In many ways, the 262nd meeting between UCLA and Southern Cal was always shaping up to be a referendum for both programs. Neither school is living up to whatever preseason hype they had back in October, but this was an opportunity to show they could at least improve over the course of the season. And it is in that regard that the Bruins walked into Galen Center and strolled out with a dominant 65-50 over the Trojans.
The difference between these two programs was on clear display, as a UCLA team that had been through the wringer as recently as the start of January played with the passion and energy reminiscent of past Cronin teams, diving after loose balls and playing tenacious defense, making the Trojans look disorganized and poorly-coached in the process. Nothing symbolized that difference more than the differences in rebounding; at the half, UCLA held a 10-0 advantage on the offensive boards and finished with a 43-29 advantage on the boards. The Bruins cleaned up their rebounding woes against Arizona with excellent team effort but nothing symbolized this more than Adem Bona, who put up a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds while limiting his foul trouble, allowing him to absolutely terrorize the Trojans on defense. Bona’s offense was not nearly as clean as it has been over the past few weeks, but the effort he exhibited was contagious and exactly what you want to see.
The improved UCLA offense was also on display despite shots not falling as frequently (the Bruins shot 35.7% from the field, with a lot of that being due to multiple looks close to the basket that did not fall). Lazar Stefanovic continued his recent resurgence by scoring 17 points on 3-9 shooting (2-3 from distance) and hitting all nine of his free throws, as he continues to simplify his offensive game and play as more of a catch-and-shoot offensive threat. The big story was Dylan Andrews, who has been much-maligned in recent weeks for his poor offensive output but went off for a game-high 20 points on 7-15 shooting (3-6 from three) and four assists. The Trojans simply had no answer for an Andrews that was completely in his bag, and it was great that Andrews played the way he did as Sebastian Mack got hurt early and was ineffective for most of the game and Berke Buyuktuncel sat out due to a hand injury.
Another contrast is just how both teams overcame injuries. Southern Cal is famously without their star point guard Isaiah Collier, who got injured a few weeks ago, and just saw Boogie Ellis return from a groin injury. The Trojans did not have players who could step up into those roles and provide quality play for them; Bronny James, the much-hyped son of Lebron James who suffered his own heart issues over the summer, has been thrust into a starting role and has been exposed as a player who is not ready for major minutes at the college level, let alone the pros. James finished with only two points. DJ Rodman, the hyped transfer from Washington State and son of former NBA player Dennis Rodman, has been no better, finishing with four points. And Ellis, who has a history of killing the Bruins in these matchups, could only muster eight points.
Compare that to the Bruins, who went deep into the bench and got solid contributions. Brandon Williams took a spot in the starting lineup for Buyuktuncel and, while he did not score, provided excellent defense and good rebounding. Devin Williams, who has played sparingly this season and has not registered a point since November, put in four points and provided solid play in eight minutes of action. Aday Mara, who has played sparingly in recent weeks, looked rejuvenated, with two points and four rebounds in five minutes of action.
Again, this game was a referendum on two programs going in opposite directions, and for UCLA fans, this was a good reminder that for as hard as this season has been, it could always be worse.
After all, you could be a fan of justSC.
Go Bruins!
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I was at the enemy territory conducting reconnaissance this afternoon ! LOL and seriously, I was and that may surprise you bruin fans. The reason being my friend's daughter has been a medical intern at USC Keck Hospital since last fall. As a fervent basketball fan, she could ill afford to attend the home game because of her long, hectic schedules. So her dad and I, friends since undergrad days, told ourselves what the heck, let's go check out our rivals' home turf and there we were, entering Galen Center amidst a sea of Trojan fans. They apparently were anticipating a bloodbath, if our recent string of ugly losses were any evidences in their mind. In fact, we were somewhat leery about the prospect also. But too bad, the minute the game started, our concerns dissipated. All I could see was our team played with intensity and cohesiveness as Dimitri put it succinctly. The shooting touch may still be off somewhat, however the tenacity to defend around the perimeter, especially Bona's towering presence underneath the basket plus the players' overall hustles at both ends were unmistakable signs that indeed, Cronin's coaching is beginning to pay off. We are melding as a team at this stage finally. We went through a horrendous stretch as the season began. We were soundly beaten at times. We were also messing it up ourselves when we could have prevailed. Now I can safely say we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Loved the story! Our daughter is a second year resident at Keck/LA County. Can attest the hours don’t favor basketball game attendance. We haven’t been able to get our daughter to a game since her first year of med school. Such a bummer.
Oh my, the two young interns must have crossed path with each other on certain occasions within the building, if not during break time at the cafeteria which I hear is quite good. I know they will both shine ever so brightly in the world of medicine.
Congrats to this year's Bruins for finally getting Coach Cronin a victory at the Galen Center, which seemed long overdue. And Fart On, U$C! Thanks to them for giving us another dose of that powerful, intoxicating "hopium". :-)
Was at the game last night. Do not agree with Bona's offense being "not nearly as clean", particularly in the first half, The Trojans were throwing three players at Bona every time he got the ball and for the most part, he was able to pass the ball to open players. When he did score, it was by physically overwhelming the two or three U$C defenders. In fact, at the pre game dinner in Founders Hall, Enfield gave a pre game speech to the faithful and he said their major focus would be to shut down Bona by using a combination of his Bigs. In the second half, with the Trojans down, Enfield changed defense to one on one or bringing a double team against Bona and he was much more effective. Have been to most USC vs UCLA games at Galen and this is the most quiet and subdued I saw the rabid U$C fans--beautiful!! They were leaving with four minutes left to play LOL.
