The long road back to prestige started at home, against a largely anonymous opponent.
After failing its first test against a mid-major, UCLA took a step back in the competition Monday night and didn’t do much to convince anyone it belonged back in the national rankings.
Many of the same issues that plagued the Bruins last week were present again during a disjointed 71-40 victory over Boston University at Pauley Pavilion.
There were a lot of turnovers, long periods of drought and more problems making shots from long range.
Read more: Tyler Bilodeau’s big game can’t save UCLA from a frustrating loss to New Mexico
Fortunately for the Bruins, their defense proved to be too much for an opponent unable to handle active hands and backcourt pressure. UCLA (2-1) forced 28 turnovers that it turned into 36 points in taking a small step forward after the loss to New Mexico.
Most of those points came from layups and dunks in transition, the reward for all that effort on defense.
“I was most pleased tonight with our attitude of humility and the fact that we dove on the ground more tonight than every scrimmage, game or exhibition game combined,” Bruins coach Mick Cronin said after his team recorded a season-high 59 deflections. had collected. which are defined as tipped passes, blocks, steals or collected loose balls. “In the first half we surpassed our floor dives for the year.”
The Bruins couldn’t have done nearly as much with the 24 turnovers they forced against the Lobos, with those mistakes translating into just 15 points.
In a more encouraging development, it marks the first time UCLA has forced 20 or more turnovers in consecutive games since it did so against Wyoming, Louisiana Tech and Oregon State during the 2008-09 season.
After his team was bullied by New Mexico, Cronin said he had stomach problems and couldn’t sleep for two days. That’s why he challenged his players to get tougher.
“I basically told them, ‘If you’re going to play for me, this is how it’s going to be, otherwise you’re not going to play for me,’” Cronin said. “I know our football team is on a winning streak, but I can always go get some guys when they’re ready.”
UCLA guard Kobe Johnson had four steals and forward Eric Dailey Jr. added three for a team that finished with 14. The most impressive might have come from guard Skyy Clark, who ducked into the announcer’s table near midcourt to keep his steal from going away. boundaries. Clark finished the game with 16 deflections, which Cronin said was one short of the most any player had ever recorded for him.
Read more: UCLA showed the depth of its talent in its season-opening win over Rider
“He wreaks havoc everywhere,” Cronin said of Clark, who added six rebounds, four points and two assists. “I mean, he has games where he’s going to score a lot of points. But he’s really trying to embrace … what we’re trying to do with his efforts.”
Boston (0-3) struggled just to get the ball into the frontcourt during the Bruins’ 9-0 and 10-0 runs early in the second half, turning the game into a blowout.
Dailey said the team’s turnaround in practice started with a combined decision to fix what went wrong against New Mexico.
“It was pretty intense,” Dailey said. “I mean, you know, we don’t like to lose, and we’ll do everything we can to change the mistakes we’ve made.”
On the offensive front, things weren’t nearly as good for UCLA.
Dailey and Lazar Stefanovic each scored 13 points for the Bruins, who made just five of 22 3-pointers (22.7%) and scored 11 of their 15 goals in the first half. Sebastian Mack added 12 points, two assists and two steals off the bench for UCLA.
Cronin said he didn’t care about the inaccuracy given how his team responded to the defense.
“I can deal with missed shots,” Cronin said. “I can’t deal with not being physically competitive.”
Cronin was especially happy with the fact that big man Aday Mara grabbed seven rebounds in ten minutes from the bench. Forward William Kyle III also dazzled on a sequence in which he materialized to block what looked like an uncontested layup. A few seconds later, he took a miss from Mack and went up for a ferocious putback dunk.
One change for the Bruins came after a tip-off, with Cronin going with Stefanovic over Dylan Andrews as part of his starting lineup. Andrews was left out with a left groin injury that is not considered serious, leaving his status as day-to-day.
There was an early sighting of Dominick Harris, the transfer from Loyola Marymount giving half-time playing time for the first time this season. But Harris failed to make much of an impact in his 15 minutes, missing all six of his shots.
Cronin told his sniper that was okay. The only number that really mattered was Boston’s total on the scoreboard.
“If we keep everyone at 40,” Cronin said, “we will win every game for the rest of the year.”
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
