UCLA Bruins Insider Podcast: What Went Wrong in the Loss to Michigan State

The Bruins would get absolutely thrashed, 82–59, in a lopsided outing.

This game now marks two back-to-back games where UCLA has looked utterly helpless against some of the Big Ten’s best. Michigan State deserves its flowers in this one, as it played a very complete game. Still, UCLA’s struggles are hard to ignore.

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Like the game against Michigan, UCLA could not score at all. In the first half, the Bruins scored just 23 points. To end the game, UCLA shot just 37% from the field after a decent second half in which it scored 36 points.

The Bruins were outrebounded by 10, as Michigan State finished with 37 rebounds to UCLA’s 27. It is clear that UCLA’s defensive problems are not going away anytime soon. If this does not change, missing the tournament is completely within reach.

Mick Cronin really struggled to coach during this one. At times, he failed to call timeouts when he needed to, which allowed Michigan State to go on massive runs. During the game, the Spartans went on an 18–0 run, which really set the tone for the rest of the night.

There were times when UCLA simply could not hit a shot. As mentioned before, they shot just 37% from the field. They cannot expect to win games while scoring this little. Skyy Clark and Tyler Bilodeau need to be high-percentage shooters to wrap up the season.

The Bruins finished the game with 11 turnovers on the night. This gave Michigan State ample opportunity to run away with the game. While Michigan State also had 14 turnovers of its own, it is much more capable on the defensive side of the ball, where UCLA is not.

Skyy Clark played a very good game. He and Tyler Bilodeau were the only two players who were able to score double-digit points. With Clark heating up and Perry looking rough, we could see a starting lineup change very soon.

It is going to be very interesting to see what shakes down in the coming days before UCLA's matchup against Illinois back at Pauley. If UCLA is unable to win this game, the season could really fall out of hand, if it hasn’t already.

The bottom line is that UCLA needs help. With Mick Cronin lashing out at players and the team losing in blowout fashion once again, the Bruins need a miracle if there is any hope of making a tournament run in March — if they make the tournament at all.

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