UCLA Basketball: Bruins snag massive victory over Kentucky in Lexington
By Stuart Gill
UCLA basketball earns one of the best early season victories with a win at Kentucky.
The UCLA Bruins were able to collect a major road victory at Rupp Arena in Lexington against the Kentucky Wildcats Saturday afternoon. The game was the first real test for both UCLA and Kentucky, but the Bruins came out on top 97-92.
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Kentucky shot just 42 percent from the field and UCLA turned the ball over an astounding 18 times, including several miscues in the final minute that allowed Kentucky to get back to within just three with 8.2 seconds to go. Bryce Alford would drill two free throws to seal the victory though, capping off the upset for the 11th ranked Bruins.
Early in the game, it was De’Aaron Fox (20 points and nine assists) and the Wildcats who impressed. Fox proved to be unstoppable in pick-and-roll situations from the top of the key, where he was able to dish to the low post for easy buckets or pull up for his own shot. Wenyen Gabriel and Edrice ‘Bam’ Adebayo were effective in spacing the Bruins defenders and grabbing offensive boards.
UCLA Bruins
UCLA was able to hold it’s own despite a poor first half effort from Lonzo Ball, who only hit his first shot with under ten seconds left in the first frame. Ball was clearly off his game, struggling to stay in front of the wiry Fox and at times had miscommunications with his teammates on offense.
Ball was largely responsible for the Bruins’ seven turnovers in the first eight minutes of the game, and his dejected body language forced head coach Steve Alford to give reserve guard Aaron Holiday (13 points on 4-of-7 shooting) major minutes off the bench.
The Bruins were able to take control of the game coming out of the second half as they relied on T.J. Leaf. Leaf, who finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds, had timely put backs and lay-ins to keep the offense rolling.
However, momentum threatened to shift with 12 minutes to go in the ballgame, as Thomas Welsh picked up his fourth personal foul and was forced to the bench, leaving the Bruins vulnerable on the boards.
For the Wildcats, Adebayo was able to body his defenders, finish through contact and turn second chance opportunities into big points. This gave the Wildcats a major lift midway through the second half.
UK opened up a 9-2 run with six minutes to go on a couple of Malik Monk three’s and a breakaway slam. But the Bruins regained control as Ball finally seemed to come alive with a 3-pointer and flush of his own off of a steal.
Neither team could pull away entirely from the another, as UCLA dealt with foul trouble in their front court and Kentucky struggled to finish at the rim and from beyond the three point line. Monk provided a boost with some sharp shooting down the stretch, and finished with 24 points on 10-of-19 shooting. That wasn’t enough for the Wildcats to come through with a victory though.
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The win is huge for UCLA, who will certainly rank among the nation’s best 10 teams on Monday. The fact that the win came on the road speaks volumes about this Bruins’ squad and indicates that they will be ready to go when the pressure is on in March. Look for Kentucky to drop to the latter half of the top 10, and bounce back against Valpo and Hofstra before a big home game against North Carolina next Saturday.