UCLA Basketball: 3 keys for Bruins in Round of 64 match up against Akron

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This is going to be an important factor in this game. Nearly every player who is a rotational piece for UCLA has played in the NCAA tournament and either experienced the run with the Bruins last year or was on another team that also experienced a win in the tournament. Myles Johnson played for Rutgers last season and was a huge factor in their opening-round win. Akron has zero players who have ever played in an NCAA tournament before and knowing what to expect is a huge advantage.

The tournament is going to be like nothing any of these players have ever experienced in college before and it can be very overwhelming, especially considering that everyone knows what is at stake. The two teams are very evenly matched and they both play in similar ways on paper this game should be close. We have all seen a team who has been good enough to pull the upset but has not played in the NCAA tournament before gets nervous and mistakes start to compound while the team with more experience takes advantage of that and goes on a big run to end the game.

The Bruins need to be the team that uses their experience to get Akron uncomfortable and starts getting them to make little mistakes on the defensive end and create turnovers. The Bruins are still a talented enough team that they should win the game, but the tournament doesn’t always favor the most talented team winning. It always favors the team that makes fewer mistakes and who can adapt in-game quicker.

If UCLA plays and acts like they have been in this position before they will win the game. If they don’t and come out tight then it is going to be a close game right down to the final buzzer