LOS ANGELES — Dueling 7-footers. Such is life in the Big Ten.
But 7-footers who will step back on you one possession, dunk over you the next, and run pick-and-rolls for each other, that’s not what the UCLA men’s basketball team expected when it joined the beautiful muck that is this Midwest-centric conference.
Slogs, low-scoring grinds, that’s what the Bruins thought was in store. Head coach Mick Cronin built a team to elicit those types of games, highlighted by a defense that ranks fourth in KenPom’s defensive ratings.
A versatile defense that can apply full-court pressure and disrupt half-court sets.
On Tuesday night, the No. 22 Bruins (11-4 overall, 2-2 Big Ten) tried all the stops. They fronted Michigan big man Vladislav Goldin. They picked up the Wolverine ball handlers the length of the court. No. 24 Michigan (12-3, 4-0) had counters for it all and handed the Bruins their second straight defeat, 94-75.
Goldin scored a career-high 36 points (21 in the first half), the 7-1 Russian taking advantage of the Bruins’ lack of height as Cronin opted to play center Aday Mara just nine minutes.
UCLA again struggled from outside, going 2 for 20 from 3-point range, while the Wolverines were a scorching 15 for 28. Therein that disparity was the difference and it seems, from here on out, wins and losses might be as simple as that.
The Bruins conceded nearly 50 points in the first half, but toward the end of the period, they found a coverage that seemed to work and they cut what had been an 18-point deficit to 47-37 by halftime.
It was a risky approach. The Bruins pressured the Wolverines’ ball-handlers on pick-and-roll actions, trying to deflect entry passes to Goldin. Guards were left to protect the rim, so when those passes found their way through, the Wolverines’ big men had easy layups. When those passes were tipped, it resulted in stops and allowed the Bruins to get out on the break.
It was especially effective when Kobe Johnson was on the help side. He timed passes and stripped Goldin on consecutive rolls, winning possessions for the Bruins, who started the second half on an 18-4 run.
Johnson hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to bring the Bruins within one possession. The Bruins took their first lead after a sequence where Eric Dailey Jr. beat the shot-clock buzzer, then Dylan Andrews stole the ensuing inbounds pass and found Dailey for a three-point play and a 55-51 lead with 14:12 left.
The Wolverines eventually figured out the Bruins’ pesky pick-and-roll coverage. They started going away from their high pick-and-roll action, instead putting the ball in guard Tre Donaldson’s hands and letting him work.
UCLA went 7:14 without a field goal while Michigan was making seven 3-pointers and Donaldson was scoring 14 points (three 3-pointers) to put Michigan ahead by 12 points. Donald finished with 20 points.
Tyler Bilodeau and Sebastian Mack each scored 17 points to lead four players in double figures for UCLA, but the Bruins didn’t have enough offense to keep up.
They didn’t on Tuesday and they haven’t all season. They rely on their defense to wreak havoc and create offense. But in a game against a team like the Wolverines, who can slow you down and spread you out, there are enough counters to that defense to minimize its effectiveness.
More to come on this story.