Postgame Talk: UCLA Handles Business Against Rider, Wins 85-50
There was a lot of little things to like in this game for Mick Cronin’s new squad.
I don’t know if UCLA fans can ever claim that a season-opening victory over an outmatched opponent can ever qualify as cathartic, but this one might come close.
The UCLA Bruins jumped out to an early lead against the Rider Broncs and never looked back, riding a stingy defense and more consistent offense to an easy 85-50 victory to start the 2024-2025 season. Tyler Bilodeau led the team with 18 points, one of four Bruins in double figures on a night when the team shot a ridiculous 52.3% from the field while holding Rider to 31.7%.
Let’s start with the offense because that side of the court saw the biggest change from last year. Mick Cronin transformed the roster this offseason, losing six players and bringing in eight new ones to replace them, with the hope that this year’s team would have more shooting ability and athleticism to compete. Through one game, that gamble appears to have paid off. There is now an influx of weapons throughout the lineup and opposing teams really cannot afford to play off anyone. It does start with Bilodeau, who showcased his excellent scoring ability in this one with a variety of moves in the low post and midrange, even showing to be a willing (if inconsistent) shot from deep. Dylan Andrews picked up where he left off last season in the 2nd half as well, finishing with 14 points on 6-11 shooting to go with six assists. Southern Cal transfer showed off a crafty game, constantly getting into the paint and finishing to the tune of 12 points on 5-9 shooting, while Sebastian Mack was an efficient (by his standards) 4-7 from the field for 12 points as well.
But it wasn’t just the headliners putting up points. All throughout the lineup, UCLA got great contributions. Skyy Clark was limited by foul trouble in the first half and had a quiet shooting night, but also finished the game with a team-high seven assists. Eric Dailey Jr. showed that he can put up points in a hurry as well, putting up all nine of his points in the first half before being limited in the second half by foul trouble. Lazar Stefanovic showed he might be perfect in a reduced role as a catch-and-shoot three-point specialist, hitting two of his three three-point attempts and looking smooth while doing so. In fact, while the 34.5% three-point shooting might not jump out as exceptionally good, it still represents a significant improvement from last year’s team, as seven Bruins recorded at least one made three-pointer.
(Don’t worry about Aday Mara, I’m saving him for later)
On the defensive end, UCLA played some stingy ball for most of the game, but it feels a bit more clear that the defense is more of a work in progress than the offense at this point, which makes a ton of sense. There are a lot of new players learning Mick Cronin’s system, and you can see the individual mistakes taking place at times. Funnily enough, one of the biggest mistakes that kept occurring is that the team was too aggressive at times, getting too gassed up on the defensive intensity and going for low probability steal attempts that did not work and left the defense vulnerable for easy baskets. I also wasn’t thrilled with the defensive rebounding effort, as the Broncs grabbed 18 offensive rebounds, an excessively high number given the talent disparity. That is something that can be fixed with more attention on that front, as there is plenty of ability to be a good rebounding team, but it is something to monitor.
Some other quick hits regarding things I’m watching for in this early stretch of games:
One of the things that I think UCLA needs to be a truly elite team is around 20+ minutes of solid play a game from their bigs in Aday Mara and William Kyle III. It is hard to take too much from this game, but I was pleasantly surprised with the play of Mara in this one. The improved strength he developed in the offseason gave him the ability to play Rider’s stout bigs solidly on defense, and he’s starting to become more confident on the offensive end, getting five points on 2-3 shooting and an assist (he should have had a few more but the team could not finish some incredibly pretty passes that he threw). If Mara can continue this development and provide at least 10 minutes of quality play a game, that would be a huge boost.
William Kyle III, meanwhile, seems like an early work in progress as he acclimates to the speed of P5 basketball. Not to say he looked out of place against Rider, but more reacting to his teammates and processing things at a quicker speed. Cronin gave him plenty of run late to work on some things, so hopefully that pays off down the line.
Kobe Johnson was the only player to hit the 30 minute mark in this game, and I already suspect he will be this year’s Jaime Jaquez Memorial Ground Into Dust player this year.
Redshirt watch: Brandon Williams, Devin Williams, and Eric Freeny did not play in this game. B. Will is the only one of the three that seems like a “break in case of emergency” option, and the team is deep enough that Devin Williams may actually get to redshirt this year.
Trent Perry got some solid minutes in this one, and showcased the drive and competitiveness that made him such a winner at the high school level. It felt appropriate that his first official collegiate points came at the free-throw line after drawing a foul while grabbing a rebound over some bigger players, and he kept shooting the three, finally hitting his fourth attempt. I don’t think UCLA needs Perry to light things up this year, but if he can grow to provide meaningful minutes on both ends of the court, that would be a huge bonus.
On the flip side, Dominick Harris escaped the dog house a bit more in this one, and I’ll be interested to keep watching his compete level as he works his way into the rotation. Harris has game-breaking shooting ability but already seems a bit streaky. That said, UCLA did not really set him up with some open three-point attempts in this one to try and get him going, so that will be interesting to watch going forward as well.
UCLA next plays on Friday of all days, where they will play a solid New Mexico team in a neutral-site game in Las Vegas, and I have no idea when you guys will get the recap for that one considering Joe and I will likely be at the football game at the same time.
Go Bruins!
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XLNT Review of this years team. There is a lot of talent out there.. I see the key as being consistent.
There is enough shooting talent to keep them in every game. They will need to keep their defense tight and to focus more on screening out on the Defensive boards. The BIG-10 will present a really
challenging season. I wish the BIG-10 would get 2 BTN channels so that we could watch all the games on regular TV. The on-line Channel has its limitations with DVR, Viewing Device, and general convenience; compared with BTN. And when we have to pay for a subscription, we should expect
something more convenient like with the Pro Soccer Matches (ESPN+). With 18 teams in the Conference, we deserve double the viewing outlets of the smaller ones.
Bill
Great start and everything looks very promising except the lack of a true center is very concerning. Mara has improved and may be an acceptable back up but Tyler is a power forward, not a center or big banger. Cronin can iron out and fine tune everything except you can't teach height and bulk.