Love that Mara, who came in highly touted but has struggled all season, is still cheering and engaged with his teammates despite lack of playing time.
I DVRed the game and watched it near midnight, I think I’ll keep this game on my DVR forever. Blowing out SC on their home floor is always a blast. I wonder what went so wrong for SC. They had back to back top 3 finishes in conference after making the elite 8 and now, they’re in last place. Yikes
Mack's injury has held him out of practice so far this week and Berke has practiced though no update on his status for thursday. UCLA will definitely need them both to be able to go to be successful for this upcoming road trip.
Thanks for the correction! I knew we beat OSU once already but I just assumed it was at ucla because it came at a time when ucla wasn’t playing well. UCLA is surging too!!
I look forward to seeing BSPN featuring Bronny's 2 free throws again on their year end Top Plays of 2024...Probably at #4 or #5 so as not to give the appearance of bias.
Funny, because that’s exactly what I told my friends on our Bruins text thread when I posted the article: “Limit one comment per person, no overly giddy responses or possible replacement speculation. We don’t need to jinx this.”
I was at the enemy territory conducting reconnaissance this afternoon ! LOL and seriously, I was and that may surprise you bruin fans. The reason being my friend's daughter has been a medical intern at USC Keck Hospital since last fall. As a fervent basketball fan, she could ill afford to attend the home game because of her long, hectic schedules. So her dad and I, friends since undergrad days, told ourselves what the heck, let's go check out our rivals' home turf and there we were, entering Galen Center amidst a sea of Trojan fans. They apparently were anticipating a bloodbath, if our recent string of ugly losses were any evidences in their mind. In fact, we were somewhat leery about the prospect also. But too bad, the minute the game started, our concerns dissipated. All I could see was our team played with intensity and cohesiveness as Dimitri put it succinctly. The shooting touch may still be off somewhat, however the tenacity to defend around the perimeter, especially Bona's towering presence underneath the basket plus the players' overall hustles at both ends were unmistakable signs that indeed, Cronin's coaching is beginning to pay off. We are melding as a team at this stage finally. We went through a horrendous stretch as the season began. We were soundly beaten at times. We were also messing it up ourselves when we could have prevailed. Now I can safely say we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Loved the story! Our daughter is a second year resident at Keck/LA County. Can attest the hours don’t favor basketball game attendance. We haven’t been able to get our daughter to a game since her first year of med school. Such a bummer.
Oh my, the two young interns must have crossed path with each other on certain occasions within the building, if not during break time at the cafeteria which I hear is quite good. I know they will both shine ever so brightly in the world of medicine.
My sentiments exactly but you stated them so eloquently!
Congrats to this year's Bruins for finally getting Coach Cronin a victory at the Galen Center, which seemed long overdue. And Fart On, U$C! Thanks to them for giving us another dose of that powerful, intoxicating "hopium". :-)
Go Bruins!
It's sort of crazy that this is the roster/team that finally won at Galen. Sports are weird lol.
Was at the game last night. Do not agree with Bona's offense being "not nearly as clean", particularly in the first half, The Trojans were throwing three players at Bona every time he got the ball and for the most part, he was able to pass the ball to open players. When he did score, it was by physically overwhelming the two or three U$C defenders. In fact, at the pre game dinner in Founders Hall, Enfield gave a pre game speech to the faithful and he said their major focus would be to shut down Bona by using a combination of his Bigs. In the second half, with the Trojans down, Enfield changed defense to one on one or bringing a double team against Bona and he was much more effective. Have been to most USC vs UCLA games at Galen and this is the most quiet and subdued I saw the rabid U$C fans--beautiful!! They were leaving with four minutes left to play LOL.
Love that Mara, who came in highly touted but has struggled all season, is still cheering and engaged with his teammates despite lack of playing time.
I DVRed the game and watched it near midnight, I think I’ll keep this game on my DVR forever. Blowing out SC on their home floor is always a blast. I wonder what went so wrong for SC. They had back to back top 3 finishes in conference after making the elite 8 and now, they’re in last place. Yikes
Is he leaving, as rumored?
Mara? No idea, but I would guess no? Especially if Bona declares and Nwuba graduates.
A throw away comment because the Bruins need more than a mere 4 comments on this write-up of their take down of the Trogans.
Folks suffering from a "hopium" hangover? :-)
Need to sweep U$C at Pauley on Feb. 24.
Go Bruins!
Mack's injury has held him out of practice so far this week and Berke has practiced though no update on his status for thursday. UCLA will definitely need them both to be able to go to be successful for this upcoming road trip.
UCLA is at home this week, which helps, but it's against a surging Oregon State and strong Oregon team.
Thanks for the correction! I knew we beat OSU once already but I just assumed it was at ucla because it came at a time when ucla wasn’t playing well. UCLA is surging too!!
Bummer. Get well soon, Bruins!
I look forward to seeing BSPN featuring Bronny's 2 free throws again on their year end Top Plays of 2024...Probably at #4 or #5 so as not to give the appearance of bias.
Joe, I just saw Chipster might be going to the Commanders! Which means he won’t be a bother to us Bruins fans!
Off subject, but this needs to be covered. Chip Kelly possibly seeking OC position in NFL. Yes please! Take Jarmond with you while you’re at it.
https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/ucla-coach-chip-kelly-shows-interest-in-nfl-offensive-coordinator-jobs-with-raiders-commanders-per-reports/
Personally, I’m choosing not to write about it out of fear of jinxing it.
That said, I also spent part of today working on a Hot Board for if he does ultimately leave…
Funny, because that’s exactly what I told my friends on our Bruins text thread when I posted the article: “Limit one comment per person, no overly giddy responses or possible replacement speculation. We don’t need to jinx this.”