UCLA Basketball: Bruins Hoops Could Be In For Some Unhappy History This Week
Following a season-best six-game winning streak that appeared to help position it into prime position for a March Madness berth, your UCLA Bruins men's basketball program finds itself in the midst of a four-game losing streak, and in danger of finishing with a sub-.500 record for the first time since the Steve Alford era, specifically the Blue and Gold's 15-17 finish in the 2015-16 NCAA season.
UCLA is currently 14-15 (9-9 in the Pac-12), and might wrap up its 2023-24 season run below .500 for just the fifth time since prior to the John Wooden era.
The club will have its shot at finishing strong (strong-adjacent) with a pair of inter-conference home games, against the 23-6 Arizona Wildcats on Thursday and the 14-15 Arizona State Sun Devils on Saturday. UCLA is just 8-6 at Pauley Pavilion this season, so truly anything could happen.
It's now appearing most likely that UCLA's path to an NCAA Tournament return will require a Pac-12 Tournament victory. The very young (seven freshmen) Bruins' good-but-not-great defense, anchored by sophomore center/power forward Adem Bona, has propped up the team's inconsistent and generally lackluster offense.
The club's 100.6 defensive rating ranks 104th out of 362 teams, while its 101.6 offensive rating is a piddling 281st.
