UCLA points to defense amid 5-game winning streak
LOS ANGELES » The UCLA men's basketball team will look to extend its five-game winning streak against Colorado in a nationally televised Pac-12 game tonight at Pauley Pavilion.
Bruins coach Mick Cronin has been impressed by his team's attention to detail over the past month, in particular on defense, which has anchored UCLA on its current winning streak.
“We had some great defensive rotations from Sebastian Mack behind our pick-and-roll coverage (against Cal),” Cronin said. “He did some great off-the-ball defensive things in the first half with his hands, the second half with his defensive rotations, a couple of them behind our pick-and-roll. Him and Dylan (Andrews) are getting better at that.”
UCLA is 8-2 against Colorado in their past 10 meetings, including an 80-69 victory over the Buffaloes in the 2023 Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas. Tonight's game is their only matchup during the regular season.
The surging Bruins are 13-11 overall and 8-5 in Pac-12 play and have moved into a tie with Oregon for third place in the conference. UCLA has won seven of eight games dating to Jan. 14 and is getting hot leading into March.
However, UCLA coach Mick Cronin said the NCAA Tournament, which begins March 19, is the last thing on his mind.
“I'll be proud of our guys if we can get to the point where that's a real conversation,” Cronin said. “That's not a real conversation right now. Right now, we need to get better.”
“Anything we accomplish is going to be a dream come true,” UCLA freshman forward Brandon Williams said.
The 6-foot-7 freshman guard/ forward from Queens, New York, said he wants the Bruins to continue playing with the physicality necessary to extend their winning streak.
“Playing harder than the other teams, being dogs,” Williams continued. “Not just one person, our whole team, anybody, whatever rotation it is getting in the game.”
UCLA sophomore power forward Adem Bona, the team's second-leading rebounder (6.0 rpg), believes that if the Bruins continue outrebounding their opponents, they will have an opportunity to continue winning games.
“I think our last five games we've been doing a pretty good job rebounding the ball against our opponents,” Bona said. “We played some teams we lost to early in the year and they outrebounded us. I think the second time we played them, I think we put up more of a fight against them in rebounding the ball, so I think that's one thing we want to continue doing, taking into all the games. Playing tougher. Getting every loose ball and limiting them to one shot.”
TODAY'S GAME UCLA VS. COLORADO
6 p.m.
Pauley Pavilion
ESPN
UCLA is 13-11overall, 8-5Pac-12; Colorado is 16-8, 7-6
The Bruins are coming off a 61-60 win at Cal on Saturday. Bona scored a team-high 13 points. Junior forward Lazar Stefanovic had a doubledouble with 12 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. Andrews also scored 12 points.
The Buffaloes are coming off a 99-79home loss to Arizona on Saturday. Colorado was led by junior guard KJ Simpson and senior forward Tristan da Silva, who each scored 20points.
Andrews against Simpson, who leads the Buffaloes with 19.4points, 5.4rebounds, 4.6assists and 1.8steals per game. Simpson, a 6-foot-2 guard, is shooting extremely well this season at 49.4% from the field, 42.9% from three-point range and 89.6% from the free-throw line. During the Bruins’ current winning streak, Andrews has been tasked with being a shutdown perimeter defender, while averaging 16.8points per game, well above his steadily rising season average of 11.2points per game.
The Bruins are not currently in ESPN’s projected 68-team bracket but they are tied for third place in the Pac-12, with five of their seven remaining regular-season games at Pauley Pavilion. UCLA is 7-4at home this season. The Bruins have made three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances under fifth-year coach Mick Cronin, whose team was in consideration to make the 2020tourney before it was canceled due to the COVID-19pandemic.