Jaime Jaquez, Jr. carried the Bruins to the victory over Stanford on Thursday night. (Photo Credit: Scott Chandler/uclabruins.com)
Ok, I’m going to cut right to the chase: the UC Berkeley Golden Bears are a bad basketball team.
This has been a bad basketball team for a few years now, coached by a bad coach in Mark Fox, and the fact that he has been allowed to carry through this current season despite the utter travesty of a basketball team he has put on the court is proof enough that Berkeley does not take sports seriously and would be better served by shutting down their entire athletic department. The craziest part is that they still might not fire him after this year! I get that, much like UCLA, the Golden Bears athletic department is deep in debt, but you have to at least attempt to look like you care. No wonder the Big Ten wants nothing to do with this school.
But again, this is a bad team any way you look at it. If you want counting stats, consider that Berkeley’s 59.2 points per game puts them at 438th in the country. They average 31.7 rebounds a game (good enough for 398th in the country!) and 10.0 assists a game (back down to 475th). If you want to look at advanced stats, KenPom has them ranked at 258, which honestly feels a little high when you look at the teams surrounding them (the only Power Five team close to them is an equally-bad Louisville). It’s not good.
This team is also somehow worse than they were when they started the season. That’s because at the start of the year they had Devin Askew, who transferred in from Kentucky. I still have no idea why Askew chose to do this, but the decision did not seem to pay off. Askew was perfectly fine but suffered a season-ending injury midway through the year. Lars Thiemann has tried to step up into the hole left by Askew, and he leads the team in points, but the guy who’s really stepped up is Kuany Kuany. The forward has turned himself into a scorer (though inefficient as befitting this team), averaging one less PPG than Theimann off one fewer shot attempt per game. The last major name to know is Dejaun Clayton, who did not start playing this season until the end of December but has tried to fill the volume shooting role that Askew held. He has the capability to pour in the points, as he had 26 in Berkeley’s win over Stanford, but more often than not he’s taking a lot of shots without scoring a lot of points, with an abysmal 27.8% shooting percentage on the year.
I don’t want to go more in-depth on this team. They’re not good and, unlike a team like Stanford that can at least do some things right, there really isn’t anything this UC Berkeley team does that can even be considered good.
So, what’s going to happen tonight?
UCLA will win.
I’m not going to guess at a score, especially because I would expect UCLA to sleep walk through most of this game, but they’re going to win, and I’d bet on it being very comfortable. Look for Tyger Campbell to try and score early and often in an attempt to shoot his way out of a slump, and I would not be shocked if bench players like Dylan Andrews, Will McClendon, and Mac Etienne get more run just to work on some things in a game where Jaime Jaquez could almost win the game single-handedly. At this point in the season, getting a live scrimmage is a huge thing, and the only crime here is that Berkeley will continue to play basketball after this game.
Listen to the Game With TMB
Tonight’s game will be on Pac-12 Networks with Ted Robinson and national treasure Bill Walton. If you prefer, you can listen to Josh Lewin and Tracy Murray. Just be sure to right-click on it so that you can open up another tab and have it going while you chat in the comments below. Listen to today’s game online.
This is your UCLA men’s basketball vs. UC Berkeley Golden Bears game thread. Here’s how to watch tonight’s game:
#4 UCLA Basketball (22-4, 13-2)
Opponent: UC Berkeley Golden Bears (3-23, 2-13)
Series Record: UCLA leads, 145-103
When: 7:30 pm PT, Saturday, February 18, 2023
Where: Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, CA
TV: Pac-12 Networks National, Los Angeles, and Bay Area with Ted Robinson and Bill Walton
Thanks again for supporting The Mighty Bruin. Your paid subscriptions make this site possible. Questions, comments, story ideas, angry missives and more can be sent to @TheMightyBruin on Twitter.
We are trying something new tonight. Going to a local sports bar for a watch party. I will be posting from there and let you know the vibe. Since it’s in the Bay Area hoping to avoid a Calimony shakedown!
No more driving for me this evening. I am staying home and watch the game. Hey kids, if you have heard an earful from coach after the last game, I heard he did let you have it, then come on, put on a good show.
Oh man, I'm pretty sure the student section just got them with the delayed shot clock count! The students were counting down and were at 3 as the actual shot clock expired and Cal didn't get the shot off. Love it!
I'm very happy seeing Singleton and Bailey passing up 3s and going to the rim. We need more of that as a team, and tonight is a good time to work on those skills
The good news is the game is exactly as it should be given the talent differential between the two teams. We need to keep the good on the pedal. Never let up.
Wait - I thought we finished playing all the Big West-level random UC schools on our schedule back before Thanksgiving?!
U clap clap clap
We are trying something new tonight. Going to a local sports bar for a watch party. I will be posting from there and let you know the vibe. Since it’s in the Bay Area hoping to avoid a Calimony shakedown!
No more driving for me this evening. I am staying home and watch the game. Hey kids, if you have heard an earful from coach after the last game, I heard he did let you have it, then come on, put on a good show.
No Kenny tonight. He’s in street clothes.
U C L A - Fight! Fight! Fight. Go Bruins beat the Bears.
Great vibe in the pub. Very welcoming. The senior Bruin in the group brought tablecloths. Super nice and welcoming.
Wow, Cal is really really bad
Jaime o-reb an our first deuce!
Tyger starting out 0 for 3. Ugh, wake up, kiddo.
Jaime way to work the lane!
Is there a mercy rule in basketball?
Tygrrr, 3!
Keep it up Tyger
Jaime is 22 today, Happy birthday, JJ!
Great drive and dish by Tyger and Jaylen nails the 3
We’re going to be required to pay Calimony? We definitely should get a discount.
12-zip after 5 minutes.
Always like it when Jaylen hits the 3.
Cal is gonna lull us into laziness and suckitude
Okay this place is so great we have personalized UCLA ketchup in a Bruin blue bottle!
Mac is in already.
Cronin said that McClendon shoots really well in practice. Hope he gets enough game time to transfer practice to game.
OIK - he hit the FT's - now it is time to hit the 3"s
Cal is playing as advertised.
Sweet under the basket move by singleton.
Oh man, I'm pretty sure the student section just got them with the delayed shot clock count! The students were counting down and were at 3 as the actual shot clock expired and Cal didn't get the shot off. Love it!
Cal is really bad
Nwuba and Canka are both out today. Sucks for Canka as he wouldve gotten a good Amt of playing time today
I'm very happy seeing Singleton and Bailey passing up 3s and going to the rim. We need more of that as a team, and tonight is a good time to work on those skills
Has Russell Stong ever played in a first half?
Bona slam!
Bona with the two hand jam!
Nice board and quick assist for Mac
Dang it. Cal is probably gonna get into double digits before halftime.
Cal shooting 25%, us 47%
Bona has 4 pts and no fouls. Jaime started out the scoring but has been quiet since.
I worry this game is making us dumber at basketball.
Foul shooting so much better tonight
We'e 7 of 8 at the FT, keep that up and we'll win.
29-11 with 3:22 left in the half.
Bona has gotten the ball stripped twice now
Jaquez with the 3. Up by 20
Jaime for 3!
Ucla up 23 at the half.
We almost got to your 40, Terry. Probably would have but for a lot of impatient 3's in transition.
Twitter tells me 15 is the fewest amount of points a Cronin-coached ucla team have ever allowed in a half
The good news is the game is exactly as it should be given the talent differential between the two teams. We need to keep the good on the pedal. Never let up.
They have gotten to the rim a little too easy for my liking.
Tyger with the teardrop!