UCLA Clamps Down in Second Half, Runs Away From Oregon 70-63
The Bruins suffocated the Ducks in the second half.
The game plan for this UCLA basketball team has been the same all season: suffocate teams with defense, limit turnovers, and hit open shots as the opponent starts to press. For most of the season, that recipe has worked to perfection, but this Oregon game represented a major test for the Bruins: could they impose their will in a hostile road environment against a team that could match them from a talent perspective?
Consider the test passed.
The Bruins completely dominated the second half, putting the Ducks in a proverbial straightjacket for the vast majority of the time and flipping what was a three-point halftime deficit into a lead that stretched as large as 18 at one point, ultimately finishing with a 70-63 victory.
This was not necessarily a case where the Bruins played flawlessly in the second half - they only shot 41.2% from the field in the half - but the Brutal Bruin Math as David Woods calls it played out perfectly. UCLA was able to force the Ducks into nine turnovers in the half compared to only two of their own. They out-rebounded Oregon by a final of 20-14. They had 13 more shots than the Ducks in the second half. The Bruins put up scoring runs of 13 and eight during the half as Oregon fans left Mathew Knight Arena early. This was one of the more impressive performances this Bruin team has put on this year.
It is maybe more impressive that the Bruins did this despite dealing with a rash of adversity throughout the game. First, Amari Bailey appeared to roll his ankle near the end of the first half on a close-out attempt and would hobble to the locker room before the half ended. Bailey would return to start the second half but looked a little limited at times, which was disappointing considering how excellent his first half looked; Bailey was 4-6 from the field for eight points in the first half, but only took one shot in the second.
The bigger issue for the Bruins was the foul trouble of the interior. I think everyone knew going in that UCLA’s bigs would have some trouble with N’Faly Dante, who is perhaps the best center in the league, but it’s hard to get any sort of rhythm when the fouls come early and often. Both Adem Bona and Kenneth Nwuba fouled out, with Bona only playing 13 minutes while Nwuba managed 12. Bona at least provided some scoring while in, finishing with six points, but Nwuba was such a non-factor that I really have to question why he is getting so many minutes at this point. That question rings even louder because Mac Etienne was forced to play major minutes due to the foul trouble of the other two Bruins, and he looked fairly good in his minutes. Much like Nwuba, Etienne did not score, but he grabbed four rebounds (the same amount as Bona and three more than Nwuba) and only picked up one foul in 14 minutes of action. Maybe Nwuba really shows out in practice while Etienne struggles, but the actual game results have borne out to Etienne being a much-more effective backup to Bona, and I am stuck wondering why Mick Cronin refuses to make this change.
Throw in a nightmarish shooting night from Tyger Campbell (4-15 from the field) and you had the recipe for a road loss, but none of it mattered because Jaime Jaquez and Jaylen Clark decided they were not going to lose this game. Jaquez came alive in the second half, scoring 18 of his 25 points in the frame and hitting a variety of shots from all over the court. He also grabbed 12 rebounds in what was a thoroughly dominating performance that should launch him back into the conference player of the year race. Clark was equally impressive, not just for his 13 points but for the way he completely changed this game on the defensive end. Both Jaquez and Clark went on personal runs against the Ducks, but what made Clark’s run impressive was how it was keyed by his defense, as he made play after play to stop Oregon from doing anything of note.
With Arizona losing another inexplicable game to a bad opponent (this time a road loss to Stanford), UCLA is back in the driver’s seat in the Pac-12 race, up one and a half games with three weeks to go. With the way the Bruins are playing, you have to like their chances to go into that Arizona game to end the season with the conference title race already wrapped up, but I think even Coach Cronin will tell you the Bruins are going to take things one game at a time.
Jaime Jaquez led the Bruins with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Tyger Campbell led the team with four assists. Jermaine Couisnard led the Ducks with 19 points.
Three Takeaways
Player of the Game: Jaime Jaquez - When Jaime Jaquez puts on this kind of performance, the Bruins are almost impossible to beat. Jaquez had a double-double with 25 points and 12 rebounds but also was locked in on the defensive end in a way that he forgets to be at times, grabbing two steals and a block in the process. Early on it looked like Oregon’s length was going to cause him the same issues he had against Arizona, but at halftime, he adjusted, and that was essentially it for the Ducks. Oh yeah, and now Jaquez ranks among the top 20 in UCLA history in scoring. Not bad at all.
Etienne Makes Noise - Did he score? No, but Mac Etienne could make a case for being UCLA’s best post player in this game, and at the very least made the case that he should be the primary backup to Adem Bona going forward. Etienne played solid defense without fouling throughout the game while playing mistake-free on the offensive end. There was a question of what UCLA could get out of Etienne this year considering he missed the previous year to a knee injury, but we may have reached the point where even an Etienne that is not at 100% is still a better option than Kenneth Nwuba.
Bailey Ankle Watch is Back On - Amari Bailey has already missed a few weeks this year due to an ankle sprain, so I’m sure UCLA fans started screaming into their pillows when they saw him roll an ankle near the end of the first half. Bailey would return and play in the second, so perhaps this will prove to be a blip, but I’m sure UCLA fans will continue to hold their breath for the next week.
The Bruins will return home this week for a homestand against their Bay Area rivals. The first matchup is against Stanford, which is coming off an upset win over Arizona. Thursday’s tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 PM PT.
Go Bruins!
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Was out at a local concert last night and recorded the game. After starting down 8-0, we outscored the Ducks 66-40 on their floor. Very impressive. Bailey was outstanding before twisting his ankle. I hope he didn’t re-injure it seriously. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that our 2 losses were in games he was out. He does a great job cutting to the basket and pulling up for midrange jumpers. We don’t have anyone else that does that. His absence also coincided with Singleton’s shooting slump. Coincidence? UCLA doesn’t lose a lot of headscratchers against poor opponents. Look at who Arizona, SC, Gonzaga and other top teams have lost to this year. Just go back to the previous administration where we lost at home to Belmont and Liberty. It’s a bit of an oxymoron, but when UCLA is inconsistent under Cronin, they are still more consistent than other programs. Defense travels.
Great game and great write up. Thanks, Dimitri! Henry Tse's comments about Jaime Jaquez call to mind the fan cheer about Roy Kent in Ted Lasso: He's here! He's there! He's every (insert profanity) where! It was indeed fun to enjoy the game (the highs and the lows) with this group. And as GBruin pointed out there were close to 450 comments on the game thread!