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

Protect the Ball

I have mentioned Tyger Campbell already this year not only is he one of the best perimeter he is also one of the best ball handlers in the country. UCLA does not cough up the ball at all, the enter play on Thursday night averaging only 9.2 turnovers per game which is one of the lowest numbers in the country. Their opponent in the tournament thrives on turnovers and likes to get a lot of steals, so the ability of UCLA to control the ball and maximize their possessions will be a big storyline in the game.

The Bruins are the bigger more athletic team in this matchup, but Akron does a lot defensively to frustrate their opponents and a lot of what Akron does is bait their opponents into turnovers. UCLA is experienced enough, and coach Cronin is smart enough to work a gameplan around the Zips defense.

UCLA does play overly fast, but they are also not uncomfortable playing slow, that is a factor because Akron likes to slow a game way down both on the offensive end and especially on the defensive end. That makes teams who like to go fast get careless and start making mistakes. The Bruins are sound on both ends of the floor and are not likely going to hurt themselves.

When I say not likely, you must factor in the environment, the person defending the players, and how the team schemes against them. UCLA is experienced enough, and they have not turned the ball over much all year, however, in recent memory, Wyoming who just finished up their first four game was another team that rarely turned the ball over and faced a ball-pressure half-court defense. Wyoming ended up turning the ball over 19 times.

Crazy things happen in the tournament even to the best teams, UCLA is good enough with their core to make another run, but this first game is going to be a battle.