March Madness: Lonzo Ball Banged up, what to Expect

The UCLA Bruins handled the Kent State Golden Flashes fairly easily in the first round of this year’s March Madness. However, UCLA may have taken a big hit.

The three-seeded UCLA Bruins are entering this March Madness with higher expectations than we have seen in quite some time. Led by soon to be superstar, Lonzo Ball, the Bruins are expected to make a splash in this year’s tourney. With arguably the best player in college basketball, it is no surprise that the Bruins are looking to cut down the nets.

The first obstacle that UCLA needed to overcome was the Kent State Golden Flashes. Kent State, a 14 seed in this year’s tourney, didn’t have many people backing the basketball team. The UCLA victory was nearly inevitable, and that is evident by the 97-80 final score.

TJ Leaf led the way in scoring for the Bruins, scoring 23 points on 8-12 shooting, also picking up six rebounds and two assists. Thomas Welsh, UCLA’s center, managed to score 16 points on 6-8 shooting with eight rebounds, showing how pivotal his seven-foot frame is. That leaves the performance of the superstar, Lonzo Ball, and quite frankly it wasn’t too great.

Ball scored 15 points on 6-7 shooting on the court, he registered only four rebounds and four assists. Although Ball was very efficient from the field, he did not put together the triple double numbers that we all expected to come out against Kent State.

A big reason for that is that Lonzo Ball got pretty banged up in the game against Kent State. On an alley-oop attempt, Ball’s lower half got caught up on Kent State’s Kevin Zabo. This in turn led to Ball falling hard on the court, slamming his hip on the hardwood.

Although Ball is a tough guy and repeatedly told reporters that his hip was fine, it did cause a noticeable difference in his play.  In the second half, Lonzo was held to only 3 shot attempts, scoring five points, assisting one basket, and hauling in two rebounds.

Ball’s ten points in the first half were very promising, he was showing his explosive, dynamic, playmaking ability that makes him so valuable. In the second half he was noticeably uncomfortable, and while he can play through it, he is certainly aching.

More from UCLA

• USC Football: Pac-12 released schedule with Sept. 26 start date
• UCLA Bruins season ends against Cal with a 28-18 loss
• UCLA Football: Staff predictions vs. California Golden Bears
• Staff predictions for the UCLA Bruins vs. the USC Trojans
• USC-UCLA Football: Three reasons it’s the best rivalry

So, what does Ball’s bruised hip mean for the UCLA Bruins? Well, first of all, their primary focus should be getting Lonzo as comfortable as possible. The Bruins have one rest day before their match-up against Cinncinatti, and they are going to need Ball at full strength.

Cinnncinatti has one of the best defenses in the tournament this year and poses a much more legitimate threat to the Bruins than Kent State did. The Bearcats held teams to a .385 field goal percentage this season, which was good enough for the third-best of March Madness teams. Compare that to the .435 that Kent State allowed, and the difference is evident.

Cincinnati practically handled eleventh seeded Kansas State with ease. They led the entirety of the game, held Kansas State to 38.9% shooting while shooting 62.8% themselves. They look dangerously good and hold a legitimate threat to UCLA.

Next: UCLA Downs Kent State

If Ball plays like he did in the second half of yesterday’s game I think UCLA is in deep trouble. The Bruins are going to need Ball’s playmaking and scoring at full throttle if they want to advance. Let’s hope that Lonzo really is okay as he says he is, or UCLA could have an early exit from this year’s March Madness.