Bruins Must Improve in Key Category in Next Few Games

The UCLA Bruins were able to escape their road trip with a key split against two tough Big Ten opponents. One area that plagued them in both games was rebounding ability, and that must improve in the final stretch of the regular season.

Feb 8, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA Bruins center Aday Mara (15) drives to the basket past Penn State Nittany Lions forward Miles Goodman (8) and guard Freddie Dilione V (4) in the second half at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The UCLA Bruins (19-7, 10-5) escaped their two-game road trip with a 1-1 split, losing to the Illinois Fighting Illini and defeating the Indiana Hoosiers. In both games, the Bruins struggled to control the defensive glass, giving up double-digit offensive rebounds in both games which must be corrected.

In Tuesday's loss to Illinois, the Bruins allowed 10 offensive rebounds and 12 more in their Friday win over the Hoosiers. The pair of opponents combined for 19 second chance points with the Bruins escaping Indiana but were not so lucky against the Illini earlier in the week.

Bruins coach Mick Cronin spoke bluntly regarding his team's rebounding issues and the importance of fixing the problem before the NCAA Tournament rolls around in a few weeks. UCLA is allowing the second-most offensive rebounds per game in the Big Ten (9.2).

The Bruins have done a fabulous job all season of winning the turnover battle, which has allowed them to give up a fair amount of extra possessions for their opponents and still come away with wins. They only forced eight against the Hoosiers which is why they only hung on for a 4-point win.

 "I told you guys, if we keep getting out-rebounded, we're not going anywhere in March," Cronin said after Friday's game. "Because we're eventually going to play somebody like Indiana that just doesn't turn the ball over. So, you can't be plus eight in the turnover margin to make up for the rebounding."

Almost every team that the Bruins will face in the tournament will be strong rebounding squads that will look to impose their will on the glass to make up for UCLA's No. 1 defense in the Big Ten. They will have to play much better in that stat category if they want to a deep run in March.

UCLA will be back in action on Tuesday night when they battle the Minnesota Gophers (12-12, 4-9) at Pauley Pavilion. The Gophers are grabbing 10.2 offensive boards per game, ranking 10th in the conference. The Bruins will have a chance to get right in that aspect against a struggling team.

Ensure you follow on X (Twitter) @UCLAInsideronSI and @tcav30 and never miss another breaking news story again.

Please let us know your thoughts when you like our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.