LOS ANGELES — In a battle of perennial powers, the UCLA men’s basketball team struggled on offense and defense and suffered an 88-65 loss in its penultimate Pac-12 home game against fifth-ranked Arizona on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion.
“(All I can do) is coach and watch film, teach, coach, watch film,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “I can’t play.”
The Bruins, who were outrebounded by a 41-29 margin, had won five in a row at home against Arizona, but the Wildcats took over after the game was tied three times in the opening minutes. UCLA, drowned out by “U of A” chants, trailed 44-27 by halftime.
“Good teams get fouled, bad teams foul and that’s just the facts,” Cronin continued.
UCLA did not fare much better in the second half of the nationally televised game. Arizona picked up where it left off, opening with a 15-6 run, including six points by Oumar Ballo, who dunked twice. Pelle Larsson and Ballo hit back-to-back 3-pointers in extending the lead to 59-33. Arizona (24-6 overall, 15-4 Pac-12) led by as much as 28 on the way to clinching its final Pac-12 regular-season title.
“Look, they’re just better than us,” Cronin explained. “They’re just better than us at all three phases.”
The Wildcats got some help in the Pacific Northwest, where Washington defeated second-place Washington State, 74-68. The two results combined to lock up an outright Pac-12 championship for Arizona in its final season in the league. Arizona is headed to the Big 12 next season, while the Bruins are bound for the Big Ten.
UCLA (14-16, 9-10) is on a season-worst five-game losing streak and could finish below .500 for the first time since 2010. The Bruins, who shot 39% from the field over 40 minutes, only finished with seven assists against Arizona. They need to beat Arizona State on Saturday to head into the Pac-12 tournament with even a modicum of momentum, and they’ll have to play a first-round game in Las Vegas next week, regardless.
“We have one more game at home, it’s senior night,” said UCLA junior guard Lazar Stefanovic, who scored 20 points (all in the second half), including five 3-pointers. “We have to forget what happened, learn from it but we have to focus on that game. It’s the last game we play before the Pac-12 tournament, hopefully, we get some momentum going into that tournament.”
“I thought Lazar in the second half played with some heart,” Cronin added. “But Sebastian (Mack), Jan (Vide), Berke (Buyuktuncel), Brandon (Williams) and Will (McClendon), they get beat every time someone dribbles the ball … most teams have to run stuff to hurt you, all you have to do is drive by us.”
Sophomore guard Dylan Andrews scored 11 of his 18 points in the first half.
“Dylan Andrews played as hard as you can play, extremely proud of him,” Cronin explained. “I thought he played with a lot of heart for the third straight game.”
Foul-prone sophomore Adem Bona scored 10 points in the first half but was 0 for 1 from the field in the second half. He added a team-high five rebounds and five blocked shots.
“We have one more game, one more chance to show our character, our identity before the Pac-12 tournament,” Bona said. “That’s a big opportunity for us.”
Freshman guard KJ Lewis led Arizona with 18 points.
“He’s super valuable and a great player,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “He’s just scratching the surface. He has given us tremendous effort ever since he stepped on campus.”
Senior guard Caleb Love, a Pac-12 Player of the Year candidate, had 17 points. Sophomore guard Jaden Bradley had 13 points. Senior guard Pelle Larsson had 12 points. Sophomore guard Kylan Boswell had 10 points. Senior forward Keshad Johnson added seven points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
The Wildcats, who donned white championship hats and shared hugs with family members afterward, shot 51.9% from the field, including 39.1% from 3-point range.
The Wildcats trailed by 19 against the Bruins at home in January before rallying to win, 77-71. UCLA couldn’t turn the tables at home and never put together a sustained run in the second half.
Bona energized the Bruins early with an unsuspecting dribble drive that began outside the 3-point line and ended with a huge slam dunk. Andrews followed that with a nice crossover, which set up his mid-range jumper to put UCLA ahead, 8-7.
However, Arizona led 22-17 with 7:38 left in the first half, partly because the Bruins only made seven of their first 20 attempts from the field. A 3-pointer by Boswell extended Arizona’s lead to 27-17, but back-to-back baskets by Andrews and freshman guard Sebastian Mack (seven points) cut Arizona’s lead to 27-21. The Bruins trailed by double digits for the first time at 34-23.
Andrews and Bona scored 21 of the team’s 27 first-half points, but the Bruins shot just 35.5% from the field (11 for 31), including 1 for 6 from 3-point range.
Stefanovic’s three-point play cut the margin to 47-32 with 18:38 left in the second half, but Arizona responded with a 12-1 run over the next three minutes to reach its 59-33 cushion.
The Bruins never pulled back within 20 points.
“When you get outclassed, it’s obvious,” Cronin said.
Meanwhile, sophomore guard Will McClendon, who finished with two points, was inserted into the starting lineup for Mack, the team’s leading scorer at nearly 13 points per game. Coach Cronin said that the decision was based on one thing.
“Practice,” Cronin shared.
UP NEXT
UCLA will host Arizona State on Saturday at 8 p.m.
I’m breaking UCLA Basketball’s 88-63 loss at home to No. 5 Arizona. It was the final time the Bruins will host the Wildcats in a Pac-12 game. However, UCLA will host Arizona State Saturday night and try to build momentum heading into next week’s Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas. pic.twitter.com/bsQo85e6sZ
— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) March 8, 2024
UCLA men’s basketball coach Mick Cronin said Arizona is just better than UCLA. Cronin went on to say at this point of the season all he can do is keep coaching because he can’t play for his players. pic.twitter.com/7YJNNJXSfX
— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) March 8, 2024
Despite their 88-65 loss at home to Arizona Thursday night, Lazar Stefanovic and Adem Bona say their season is not over and they want to show they’ve learned from their current five-game losing streak. pic.twitter.com/a5JzdznukS
— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) March 8, 2024