Freshman Amari Bailey has been making a big impact on the Bruins early in the season. (Photo Credit: Jan Kim Lim/uclabruins.com)
Despite winning both games that they played last week, the UCLA men’s basketball team fell in the polls on Monday from #17 to #21. That’s due in large part to losses by teams which had been ranked ahead of the Bruins as well as wins over those teams by four teams which were previously ranked lower than UCLA.
Realistically, unlike football where the polls have traditionally decided who won the national championship (at least until the CFP era began), the basketball Top 25 polls don’t really mean much. The only thing which matters in college basketball is if a team makes it to the Tournament and, then, how deep a team goes. That’s why I don’t put a lot of stock into the weekly basketball polls.
What does matter, however, is conference play.
And, tonight, UCLA opens Pac-12 play when the Bruins visit the Stanford Cardinal.
So far, the Cardinal are 2-1 at home after beating Pacific and Cal Poly and losing to San Diego State. Speaking of the Aztecs, they are the only ranked team which Stanford has played so far, which bodes well for the Bruins tonight.
Jerod Haase is back for his seventh season with the Cardinal. His starting five will be an unusual one, especially in college basketball these days. It’s really becoming the norm where a team may utilize an extra guard or even two instead of the traditional center and two forwards. For instance, last week, Bellarmine employed a four-guard lineup.
Well, the Cardinal will turn that on its head and start a four-forward lineup. The guy to look out for on this year’s Stanford team looks to be sophomore Harrison Ingram. The 6’7” tall forward from Dallas leads the starting lineup in the two of the three major categories. He is averaging 5.4 rebounds per game and 3.3 assists per game. His 10.4 ppg average is also right behind senior Spencer Jones who is averaging 10.7 ppg.
Aside from Ingram and Jones, the other two starting forwards are senior James Keefe and junior Brandon Angel. Angel is third among the starters in points with an average of 8.9 ppg while Keefe is second among the starters and third overall in rebounds with an average of 4.7 per game.
The team’s starting guard will likely be sophomore Isa Silva. He has started the last four games for Stanford, taking over for Michael O’Connell even though it doesn’t look like O’Connell is injured. Neither Silva nor O’Connell have been contributing much in the major categories. Silva is averaging 3.7 ppg, 0.9 rpg and 1.1 apg while O’Connell is averaging 3.9 ppg, 2.3 rpg and 1.7 apg. So, regardless of whether Silva or O’Connell starts, don’t look for much from either one.
On the other hand, there are two guys to look out for coming off the bench. Michael Jones became the first graduate transfer in the history of the program when he transferred from Davidson in May. He’s averaging 10.3 ppg, despite not being a starter. That’s good enough for him to rank third on the team in scoring. Meanwhile, sophomore Maxime Raynaud leads the team in rebounds with an average of 7.1 per game. Raynaud is also averaging 7.9 ppg and is the only bench guy besides Michael Jones who is averaging more than 5.0 ppg.
While the Cardinal like to shoot the three-pointer, that hasn’t guaranteed success. In fact, as a team, Stanford is shooting just 28.3% from behind the arc. This is due to the fact that the starters are all terrible from long distance. The two best three-point shooters are Raynaud, who has made 4 of his 10 three-point attempts, and Max Murrell, who’s made 7 of 12 (58.3%).
As a whole, Haase seems to stress rebounding as the Cardinal are outrebounding opponents, 263 to 211. In fact, Stanford really likes to crash the offensive boards. They’ve managed to secure 75 offensive rebounds to 44 offensive rebounds for their opponents. So, look for the Cardinal to try to maximize second-change opportunities, which will be important considering that the team is so bad shooting threes.
This is your UCLA men’s basketball at Stanford game thread. Here’s how to watch tonight’s game.
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Collapse? Perhaps a bit complacent with such a big lead. Stanford got within 8 and no closer. And then we rediscovered some intensity on D which had dipped.
Just about five minutes into the game, score is 15-0. With their turnovers, Stanford only got off 2 shots (both from behind the arc). This is dominant defense!
Collapse? Perhaps a bit complacent with such a big lead. Stanford got within 8 and no closer. And then we rediscovered some intensity on D which had dipped.
lol ya they like went on a run that was squashed. we won by 14.
Saw McClendon warm up. Great to see!
You are so getting your wish so far!
Heading to the Farm now. Go Bruins!!!
Good night, Bruin Mama!
U!
Nice stroke by Bailey
Nice D to start the game
Jaime looks good atm
LOL right place, right time
Less than three minutes into game, and our D has caused 4 turnovers
for 8 points
Whoa… that’s the best first few minutes I’ve seen from ucla in years… not sure they can keep up this pace, but wow
5 turnovers
Looks like Mick was holding something back for league play.
Right?! This is new
He talked about it in the offseason. Happy to see us pressing.
I like it! Of course, it is also against Furd, but still, looks good!
Dumbshit announcers- that was not a flop! He led with the body and his arm was caught clearing him out
I thought he flopped. Happy we got the call.
Was a pretty weak charge though. refs been calling flops a lot in college so far.
I preferred when they got a warning.
Just about five minutes into the game, score is 15-0. With their turnovers, Stanford only got off 2 shots (both from behind the arc). This is dominant defense!
wow! Utah just beat AZ 81-66 (so much for that #4 ranking LOL)
Hope stojakavic is watching and realizes that stanford was a dumb choice
The crowd is going wild. Tons of blue tonight!
We were super loud. Drowning out the students and the band!
It sounds like a home game
AT 14:44 Furd just got its first basket
That pick-and-roll alley-oop to Bona was sweet
Bona in early foul trouble… not a foul, but needs to just let that go
He was late to help.
I wonder if Stojakovic is in attendance.
That was not a good offensive set
But that was! LOL
Damn it, Jaime, that was a highlight reel dunk waiting to happen! :-)
Took them 13 minutes to break double digits. Both a testament to how well we're defending and how poor Furd is this year.
Love the hustle our players showing
Bailey looking good!
Those two losses may have helped us and not just the players. Mick is going deeper into the bench. Let’s get Bon back in.
Who?
Bona. Damn phone!
Of course! My bad
Bona LOL
Bailey!
Cronin yelled so loud to get Kenny out after that foul you could hear him in the stands!
And buried his head in his hands when Mac fouled
Good to see Etienne out there, with our other bigs having 2 fouls
Thanks to ESPN, I can't see my game yet, but it looks goo withe our Bruins shooting 63%
Bruins come out stale
Already had to call a TO
Turning to rancid
Awful
We thought the game was over. Better start to play.
Jaime!
Singleton!
Here we go.
Tygrrrr!
Jaime again!
Hope Bailey is ok
Jaylen!
Furs still shooting 48.5. % after a hot start in the second. UCLA is hustling but stanfords shots are falling
Getting sloppy again
UCLA defense is still holding them back… they started out well, but it’s been all downhill in the second half
Bailey looking gimpy on his hip?
Ever since the “flop” that they called on him
That was a foul against bona
Jeez, Louise, butter fingers!
Same thing we saw against Baylor and Illinois. UCLA collapse in the second half
UCLA offense just disappears in the second half… what gives? Are they out of shape?
Not smart passing. The guy being double teamed might not be the best person to pass it.