UCLA Bruins Look Good But Need To Do Better To Crack The Top 25

For the once proud UCLA Bruins, the road back to the NCAA top 10 will be paved with some good old fashion hard work.

I know one game does not a season make, but the Bruins showed some gaping holes in their last game against Arizona State.

This team has some talent, there is no doubt.  Tyler Honeycutt has a great all-round game. Lazeric Jones has a sweet shot while Reeves Nelson looks to be a beast on the defensive boards. As a team, they are quick on defense and decent shot blockers. On the offensive end, they are dangerous down low, when they can get the ball to their big men, that is.

Where UCLA has its problems is with turnovers, penetration and offensive rebounding.

Their passing lacks quality and often players are not giving each other good looks at the ball. Too often their passing is at the feet, off the fingers or in a crowd of defenders.  The Bruins should improve in this area over the rest of the season and into next because they are a young team and can only get better and more cohesive with time and practice.

UCLA seems to lack the confidence to take defenders on one-on-one with the dribble drive. This is a key feature missing from their game, as it would draw defenders in and open up the passing lanes while freeing up the big men at the post.

All too often, the Bruins play a perimeter game as if they are a three-point shooting team—which they are not. You only have to look at their 29 percent shooting from beyond the arc to realize this.

It almost cost them the game against the Sun Devils.

Arizona State came back from a 13-point deficit to tie the game at the end of regulation with an onslaught of three-pointers coupled with poor offensive execution by the Bruins.

Fortunately for the Bruins, they found their three-point range as well in the overtime period.

Long-range shots by Jones, Malcolm Lee and Jerme Anderson lifted the Bruins to a quick seven-point advantage in the overtime. That proved enough as the Bruins held on to win, 73-72.

Playing the perimeter game also affected the Bruins on the offensive boards. As the team only shot 46 percent from the floor, there were plenty of rebounds to be gathered. But all too often, the Bruins were nowhere near the basket after the shot.

Only Honeycutt made any serious offensive rebounds with four in the game. This is another area that must be improved if the Bruins want to get back to elite status.

Overall, the team looks like what you would expect during a rebuilding year. They can only get better and it won’t be long before the Bruins are ranked right up there where they ought to be. With hated rival USC coming to Pauley Pavilion on Tuesday, I look for a big time performance from the Bruins in their next game.