UCLA Basketball: Bruins Shining In This Stat, But It's Not Translating To Wins

Maybe that will change in Pac-12 play?

Your UCLA Bruins men's basketball team has had the stretch from hell lately.

UCLA has lost its last four contests heading into conference play, including a shocking 76-72 upset defeat to the Cal State Northridge Matadors on December 19th.

The other three of the team's competitors in that stretch were fairly high-level: the Villanova Wildcats (December 9th), the Ohio State Buckeyes (December 16th), and most recently the Maryland Terrapins (69-60 last Friday).

Fifth-year head coach Mick Cronin's Bruins have been incredibly stellar on one end of the ball, unfortunately that hasn't translated to consistent wins as of yet.

Per UCLA Communications, UCLA boasts the nation's No. 14-ranked defense (and the Pac-12's best), up to this point in the season. That includes the least points permitted by rivals per contest (62 points per). The team's defense ranked seventh in the land last year (60.7 points permitted per season).

During his five seasons with UCLA (well, four-and-a-third, to be precise), Cronin has led the Bruins to a 104-42 record thus far, and the team has gotten as far as a Final Four appearance in 2021. UCLA has reached "just" the Sweet Sixteen across the last two seasons, although most of the key players associated with those runs are gone.

Of the team's top nine players last season from a minutes perspective, only four are in this year's top nine: sophomore power forward Adem Bona, fifth-year redshirt big man Kenneth Nwuba, and sophomore guards Dylan Andrews and Will McClendon. There are eight new players, including seven freshmen, in the team's top 12.