Postgame Talk: UCLA Honors Bill Walton, Takes Down Ohio State 69-61

This one will go down as one of the most important victories in the history of Western civilization.

It’s Bill Walton’s night, he gets the picture today. (Photo credit: @CBSSportsCBB)

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It would be a lie to say the fate of the known universe hung in the balance as the UCLA Bruins took on Ohio State. Then again, when Bill Walton said that, a part of you always believed it could be true.

Sunday’s matinee was a huge game for a number of reasons. For one, UCLA was given a lifeline in the Big Ten conference standings thanks to losses this week by Purdue and Wisconsin (which was hilarious because how on earth do you lose to Oregon at home Wisconsin? This is why you aren’t a serious contender). A win would vault UCLA into a virtual tie for third place. On top of that, UCLA was still searching for win #20 on the season, and Mick Cronin was searching for win #500 in his head coaching career.

Oh, and it was Bill Walton Appreciation Night, as the Bruin faithful flooded into Pauley Pavilion in their finest tie-dye shirts commemorating Big Red.

Truth be told, it never felt like UCLA was in danger of losing this one. There were touchy moments, to be sure, and Ohio State kept going on mini-runs throughout to keep things within striking distance, but I can’t say I got particularly worried in the stands. Perhaps it was the swirl of emotions that came with everything going on with this game, or perhaps it was a reaction to the terrible way UCLA closed out against Minnesota last Tuesday, but it felt like the Bruins were ready with an answer every time Ohio State got close.

Maybe I felt pretty confident because Aday Mara was allowed to play 20 minutes in this game. I’ve reached the point where I am past trying to understand Mick Cronin’s reluctance to play him major minutes unless necessary. Maybe Cronin is worried that Mara’s conditioning is still not up to snuff following his bout with illness. Still, Mara once again proved the haters wrong with a solid performance, scoring 10 points (including going 4-7 from the free throw line), grabbing nine rebounds, and getting two blocks. There were moments where you could see that Mara was still a work-in-progress on offense, as he kept going for little floaters and hook shots instead of recognizing that he is 7’3” and listening to Walton’s advice to throw it down (and Cronin may also need to take Walton’s advice and remember that Mara is 7’3” and will continue to be 7’3” for the remainder of the season). Still, this was an encouraging bounce-back performance from him. The defense….well, the defense was still outstanding, as his mere presence stopped Ohio State from going inside, and his defensive rating from this game was a hilariously low 70.9, a sign of how elite he is on that end.

Mara played as many minutes as he did because Tyler Bilodeau did not have a good game in the slightest. The junior forward struggled just to get the ball and had his worst defensive outing in a month, drawing a quick third foul less than 30 seconds into the second half. Bilodeau would end up playing only 12 minutes in this game, and if you told me beforehand that Bilodeau played that little, I would assume the Bruins had lost. Tyler will have better games going forward, but it also should take him going into foul trouble to get Cronin to play his highest-ceiling (pun-intended) player major minutes. William Kyle III saw eight minutes of action and I felt he did really well, providing a lot of energy and defensive effort, finishing with three blocks. I also thought he boxed out well and opened things up for the other Bruins (in particular Kobe Johnson) to secure rebounds. Sometimes it’s important to note that rebounding is a team effort.

Eric Dailey seemed to break free of his February slump, leading the team with 20 points on 8-15 shooting. Dailey is someone who plays better when he is feeling confident, and I think getting that first basket to go down after fighting for an offensive rebound got him going positively. He still struggled a bit defensively, but when he is playing at that kind of level on offense, you can excuse the defense a bit (especially if a shot-blocker like Mara and Kyle are on the floor to clean up the messes).

UCLA’s guard play was…interesting. In the first half, I would say it was outright abysmal, with Sebastian Mack showing some offensive fire while Dylan Andrews and Skyy Clark combined to go 0-7 from the field with only two assists (both by Andrews) to two turnovers. That may be a bit unfair - Clark’s turnover came after he rolled his ankle and lost the ball in pain - but it does speak to the poor guard play UCLA was getting in the half, and makes it questionable why Trent Perry did not see the court. Again, it is so late in the season that I am past trying to understand it, but at the very least Cronin stated in the postgame that he was upset at himself for not putting Perry in the game, and I would expect to see a lot of him during the Northwestern and Southern Cal contests.

The second half was a much better outing for Andrews and Clark. Andrews led the team in +/-, which is another point against the stat for accurately telling who the best and worst player on the court was in a game, but he did play solid defense and hit one of his two shots in the half. Clark, meanwhile, was much better on offense, scoring all 13 of his points in the half, going 4-5 from the field, 3-3 from deep, and hitting both of his free throw shots at the end of the game. They both needed to be improved because Sebastian Mack was a trainwreck in the second half, playing out of control and even getting a flagrant one on an offensive foul. It feels like both Big Ten opponents and referees are now wise to his antics, as Mack is getting fewer benefits from the whistle than he was earlier in the season, and he either needs to adapt or Cronin needs to move in a different direction.

Kobe Johnson did so many of the little things in this game. His offense was not great, only hitting one of his eight shots for three points and missing a number of shots close to the basket (UCLA in general kept missing easy baskets at that range), but he also led the team in rebounds with 13 and tied Dylan Andrews for the team lead in assists with four. Toss in one block and three steals to go with being the ironman of the second half, and you can see why Cronin is so adamant that he stays out of early foul trouble because he just makes the team better when he is on the court. Lazar Stefanovic had a solid outing and is making the most of his limited minutes.

In a follow-up from Tuesday, UCLA was much better from the free-throw line in this game, shooting 15-20 from the charity stripe and hitting 7-8 of their shots from the line in the last four minutes of play. It likely helped that Cronin was much better about his rotations in the second half, getting everyone some rest (outside of Johnson) and keeping legs fresh, and hopefully that continues.

This was a celebration of life, at a time when so many in our community are doing the same. Bill Walton would have loved all the tributes to him, with his wife Lori named honorary captain and a classy ceremony at halftime honoring him. But more than anything, he would have loved witnessing the rebirth of UCLA greatness, as the school had no better ambassador than him. It is only fitting the Bruins won one of the greatest games in the history of basketball in his honor.

Go Bruins!

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