UCLA Makes Omelet Out of Denver, Wins 87-64

We do need to have a conversation about Tyger and Jaime, however.

I am going to get so much usage out of this picture. (Photo credit: @UCLAMBB)

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Let me run through the basics really quickly. UCLA is a good team, Denver is also good but outmatched, and the Bruins rolled to an 87-64 victory.

Ok, now that that’s out of the way, I wanted to take stock of the UCLA team and see where we’re at heading into a big non-conference pair of games.

If I have to start anywhere, then I need to start with the two leaders of this team: Tyger Campbell and Jaime Jaquez. I’ve spent a good amount of time this year lamenting the play of these two for parts of the year, and at this point, I think we as a community need to have a serious conversation about how they have looked. I think Jaquez has definitely looked better in recent weeks, with his offense becoming more automatic when operating anywhere near the paint. That said, his defense has left a lot to be desired, and it really appears that Jaquez is conserving energy on the defensive end, as he is constantly slow on closeouts and rotations, hurting the rest of the defense.

Tyger Campbell has been more of a problem; the increased focus the coaching staff has placed on him as a scorer seems to have backfired, as Campbell has struggled to find his offense with any sort of consistency. His field goal attempts are up by over four shots a game early in the season, but his field goal percentage has dipped well below the 43% he’s sat at the previous two years to 39%. His shooting has gotten worse both inside and outside the three-point arc, and while his free throw percentage has increased, he is getting to the line at a much lower rate. Maybe the most concerning is the fact that he is currently averaging over two turnovers a game for the first time in his career. And none of this even gets into his defense, which has seemingly gotten worse this year. Campbell has never been a defensive stalwart, but he found a good level last year, so his taking a step back has led to even more defensive problems for a UCLA team trying to integrate a lot of new faces.

If you’re watching this game with the context of those two in mind, then you might have recognized a pattern emerge. Campbell and Jaquez played 18 and 17 minutes in the first half respectively while Jaylen Clark was limited to eight minutes due to foul trouble. The result was a half where UCLA led but could never really pull away from the Pioneers; Denver had the game as close as six points with 2:55 left in the 1st half thanks to a lackluster defensive effort from the Bruins. Coach Mick Cronin had clearly seen enough, as he started the second half with Dylan Andrews on the floor for Tyger Campbell, and UCLA spent the opening six minutes of the second half extending their lead from nine to 26 while preventing Denver from scoring a single point until the 14:05 minute. Campbell only played five minutes in the second half, while Jaquez only played nine. I don’t think it’s a coincidence to say that UCLA looked much improved defensively with one or both of their leaders off the court, and hopefully, this is the wake-up call both players need to rededicate themselves on that end.

(P.S. if you want a stat that really tells the story of this game, take the minute distribution of Jaquez and Campbell in this game, and compare it to the fact that the Pioneers shot 57.1% from the field in the first half compared to 44% in the second. Night and day stuff defensively for the Bruins.)

The good news is that the rest of the Bruins stepped up. Jaylen Clark once again was able to dominate an opponent with lesser talent; he still managed 10 points in the first half despite the foul trouble and ended with a team-high 24 points and the best defensive rating on the team. Clark was everywhere defensively, and the second half became a bit of a highlight reel of Clark repeatedly getting a steal and an easy basket. Similarly, Dylan Andrews got a large amount of run in this game and turned in his best performance of the season. Andrews was extremely active on the defensive end and was in control on offense, moving the ball to a variety of players and generating open looks with consistency. If Campbell is going to continue to struggle, having Andrews as a capable backup that can play larger minutes will be huge and is a great sign for the team going forward. Amari Bailey struggled offensively but was active on defense, which is a great sign for his further development, while Adem Bona was much-improved in the second half, cleaning up the mistakes that hurt him in the first half.

Maybe the best sign of the game was this: UCLA went 11 deep in the non-garbage minutes, and each player flashed something good. We got to see Will McClendon get his first bit of run in a UCLA uniform (he played a minute against Oregon last Sunday but not enough to really get a feel for how he looked) and while he looked rusty, you could see some of the skills that made him a prospect the Bruins wanted to bring in. Abramo Canka continues to push for more playing time by constantly doing all the little things that lead to winning basketball. Mac Etienne continues to work his way into game shape and I am looking forward to the day he overtakes Kenneth Nwuba as the primary backup big (which is not to say Nwuba hasn’t looked fine, but Etienne gives the Bruins a higher ceiling). And this doesn’t even get into David Singleton, who continues to essentially play starter minutes as the 6th man, and while his shot is in a bit of a mini-slump at the moment, he has dedicated himself on the defensive end and came away with three steals, second only to Clark’s four.

I appreciate that Coach Cronin used this game as something of a live practice so that the players could work on different concepts. Obviously, the minutes allocation really allowed for most of the players to get a good amount of run, but what stood out was the press. UCLA really utilized a full-court press for what feels like the first time in the Cronin era. We’ve seen the press at times but it’s usually a half-hearted attempt to speed opposing teams up. This was an honest attempt at guarding 94 feet of the floor, and while it led to a good amount of fouls by the Bruins, it also generally was successful and led to a lot of Denver turnovers. The Pioneers might have shot a solid 50% from the field in the game, but they took 33 fewer shots than the Bruins in part because of a 24-6 turnover disparity; limiting the number of shots your opponent takes is a very easy way to get a win.

Overall, a good win with some concerning things related to their two biggest players. Hopefully those things get addressed going into two major matchups this coming week.

Jaylen Clark led the Bruins with 24 points. He also tied a list of Bruins (Amari Bailey, Tyger Campbell, Dylan Andrews, and David Singleton) for the team lead with four rebounds apiece. Dylan Andrews led the team with six assists. Touko Tainamo led the Pioneers with 16 points.

Three Takeaways

1. Player of the Game: Dylan Andrews - Andrews got a chance to play extended minutes thanks to the poor play of Campbell, and he really made the most of it. Andrews put in 11 points on solid 5-10 shooting from the field, led the team in assists with six, and tied for the team lead in rebounds with four. Equally important, he brought a defensive intensity that the Bruins were sorely lacking from many players. Seeing Andrews play at this level isn’t just important for the Bruins this year, but for future years as he is set up as the point guard of the future for UCLA.

2. 20 Minutes of Defense is Enough…for Now - This is the third game in a row where UCLA has played good defense for only half the game and gotten away with it. Obviously this is going to work against a team like Denver that the Bruins will simply out-talent over the course of a game, and it worked for the best against a bad Stanford and decent Oregon, but the Bruins won’t be able to get away with that level of defensive commitment this coming week. This will be something to monitor for the coming week.

3. A Moment for Jalen Hill - UCLA had a pregame ceremony for former Bruin Jalen Hill, who was found dead earlier this year. Hill’s family was in attendance, and the ceremony was well-presented. Hill had an up-and-down UCLA career, but you could see the impact he had on the members of the team that got to play with him. I love that UCLA did this, and wanted to shout out the program for this moment.

The Bruins head on the road for a series of major non-conference games this week, starting with a meeting with Maryland on Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 6:00 PM PT.

Go Bruins!

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