Statement Made, UCLA Handles Kentucky 63-53

The Bruins are a much-improved team from the one that played in Vegas.

Jaime Jaquez made a statement in Madison Square Garden. (Photo credit: @UCLAMBB)

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What a difference a few weeks make.

Thanksgiving weekend, UCLA fans were apoplectic with how UCLA basketball was looking, dropping two winnable games in Las Vegas to Illinois and Baylor. The Bruins were playing sloppy defense, could not get any help from their interior, and were struggling to find any offense outside of Tyger Campbell and Jaime Jaquez.

Fast forward to today, as UCLA comes off its second-straight road win over a top-25 team, winning a tough game against the Kentucky Wildcats 63-53. UCLA was carried by their defensive effort, which limited the reigning consensus Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe to only 8 points on 4-12 shooting and held the Wildcats in general to a meager 33% from the field. The interior did not provide a lot on the offensive end, but more than held their own on defense, exemplified by both Adem Bona and Mac Etienne putting in exceptional performances. And they were able to get scoring outside of their big two, as Jaylen Clark put up 15 points and David Singleton threw in eight more to complement Jaquez (19) and Campbell (15).

Let’s focus on the defense first because this was what ultimately led to UCLA winning. This does feel like the first time that UCLA has looked like the Cincinnati teams that Mick Cronin coached in the past, as they were relentless for most of the game. Kentucky was never able to consistently generate open looks, and they really struggled to score close to the basket, finishing with only 20 points in the paint. The Wildcats were forced to score their points away from the basket, which are much harder looks to make in general. I was also pleasantly surprised by the rebounding; in the moment, it felt like Kentucky was getting to more rebounds, but the Bruins ultimately won the rebounding battle 43-42. Kentucky was able to generate eight more offensive rebounds than the Bruins, but even that was little help as the Wildcats only scored nine second-chance points on 21 offensive rebounds.

The defensive game plan clearly focused on limiting Tshiebwe, with a lot of positive results. The Bruins rarely let Tshiebwe operate in a one-on-one situation, constantly sending help defenders and trying to get the ball out of his hands as quickly as possible. It was a smart strategy, as Tshiebwe rarely made the correct play in these situations, finishing with only two assists to two turnovers, and his 4-12 shooting from the field highlighted a defense that made him work for every point. This defense trickled down to the rest of Kentucky’s top scorers; Antonio Reeves, Kentucky’s second-leading scorer and best outside shooter, was held to just six points on an abysmal 2-13 shooting night (2-8 from three) while Jacob Toppin was similarly held to just five points on 2-10 shooting. UCLA was clearly ok with letting Kentucky’s secondary players try to beat them - Chris Livingston finished with 14 points off the bench while Sahvir Wheeler was the only starter in double-digit scoring with 11 - but even those points were hard-fought.

If you want some fun defensive stats, consider this: Kentucky scored all of eight points over the final 11:52 of game time. They missed their last 11 field goal attempts to end the game, and went 2-18 overall down that stretch, finishing with a scoring drought that lasted 4:31. When the Bruins needed to lock things down to secure the win, they did it with gusto.

A lot of credit has to go to UCLA’s interior for the defensive effort. Yes, you still had the exceptional play of Jaylen Clark on that end (who is once again making the push for National DPOY), and Jaime Jaquez again turned in an excellent performance on that end, but we knew that the victory would come down to the play of the interior, and they delivered. Adem Bona went toe-to-toe and continues to show the growth that he had initially shown on Wednesday, finishing with two blocks and four rebounds. His best play came in the final minute, where Bona stepped out with perfect defense to block a layup attempt, then grabbed the rebound in traffic. Mac Etienne was similarly excellent, and he’s really starting to look like he’s back physically, as he finished with five rebounds and a block in 13 minutes of play. Etienne really made the case that he should be the primary backup to Bona, which is not a slight against Kenneth Nwuba - Nwuba played fine but this game did highlight that he’s out of his depth against teams that possess a higher talent level. The offense still isn’t there for this group (though I will defend them by saying that UCLA’s offensive strategy did not seem to factor them into it in the slightest) but if they can anchor the defense in this way, then UCLA will be in a good spot going forward.

