UCLA routs Iowa with dominant first half, ends 4-game skid
LOS ANGELES — After a stretch of the schedule in which the UCLA men’s basketball team played five of six games away or at a neutral site, the Bruins had four days at home to prepare for Iowa.
They studied film of the Hawkeyes, head coach Mick Cronin pointing out their tendencies. They drive, Cronin said, with the intention of kicking to shooters. Their off-ball movement, their patience, antithetical to the Bruins’ recent play on offense, which Cronin referred to as “stagnant.”
“Scouting them,” Cronin said of the Hawkeyes, “helped us.”
On Friday, UCLA (12-6 overall, 3-4 Big Ten) tied its season high with 26 assists. Ball movement nullified the Hawkeyes’ strategy to press full-court and drop back into a 2-3 zone. Five Bruins scored in double figures as they put an end to their four-game losing streak with a 94-70 victory over Iowa (12-6, 3-4).
Eric Dailey Jr. scored a career-high 23 points to lead the Bruins, and Tyler Bilodeau added 18. Skyy Clark and William Kyle III each had 12 points, while Dylan Andrews scored 13, cracking double figures for the first time since Dec. 17.
“Guys did a great job with patience on offense and passing,” Cronin said.
UCLA had multiple possessions in the first half when the ball didn’t touch the hardwood once after it crossed midcourt. The Bruins displayed a discipline to swing it around the perimeter and throw clean entry passes into the high post. Whether it was Dailey, Bilodeau, or Kyle manning that high post spot, each tended to make the right decision.
The ball happened to find Andrews in a few of those situations as he hit a pair of catch-and-shoot 3-pointers in the opening 10 minutes.
Andrews’ confidence has wavered throughout the season, but self-doubt seemed to exude from his body as he unleashed a growl and flexed toward the UCLA bench after sticking his third 3-pointer of the first half. If any uncertainty remained, it dissipated when he shoulder-bumped Brock Harding to create space for a mid-range jumper that beat the first-half buzzer.
“We’ve been pushing much confidence into Dylan,” Clark said after the win. “I know what he’s capable of doing and he had a great week of practice.”
In fact, Clark said when he walked into the gym on Tuesday – a scheduled day off after UCLA traveled home from playing Rutgers – he saw everyone from starters to walk-ons getting shots up, collectively putting in work to shake the Bruins’ recent woes.
That led to UCLA’s best half in conference play. The Bruins built a 31-9 lead by the 11:17 mark of the first half and led by 38 with 1:16 left before halftime. They shot 65.7% from the field (23 for 35) with 18 assists on their way to a 57-24 lead at the break.
After conceding 78.5 points over the last four games, UCLA held Iowa, the highest-scoring team in the Big Ten, to its second-lowest total of the season. The Bruins didn’t pressure the length of the court like they did against Rutgers. They didn’t commit untimely fouls like they did against Maryland. They just played solid man-to-man defense, contained pick-and-roll actions and jumped passing lanes.
They forced the Hawkeyes into 15 turnovers (12 before halftime), 5.6 more than their average (10.4).
“Showed what we’re capable of defensively,” Cronin said.
Part of that effort was Kyle’s contribution. Cronin felt the junior forward’s athleticism and versatility could match Iowa’s ability to play fast and spread out a defense. So, he came into the game expecting to play Kyle over Aday Mara and Kyle maximized his opportunity.
“He made me keep him in,” Cronin said. “We need him because the Big Ten’s a big, strong league and we struggle with that and that’s what we went out and got him for.”
It was an interesting comment from Cronin, directly after stating that Kyle had earned extended minutes because he could handle Iowa’s quickness. He showed on Friday that he can stay on the court against the conference’s fastest-paced team. If he can hold his own against the Big Ten’s many physical teams, too, his value will rise.
There are a mix of team-builds scattered throughout the conference. That’s what makes road wins a premium and defending home court so crucial. That’s why the Bruins’ recent skid was alarming but could also be explained as a byproduct of their schedule.
The schedule now flips as they play four of their next six games at home, with the road games at USC and Washington. The Bruins might have found something with Kyle’s emergence and rediscovered the level of defense they played earlier in the season when they stifled offenses for the first two months of the season. If that defense can lead to transition offense and be complemented by ball movement like the Bruins displayed tonight, then they’ll maximize their favorable schedule ahead.
UP NEXT
UCLA will host 24th-ranked Wisconsin (14-3, 10-1) on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.