With Arizona done in the past, the Bruins have the ability to win out in PAC-12 play. As the second best team after a big win against CAL, UCLA should have no trouble with the rest of the games at Pauley Pavillion. However, there are a few tough road tests ahead, especially back up in the Bay Area to visit Stanford and CAL on February 19th & 22nd. The Bruins have proven they can compete with anyone in the country the first 20 minutes of a given game. The scoring can come from Anderson, Adams, the Wear twins, LaVine, or really anyone for that matter. Multiple players have had double digit points in the first half. It's the second half that complacency sets in and double digit leads become nail-biters. Whether its on the offensive or defensive end, second half leads never grow, but rather shrink. The Bruins offense is a rhythm. When the ball is moving and players are getting separation, there's no stopping it. But when opposing coaches make adjustments or when the ball just stops moving, the Bruins can go chunks of time without a field goal. The way to counter this is to play tougher on defense. When on the road, it becomes even more vital to get stops and make buckets in transition to keep the offense going. It's the best/quickest way to break out of scoring slumps. Oregon and Oregon St. are teams that are both hungry and will be hosting the Bruins this weekend. Whatever the first half score is, it will be important for UCLA to win the second half by double digits from a mentality standpoint. Don't let the crowd be a factor, take them out so they're driving out of the parking lot after the last TV timeout.
No comments:
Post a Comment