How Ohio State Loss Underscores 2 Major Concerns for UCLA

The UCLA men's basketball team has been tough to figure out this season. One day, it's dominating a team that has nobusiness being in the same building, the next, it's turning in a woeful performance when it needs to impress the most.

The Bruins are already on the fringe of the NCAA Tournament as it is right, if you ask the national experts, and they suffered a detrimental blow in an 86-74 loss to Ohio State on Saturday. But it's not just the fact that they lost the game that's concerning, but rather how they performed in a couple of fundamental areas.

"We only got 13 defensive rebounds on their live-ball shots," head coach Mick Cronin lamented after the game. "... You got no chance. I'm higly disappointed in getting our a** kicked physically and our inability to play defense."

Ongoing Rebounding Issues

The isn't the first time Cronin has pointed out his team's inability to rebound adequately, and that may be the biggest concern. Just last week, he lamented their rebounding effort in a pretty easily won game against Maryland. The UCLA players responded by outrebounding Penn State, 32-21, on Wednesday, only allowing six offensive rebound to the Nittany Lions.

UCLA-Ohio State — Jan 17, 2026; Columbus, Ohio, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Donovan Dent (2) loses the ball as Ohio State Buckeyes center Christoph Tilly (13) defends during the first half at Value City Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images | Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

The Bruins allowed twice that on Saturday. Of the nine players who entered the game for UCLA, only Tyler Bilodeau had more than four total rebounds. Steven Jamerson Jr, who had impressed in that area over the last few games, took a step back as well, ending wiht just three boards.

It also did not help that starting big man and former five-star high school recruit Xavier Booker only played two minutes with no other stats collected. When asked about Booker's virtual absence, Cronin simply said, "I'm trying to play the guys who give us the best shot for us to win."

Disastrous Defense

UCLA concern — Ohio State Buckeyes guard Bruce Thornton (2) dribbles the ball against UCLA Bruins center Xavier Booker (1) in the first half at Value City Arena on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio. | Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

After a couple great defensive performances in a row in which UCLA held its opponents to 60 points or less, the defense disappeared on Saturday -- as I'm sure you could tell from the final score. Ohio State shot 53% from the field and became the sixth team to score at least 80 points against the Bruins this season.

"I offer no excuses. Blame me," Cronin stressed. "I recruited them. I signed them as free agents. We're not going to win meaningful games if we can't stop the other team. ... You can't give up 80 and win on the road. ... We scored 74 points on the road in the Big Ten. You should have a big-time shot to win. Our defense was an embarrassment today. The last couple of games, it was great. Today, we couldn't guard them."

The trend is particularly alarming in the Big Ten, where Illinois, Purdue, and Michigan all rank among the seven best offenses, according to KenPom, and Michigan State, Nebraska, and Iowa are also among the nation's best defenses.

"You get your ass kicked physically and you can't defend, in the Big Ten, you're going to lose," Cronin explained.

UCLA has to hope it can get that defensive spark back quickly. The Bruins host Purdue on Tuesday and play four of the other elite KenPom teams during a six-game span beginning in mid-February. Physicality will be a top priority for all of them, and if UCLA doesn't improve, it won't stand a chance.

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