UCLA Basketball will look to pull off all-time upset over Gonzaga

2. UCLA cannot afford a slow start against Gonzaga

The Bruins’ improbable route to the Final Four has been made possible through the most storybook-esque scenarios, including evading last-second game-winners and overcoming slow, rough starts to escape with nailbiting victories.

The latter of those two absolutely cannot happen against Gonzaga – but UCLA’s play throughout the NCAA Tournament indicates that the Bruins may be in trouble.  In three of UCLA’s five wins, the Bruins have fallen victim to sluggish starts.

Against Michigan and Alabama, UCLA skidded to seven and eight-point deficits 10 minutes into the game – and in the First Four win over Michigan State, the Bruins fell behind by 14 with two and a half minutes left in the opening stanza.

That does not necessarily bode well for UCLA, considering the Bulldogs throttled their Pac-12 rivals in USC in the Elite Eight – largely due to a slow start by the Trojans.  In the same amount of time that it took UCLA to trail Michigan and Alabama by similar, multiple-possession deficits, Gonzaga was up 15 at that exact same time mark.

That 15-point deficit – which would grow to as large as 21 in the first half – was made possible through five turnovers, with the first four producing points for the Bulldogs.  USC was never able to recover, trimming Gonzaga’s lead to just 13 with four and a half minutes left in the opening half before Gonzaga raced away to victory.

The Bruins cannot afford a slow start, because Gonzaga has not – and will not – allow teams back into games.  To UCLA’s credit, they have been extremely disciplined in not turning the ball over during the tournament, averaging just 7.2 per game and having not exceeded a maximum of eight.

That absolutely cannot happen, however, nor can the Bruins afford poor shooting performances a la their 38.9% showing against Michigan – or Gonzaga will take advantage and create an insurmountable double-digit lead quickly.