LOS ANGELES — UCLA changed its approach to defense on Friday night, scaling back its full-court press. Trading it for sturdy perimeter defense and occasional half-court traps. The end result wasn’t much of a difference.
Four days after holding Boston to 40 points, the Bruins held Lehigh to just 45 in an 85-45 win. They were on track for back-to-back 40-point defensive performances, conceding 16 first-half points to Lehigh before the Hawks (0-4) put together a second-half surge. UCLA (3-1) also held the Hawks scoreless for an 8-minute stretch in the first half.
Yes, these dominant defensive performances haven’t come against Power-4 conference teams, but head coach Mick Cronin doesn’t care much about the nameplates on the front of the opponents’ jerseys when the Bruins are executing their defensive game plan at this level.
“We held a college basketball team to 40 points,” Cronin said on Wednesday morning. “It’s really hard to do. I don’t care who you play.”
On Friday, because of that less aggressive approach, they forced just 11 turnovers, but held the Hawks to four offensive rebounds, an issue Cronin had harped on in the early parts of this season.
The Bruins were again without guard Dylan Andrews, who remains day-to-day with a left groin injury. Lazar Stefanovic started the game, but was replaced early in both halves by Sebastian Mack.
Eric Dailey Jr. led the Bruins with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Tyler Bilodeau had 15 points and Aday Mara scored a career-high 16 points in just 13 minutes, shooting 7-of-8 from the field to go with six rebounds.
“The game plan was to go inside,” Cronin said after Friday’s game.
UCLA’s big men feasted and the Bruins scored 19 second-chance points but continued to struggle with their half-court offense.
The Bruins ran split-action drills during the media viewing portion of Wednesday’s practice, but when they entered the ball into the post on Friday, it was as if the guards and wings forgot those reps.
Their offense looked stale in the first half, as they assisted on just four of their first 12 baskets. They had a 3:22 stretch in the first-half without a field goal.
Cronin and Stefanovic have addressed this issue, stating that a roster with nine new faces is still learning to gel. That might explain the clunky offensive actions, but it shouldn’t stop them from cutting off the ball.
The Bruins made up for it Friday with efficient transition offense and their height.
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With 12:20 to go in the second-half, Mack grabbed a defensive rebound, rushed up the court and lobbed it to Dailey, who finished off the alley-oop. On the following play, Bilodeau backed down a Hawks defender for an easy layup. That stretch epitomized the Bruins’ game plan.
UCLA’s defense is strong to the point that it can mask the offense’s growing pains, which have manifested themselves in the form of long, bland stretches.
A race is developing between the Bruins figuring out how to score out of their set offense, and their schedule. The next real test shouldn’t be until the Bruins face Washington on Dec. 3. That doesn’t mean that’s the finish line, but it’s certainly a looming checkpoint.
The Bruins have until then to work on some of these offensive issues, and they can hyper focus as they know there are few problems with the defense. The next chance comes Wednesday when UCLA hosts Idaho State at 8 p.m. at Pauley Pavilion.