UCLA vs. Kentucky: Three keys to victory for the Bruins

Seniors need to be hot

Senior Bryce Alford is UCLA’s fifth all-time leading scorer and leading all-time three-point shooter. Senior Isaac Hamilton is a career 13.7 points per game scorer that shoots 37.2% from three-point range and 50.1% from the field. With these two heady, scrappy shooters in the back court to complement Ball, the Bruins should be able to compete with anybody and defeat Kentucky’s underclassman.

The issue here is that both players can go ice cold.  After UCLA senior night, Alford spent four games in a shooting funk, hitting only 7 of 29 three point shots over the subsequent four games.

For a shooter that hits 43.3% of shots from long-distance on the season, there is a reliance on his outside presence to draw defenders away from Ball, freshman superstar TJ Leaf and clear the floor for Thomas Welsh and other scoring weapons on the Bruins. Isaac Hamilton also has disappeared for stretches, at one point scoring two combined points in back-to-back games.

While the Bruins have a super sophomore sixth man in Aaron Holiday ready to come in and provide a Ball-esque scoring jolt, he is not quite the dead eye from outside as the two seniors.

When both Hamilton and Alford are hitting shots, the Bruins are nearly unbeatable. When one is making three-pointers, the Bruins usually win. But when both are cold, you can bet it is going to be a long night. UCLA needs to get one or both of these guys going to provide a cushion against Kentucky.