Finally, let’s talk about that offense. It was a bit ugly at times, but when the going gets tough, you need your big players to step up in a big way, and that’s exactly what happened. Jaime Jaquez was the best player on the court in this one, putting up a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds in a performance that should get chatter going for a National POTY push. Tyger Campbell was a bit inefficient in this one, often hunting for fouls rather than good shots, but he still finished with 15 points. The Bruins have known they needed a third scorer and they’re getting it with Jaylen Clark. Clark finished with 15 points, and he was able to generate a lot of them with his defense leading to easy baskets, but he also showed off a variety of moves on the interior. Mick Cronin trusted those three to be excellent and they were, with each playing 35+ minutes. Finally, you have to mention David Singleton, who again came off the bench and hit some big shots, nailing both of his three-point attempts to finish with eight points. UCLA did not get much offensive contribution from super-freshman Amari Bailey, who went 1-6 from the field to finish with three points, but he continues to show up on the defensive end and he’s too talented to let that happen for long.

Still, this was a brutally-efficient offensive showing from the Bruins. UCLA shot 46% from the field, despite only shooting 2-8 on three-pointers. Even with Tshiebwe clogging up the paint, UCLA still made their living in the paint, holding a 32-20 advantage on scoring close to the basket. They also did a solid job drawing fouls, especially in the second half, though their 47% shooting from the line left a lot to be desired (both teams struggled from the free throw line, so I guess it was something of a wash). Maybe the most shocking fact is that UCLA still ended up with more second-chance points than the Wildcats despite having eight-fewer offensive rebounds; the Bruins got 14 second-chance points, as good a sign as any of their ability to simply outwork Kentucky.

This was the kind of road trip many felt UCLA could pull off at the start of this season. The Bruins may be young but they possess a ton of talent, and as soon as things start to click, they were going to be trouble. UCLA currently sits at 4th in KenPom’s rankings, with an offense that sits in the top three and a defense that sits at 12th in the nation. Outside of their road matchup with Arizona, you’d have to expect they will be favored in every game going forward. Now is the time to show they can live up to the hype.

Jaime Jaquez led the Bruins in all the major categories, putting up team highs in points with 19, rebounds with 12, and assists with four. Chris Livingston led the Wildcats with 14 points.

Three Takeaways

1. Player of the Game: Jaime Jaquez - Big players play big in the biggest moments, and with the lights of Madison Square Garden shining bright, Jaime Jaquez decided to be the best player on the court. He finished with a double-double thanks to 19 points and 12 rebounds, but he also led the team in assists with four. Equally impressive was his defensive effort; Jaquez clearly took the comments about his defensive effort to heart because this was his second-straight excellent defensive performance, including tying Jaylen Clark for the team lead in steals with four. Jaquez probably should not need this kind of performance every night for the Bruins to win, but it’s always a nice reminder that he can pull it out when needed.

2. The Defense is Elite - Forget the offense, which continues to play a hyper-efficient brand of basketball. This was a defensive win that showcased UCLA’s team-wide defensive effort. Jaylen Clark and Jaquez led the way on that end, but credit to UCLA’s interior, which held reigning POTY Oscar Tshiebwe to eight points. The Wildcats never had an answer for anything UCLA threw at them defensively.

3. Etienne is Ready - Of all the storylines to come out of this game, I was not expecting it to be the Mac Etienne breakout game, but here we are. Etienne shone in extended minutes, and while he may not be fully ready for 15-20 minutes a game, his performance on the defensive end served as an announcement that he should be getting the primary backup post minutes over Kenneth Nwuba. One of the facts that UCLA really needed to get to the next level was Etienne getting healthy enough to overtake Nwuba, and it looks like we are finally at that point.

UCLA will return home for a little rest before taking on UC Davis on Wednesday. It’s an early tip-off scheduled for 2:00 PM PT.

Go Bruins!

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