UCLA Basketball: 3 keys for Bruins to knock off No. 20 Ohio State Buckeyes
After a shake-up in the schedule for the CBS Sports Classic, UCLA Basketball, and Ohio State will meet in a showdown of two teams on different trajectories.
Since the Classic’s inception in 2014, UCLA Basketball has garnered the worst record of the four participants – but the Bruins might be the biggest winner of the recent schedule shake-up. After being slated to play Kentucky, Mick Cronin‘s crew will now take on a nationally-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes squad – and a win could catapult them back into the national rankings.
UCLA had a tumultuous start to the season, falling to San Diego State by 15 in their season opener before scraping by Pepperdine in triple overtime. The Bruins were without two of their best players in Jalen Hill and Johnny Juzang – but since getting the two of them back, UCLA has been on a tear. They enter this tilt having won five straight, the most recent coming last Friday against Marquette.
Their other three wins have come by 20 or more points over Seattle, California, and San Diego – and have all indicated that the Bruins are returning to form after ending last season by winning 11 of their final 14 games – and after earning the top spot in the Pac-12 preseason poll, just ahead of Arizona State and Oregon.
The Bruins feature a lineup comprised of balanced scoring options – at least seven players average 8.8 points or more, with Jaime Jaquez Jr. leading the way with 14.8 points per game. They will need it for an Ohio State team that features four double-digit scorers and averages 77.0 points per game and 0.97 points per possession.
The Buckeyes, however, have struggled as of late. After picking up double-digit victories over Illinois State, UMass Lowell, and Morehead State, Chris Holtmann’s squad escaped an upset bid by Notre Dame (90-85) before just barely scraping by Cleveland State (67-61).
When the schedule changes were announced, Ohio State was the last undefeated team in the field – but that changed on Wednesday night, when the Buckeyes fell on the road to Purdue, 67-60.
Their struggles against Cleveland State and Purdue are, largely, due to the absence of E.J. Liddell, who has been out due to illness. Liddell has been the team’s leading scorer and rebounder this season with 15.5 ppg and 7.5 rpg – but the Buckeyes have also enjoyed the contributions of Duane Washington Jr. (14.5 ppg), Justice Sueing (14.0), and CJ Walker (12.0).
The Buckeyes, currently, are a team scratching to stay alive in the top-25 – especially in their vulnerable state without Liddell. The Bruins, however, have the most to gain from this game – after beginning the season ranked 22nd nationally, UCLA is hoping to jump back into the polls after dropping out immediately after their loss to San Diego State. And, they have the ability to pull off the big win.