability to create dribble penetration and take care of the ball only stalls the Bruins' offensive attack.

In their 72 minutes of action against St. John's, the combo went for a mere eight points, eight assists and four turnovers, while making two baskets in 15 attempts.

With porous showings from their captains, it's no wonder why this team has struggled with consistency.

Strange Substitution Patterns

Only seven players saw action against St. John's.

One of the missing names was Anthony Stover—the energetic sophomore who is arguably the team's best defender.

Although he averages only 8.8 minutes in his 22 appearances, Stover leads the team with 32 blocked shots.

It's no coincidence that when his energy and hustle remain on the bench, so does his team's.

Stover has sat out the last three games with a foot injury, yet it's no surprise that the Bruins have lost two of those contests—while only beating an injury-depleted USC team.

Howland's obsession with the Wear twins can be largely attributed to Stover's lack of playing time and until the team's best defender gets more action, UCLA will continue to struggle on the most important side of the ball.

Poor Defense

The one thing that had been synonymous with Howland's tenure as a coach was defense.

But with Stover receiving less playing time, and UCLA still running a man-to-man defense, the Bruins have struggled.

No longer are Lee, Afflalo, Collison or Westbrook hounding the perimeter.

What used to be a suffocating in-your-face type defense is now slow and lacks tenacity.

Guards are easily beat off the dribble and no longer fight through screens.  Interior big men lack the ideal instincts and lateral quickness to play efficient help or weak-side defense.

A quick fix to this problem would be to play more zone.

Instead, Howland remains stubborn.  This places his team into situations that don't fit their strong suits and you can tell in this team's loss of identity.

Inability to Use Joshua Smith

The one advantage that UCLA posses on offense every single night is center Joshua Smith.

His sheer size and girth make it impossible for any college defender to have sustained success against him.

Thanks to his 58.9 shooting percentage, Smith scores at a rapid rate—averaging 10.4 points in only 18.3 minutes of action.

So why don’t the Bruins use him more?

Because Smith isn’t in optimal playing condition.

Smith appears to be around 40 pounds overweight, which saps his energy extremely quickly.  This was evident against a much smaller, but faster front line of St. John’s.

In a game where he saw no foul trouble and went 6-of-7 from the field, Smith was limited to only 22 minutes of action.

His inability to sustain extended bunches of playing time has really hurt the team, especially on the defensive end.

This is partially why Smith comes off the bench and why teams look to push the ball against the big and slow UCLA defense.

On the rare occasion that UCLA guards do get near the basket, it is unlikely that Smith is there to receive their pass, since he is on the bench.

Lack of Athleticism

UCLA’s struggles on both sides of the ball are due to their utter lack of athleticism.

How else do you explain losing to a team that starts five freshmen and plays only six players for the entirety of the game (looking at St. John’s again)?

Whether it’s Smith’s inability to stay on the court or the Wear twin’s lack of interior presence, the Bruins need to trim the fat (pun intended).

Open-court teams usually have success against the Bruins because the team is built for the half court set and not to run.

This falls along my reasoning of why Howland would be better off switching to zone, or giving Stover more playing time.

While the Bruins are expected to be more athletic next year, Howland would be wise to adjust and cater to his current team’s needs.

Lack of Fan Support

As a recent graduate of UCLA, let me tell you that the student body is hungry for a successful basketball program.

And while they are eager, they are not stupid.

With the rigors of academics and the pleasures of being located in Los Angeles, students will invest their time as they seem fit.

Already being subjected to a one-hour bus ride all the way to the Rose Bowl during football season, UCLA students have been less accepting of the team’s current move to the Sports Arena as Pauley Pavilion undergoes major reconstruction.

If the Bruins continue to struggle for a tournament bid, they will continue to struggle to fill the seats of their new home.

UCLA players have already noted that there is a strange feeling playing in this new location, since it is closer to rival-school USC than it is their own campus.

So in the team's current state, why would students make it an effort to support a team that seems to be going nowhere?

The fact that home attendance averaged out to 5,510 fans before USC visited is indicative enough of how the team is playing and the level of frustration that fans are dealing with.