22. UCLA (11-3)
Now new member of the Big Ten, UCLA is looking to make an impression this season and put last year’s struggles in the rearview mirror. They were certainly trending in that direction during a nine-game winning streak before a really tough loss against North Carolina. Last weekend’s impressive win over Gonzaga really set the tone again for the Bruins but would they keep up that momentum this week?
They would not achieve that, as the Bruins fell 66-58 at Nebraska on Saturday afternoon. Some ugly 3-point shooting reared its ugly head against for UCLA, who made just 14% from outside the arc in a tough performance against the Cornhuskers. Tyler Bilodeau led the Bruins with 15 points as this team fell to 2-1 in their first season of Big Ten play.
Even with what just happened in Lincoln, UCLA has been playing very solid basketball in recent weeks, winning away from home over Arizona, Gonzaga, and Oregon since the beginning of December. Clearly there are still some growing pains with this team and the offense really hasn’t flourished for a few weeks now, but there’s time to get back on track. Next week sees the Bruins facing Michigan and Maryland as they try to adjust to life in the Big Ten with a new host of league rivals.