UCLA Rides Wave to 100-53 Victory Over Pepperdine
This game was over quickly after halftime.
Well, that was fun.
UCLA came back to Pauley Pavilion on Wednesday looking for the proverbial “get right” game following a lost weekend in Las Vegas. They got that and then some in their 100-53 victory over Pepperdine.
Pepperdine came out game to start, hitting six of their first nine shots to jump out to a 14-12 lead, but from that point on the Bruins turned up the heat. Pepperdine would end the game shooting 35% from the field, including a tremendous 28.1% on 9-32 shooting in the second half. The UCLA defense got after it, causing 17 turnovers from the Waves including eight steals. This wasn’t a perfect defensive game from the Bruins, especially as Pepperdine was still able to generate a decent amount of open looks from three-point range thanks to lackadaisical closeouts, but this was a great step in the right direction.
The offense, meanwhile, is going to be the talk after this game, and rightfully so - you don’t score 100 points and expect people to ignore it. Six Bruins would finish the game with double-figure scoring, with Amari Bailey leading the way. Bailey had a career-high 19 points in this game on 7-12 shooting and he was operating well at every level, hitting deep threes at one moment and then following that up with drives that he would either finish or leave up for Adem Bona to clean up with an easy dunk. Bailey has been allowed to create in games in the past, but this was the first game where he really looked comfortable, and it showed with a stellar performance. Maybe the lights are starting to click for Bailey, and we can hope for more of this kind of performance going forward.
Adem Bona was likewise excellent in this game. He seemed to take his mistakes over the weekend to heart, as he was much more in control on the defensive end and seemed more confident on offense. He’s still very green on that end and you can see the moments where he’s going through the thought process of what to do (such as when he pump fakes) but letting him develop in these kinds of games will be critical. It will also help Tyger Campbell as he apparently learns to play with a big man for the first time in his life. Campbell continued a weird stretch of play from the weekend where he kept turning the ball over when trying to work a two-man game with Bona, especially odd as both Bailey and Dylan Andrews showed to be much better at the pick-and-roll game already.
Jaime Jaquez and Jaylen Clark were able to take a secondary role due to the play of the freshmen. Jaquez only had four points at the half but would turn it on to end with 16, while Clark did the opposite by scoring eight of his 12 points in the first half. David Singleton, the lone Bruin bench piece to reach double figures, hit a few threes but also did a good amount of damage off the dribble, which is a nice new wrinkle for him to develop.
The early blowout meant that Mick Cronin was finally able to do the thing that I always want him to do: give the bench a long leash to develop. Dylan Andrews got 17 minutes of playing time in this game and continues to look like someone who can provide solid minutes throughout the season. Mac Etienne got an extended run late (again, looked like Cronin is managing his minutes early on) and continues to look like a player who should eat into Kenneth Nwuba’s minutes whenever the games get more important. Abramo Canka was able to get nine minutes, and while he is still committing turnovers because of excitement, he did show off a solid outside shot in knocking down two three-pointers. Even the walk-ons got multiple minutes of play, with the debut of Evan Manjikian directly leading to a three-pointer from the big man. And for those of you keeping track, Russell Stong missed his one shot but made a free throw, and Logan Cremonesi did not score but got a few rebounds and assists in 5 minutes.
Easy win, maybe even a needed win after the last weekend. On to the next.
Amari Bailey led the Bruins with 19 points and four assists. Jaime Jaquez led the Bruins with eight rebounds. Houston Mallette and Jan Zidek tied with 13 points apiece to lead the Waves.
Three Takeaways
Player of the Game: Amari Bailey - This was a desperately-needed game for Bailey, both to prove he could have this kind of performance at the college level and to quiet the doubters in some corners of the fanbase. Bailey finished with 19 points and four assists, both of which led the team, but in general, he seemed much more confident and in control of the game. I think Bailey will start playing better as UCLA transitions more and more away from the iso-heavy style that dominated Cronin’s first three years, as he’s unselfish with the ball which, ironically, will ultimately open up more scoring for him.
Developing the Bench - One of my constant bugaboos these past few years has been Mick Cronin’s bench usage, more specifically the lack thereof, during games against outmatched opponents. Too often Cronin would ride the starters for 33+ minutes in blowouts, which did not allow the bench to develop as it could have while tiring the players out over the season. At least so far this year, and in this game in particular, Cronin seems to get that the bench needs to play more. No Bruin topped 28 minutes, while eight players saw at least 10 minutes, which doesn’t even count Abramo Canka’s nine minutes or Mac Etienne’s seven. This is the kind of bench usage that will pay off in the long run.
Three-Pointers are Easier if They’re Open - UCLA went 10-20 from distance in this game, and a lot of those looks were open shots in the flow of the offense. One criticism you could make about UCLA’s offense in the past is that the iso-style led to a lot of contested looks, especially from three-point range, but UCLA was finally able to generate open looks with something approaching regularity in this game. Tyger Campbell is still forcing things a bit (as evidenced by his 1-6 shooting from distance) but the rest of the team is doing a good job of moving the ball and finding open looks.
UCLA will take Thanksgiving off and rest for a bit before they return to Pauley Pavilion next Sunday when they take on Bellarmine. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 PM PT.
Go Bruins!
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Great write-up with excellent observations
Bailey's court vision in this game was really impressive - even more than the scoring, he facilitated the offense really well even if he only tallied 4 assists. I really hope that continues and he builds on this going forward, we looked much more efficient and in flow than the other games against like opposition thus far...