UCLA Men's Basketball C/F Adem Bona Unlikely to Play vs. Gonzaga
It appears as if the Bruins will be without their starting big man Thursday night.
Center/forward Adem Bona took the court in street clothes for pregame warmups ahead of No. 2 seed UCLA men's basketball's (31-5, 18-2 Pac-12) Sweet 16 matchup with No. 3 seed Gonzaga (30-5, 14-2 WCC). According to a team spokesperson, Bona is unlikely to play due to a sore left shoulder.
Bona first injured his shoulder diving for a loose ball in the Pac-12 tournament semifinals against Oregon on March 10. The Pac-12 Freshman of the Year missed the Pac-12 tournament finals against Arizona the next day, as well as the first round of the NCAA tournament against No. 15 seed UNC Asheville. Bona returned to action in the round of 32 against No. 7 seed Northwestern on March 18.
In the second half against the Wildcats, though, Bona flushed home a dunk and reaggravated his shoulder injury. Bona jogged off the court and went to the bench for additional medical attention, but he wound up checking back in for the final few minutes.
Coach Mick Cronin labeled Bona as day-to-day throughout the week, and he was not seen taking shots during the Bruins' open practice at T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday.
Bona has been an anchor at the center of UCLA's defense since the moment he stepped foot on campus. The freshman is averaging 7.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 0.6 steals per game on the season – all while leading the Bruins with a 67.5% field goal percentage – en route to Pac-12 All-Defensive Team honors.
With Bona out, big man Kenneth Nwuba will once again take his place in the starting lineup. Nwuba drew the start in the first round against UNC Asheville as well, and he put up a career-high 10 points in that game. However, the fifth-year veteran is averaging just 1.3 points and 1.7 rebounds in 11.9 minutes per game on the season.
When UCLA was without Bona against Arizona in the conference tournament title game, both Nwuba and Mac Etienne fouled out midway through the second half. The Bruins were forced to play small for the rest of the night, which would not be ideal going up against Gonzaga's high-scoring big man Drew Timme.
Guard David Singleton, who was also day-to-day after spraining his right ankle against Northwestern last Saturday, is in the starting lineup. Guard Jaylen Clark, although he is back with the team, is still out for the year due to the lower leg injury he suffered back on March 4.
The shorthanded UCLA squad is set to tip off against Gonzaga around 7 p.m. PT. The winner will face No. 4 seed UConn in the Elite Eight on Saturday.
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