Ranked #18 in the AP Poll on December 2nd, the UCLA Bruins now find themselves dropped like a bag of dirt from all polls, and devastating losses to difficult opponents are burying them further
The UCLA Bruins begin Pac-12 Conference play today as they take on the USC Trojans. Last Saturday the Bruins took on Alabama at home and struggled to pull away in what should have been an easy win. The Bruins won by 8 points despite letting Alabama guard Trevor Releford rack up 34 points off the bench.
After key losses to Missouri and then Duke, are the Bruins overrated? To this point, yes.
The Bruins had a subpar non-conference schedule this season which boosted their record. The only decent win the Bruins have had all season was against Drexel in the season opener. Drexel is currently 8-4 and they had current #1 ranked Arizona on the ropes in a 4-point loss. Missouri is a quality opponent, and the Tigers have flirted with the rankings this season as well. However, the Bruins fell apart in the second half against a team they should have pulled away from.
Even if UCLA had played Duke competitively, it would have helped them garner a few more votes in the polls. However, they were blown out like a small Division 1 school and left little to the imagination. Their uninspired play against the Blue Devils was uninspiring to voters and even fans.
With their weak non-conference schedule, every game counts.
Now that Pac-12 play will begin, the Bruins have a ton of opportunities to get “resume boosting” wins. There are many quality teams in the conference such as Arizona (ranked 1), Oregon (ranked 10), Colorado (ranked 20), Arizona State, Utah, and Stanford.
The Bruins might be the dark horse in winning the Pac-12 conference as they are currently out of the rankings. With that said, the Bruins have to take care of business against teams like USC.
The key to beating the Trojans will be play hard and crash the glass and limit their opportunities by not turning the ball over. If there is one knock on the Bruins it is their rebounding (151st in the nation) as they average 36.5 per game. Rebounding might be the Trojans strength as they are currently averaging 40.8 per game, which ranks 24 in the nation. If the Bruins take care of the glass, they should have no trouble winning the game, if they don’t it could be a close contest. I predict an 82-68 Bruins win.
The Bruins must not look passed the Trojans as they will have a date with #1 Arizona next Thursday at home.
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