UCLA Bruins playing their heart out so far
By Evan Lovett
The UCLA Bruins Men’s Basketball team, fresh off of a scintillating 97-92 victory over #1 Kentucky, returns home to Pauley Pavilion this week to contest the University of Michigan.
Looking to further burnish their rapidly-ascending reputation as one of the most exciting and dominant teams on NCAA hoops hardwood, the second-ranked Bruins take on the Wolverines at 5pm PST on ESPN2.
The undefeated Bruins are second in the nation in scoring (97.1 PPG) and first in field goal percentage (.551) and three-point percentage (.454). At 9-0, UCLA has seen a resurgence as a national power, attaining the #2 ranking in both the AP and Coaches poll.
With a heralded crop of freshmen complementing the senior backcourt duo of Bryce Alford and Isaac Hamilton, the Bruins have already accomplished what no UCLA team has done in a generation – score at will.
Employing the breathtaking, high-octane offense that has not been seen in Westwood since the days of Ed O’Bannon, Toby Bailey, J.R. Henderson and Tyus Edney, this incarnation of the Bruins has turned the moribund Pauley Pavilion into a hot ticket in the notoriously fickle L.A. market.
Only the third sellout at the ‘new’ Pauley in five seasons (13,800 capacity), Bruins fans are flocking to the on-campus venue to watch Lonzo Ball (14.6 ppg, a nation-leading 9.3 assists) and TJ Leaf (17.2 ppg, 9.4 rebounds) form the frosh triumvirate with Ike Anigbogu (1.8 blocks in only 11 minutes/game).
Each of the freshman has game-changing ability: Ball is projected as a lottery pick, and per Kentucky Head Coach John Calipari after last weekend’s barrage at Rupp Arena, “I mean, what Leaf did, he basically dominated the game.”
Hamilton and Alford are averaging a combined 33.4 points per game, hitting 29 and 22 treys, respectively, in the Bruins’ nine contests. Though Alford’s career featured some good runs, such as his clutch run in the 2015 tournament, he has been inconsistent. Hamilton was somewhat underwhelming through this point in his career. Both were part of a Top-20 recruiting class featuring Zach LaVine in 2013 that has not reached it’s capabilities until this season.
The brash Alford and the cooly confident Hamilton are complementary personalities that are meshing in the locker room as well as on the court, providing the leadership necessary for the young players to thrive while still understanding the commitment and discipline necessary to succeed so swiftly.
“Isaac Hamilton and Bryce Alford stand out the most, being the seniors on the team. They’ve been through everything already and they’re helping us along the way,” says Ball.
They will need to continue jelling and improving this coming Saturday as the Wolverines come to town boasting a 7-2 record. The historically great program is unranked at this point in the season as earlier losses to Virginia Tech and South Carolina set the team adrift.
Michigan is coming off of plodding 53-50 home win over Texas, but the Senior Zak Irvin leads the squad with 13.6 points per game, but sophomore forward Moritz Wagner might be the player to watch, averaging 10.4 points in just over 18 minutes. Head Coach John Beilein will be up to the task, having upset the #4-ranked Bruins in Madison Square Garden in 2008.
Beilein, however, has rarely seen a sixth-man as dynamic as Aaron Holiday, the UCLA sophomore guard that is the most overlooked talent (12.9 ppg in 26 minutes) on the versatile, dangerous squad. Fortunately for the Bruins, Holiday has the perfect antidote to any thoughts of an upset.
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“We’re at a huge high, but we have to keep it there,” Holiday said after the dominant win over Kentucky. “We can’t fall asleep on anybody. We have to come out here and play every game like it’s our last.”