Postgame Talk: Old-Fashioned Pac-12 Slobberknocker Breaks Out, UCLA Defeats Washington 65-60

The Bruins lost Tyler Bilodeau early but got a complete team effort to knock off the Huskies.

Kobe Johnson (Photo credit: @UCLAMBB)

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There are a few things to discuss in the aftermath of UCLA’s 65-60 road victory over Washington, but none of them really feel like THE story of the game. If anything, I think the big story of this game is that UCLA got a complete team victory in a game that felt like it would have felt at home in the Pac-12 of yore.

To wit, no UCLA player scored more than 12 points in this game and the two players who tied for the team lead were Skyy Clark and Aday Mara. UCLA needed scoring throughout the lineup as their leading scorer, Tyler Bilodeau, suffered an injury a few minutes into the game and was unable to continue. The loss of Bilodeau removed an easy offense button from the toolbox for the Bruins, and it did lead to a major shift in rotation, as Aday Mara was forced into extended action, playing 30 mostly-good minutes. He wasn’t as wildly efficient as he was against Wisconsin, likely affected by the return of Washington big man Franck Kepnang, who is physically strong and kept Mara out of his comfort spots for most of the game. Still, there could be no doubt that Mara adds a major dimension to the UCLA offense and defense that is not present when he is off the court, as he is a legitimate post presence on offense and a great shot-blocker on defense (Mara finished with five blocks in this one). William Kyle played seven minutes and was not as effective, struggling with positioning against the stronger Kepnang, but he also added two blocks and looks like he should be able to provide 10 minutes of backup play to give Mara a breather, at the very least.

The offense went through some rough stretches in this game, with the team shooting 41.1% and 37.9% in the second half. Washington turned up the defensive intensity throughout this game, perhaps thanks to the return of Kepnang, and the Bruins kept settling for contested shots. Funnily enough, the one place they did not struggle was from three-point range, as UCLA made nine of their 17 attempts for an impressive 52.9%. In a pregame radio interview, Mick Cronin mentioned that Washington played under screens in the previous meeting and dared UCLA to shoot, and they did that again in this game; unlike against Nebraska, however, UCLA hit those shots and made them pay. Even at the end of the game, with UCLA needing a basket to ice the game, Dylan Andrews was able to step into an open look from deep and drain it to put the game away.

The bigger takeaway for the Bruins is that, for the second time in a week, UCLA won the game with their defense. UCLA’s defensive strategy appeared pretty simple: accept that Great Osobor was going to score, and limit what everyone else was able to do. That was the case all game, as the Huskies were continually forced into contested shots or turnovers. Taking away what Osobor did, the Huskies shot 39% from the field, and his seven made free throws were one more than the rest of the Huskies shot combined. With Bilodeau out, UCLA locked in on the defensive end, and the result was one of the best defensive performances of the season.

I do want to point out just how physical this game was, in part because the Big Ten referees let most things play on. The game was very open and there was a real lack of ticky-tack calls, and while I think that caused some players like Mara and Sebastian Mack to struggle a bit, it did allow UCLA to get into the body of the Washington guards at the point of attack, and that hurt the flow of their offense. In general, I prefer a game with fewer foul calls to one with more, especially if things are called evenly throughout, and this was the case here. Credit to the officiating crew for handling this game well, and to UCLA for adjusting to the flow of the game.

I would not go as far as saying that UCLA looks to be rounding into form, especially given the injury to Bilodeau. But I do think there are some positives to take from the game, especially as Mara keeps getting more reps against high-major competition and UCLA gets better at playing with a true post presence on both ends of the court. Slowly but surely, the ceiling on this team feels like it is rising.

Go Bruins!

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