UCLA Basketball: Bruins Drop Home Game to Stanford
UCLA fans might want to cover their eyes.
After starting out shooting 8-of-9 from the field, the Bruins finished 19-of-58 (32.8 percent) en route to a bad 59-53 loss at home to Stanford.
Things got so bad in the second half, that UCLA had three field goal conversions in a 17-minute stretch from the end of the first half into the second half. The team couldn't buy a bucket from anywhere. Much of it has to do with a lack of natural facilitators on the roster.
Sebastian Mack is a freshman and thus plays like one. He's quite talented but gets sped up far too often. Dylan Andrews doesn't seem to have a natural feel for the point guard position. He went 2-of-13 from the floor in the defeat.
Lazar Stefanovic yet again struggled. After hitting his first two shots, he finished 2-of-7 for four points. Mick Cronin's reliance on Stefanovic to play heavy minutes has been a perplexing storyline that has continued throughout the year.
With Andrews missing wide-open looks (including one uncontested layup), the defensive effort collectively weakened. Stanford was getting cleaner looks from behind the arc in the second half. With UCLA having to extend itself, it left the Bruins susceptible to backdoor cuts.
Center Adem Bona and power forward Berke Buyuktuncel were the bright spots yet again for the Bruins. The two combined to go 8-of-13 from the floor totaling 25 points. Bona also nabbed nine rebounds, had three steals, and blocked four shots.
Unfortunately, UCLA struggles to get the ball inside to its two best players. Mack has an aggressive mindset, but there are times when he overdribbles into traffic (leading to turnovers). As mentioned previously, Andrews also forces passes which should never be made.
Now sitting at 6-8, Cronin's team will return on Saturday to face off versus the Cal Golden Bears.
