Arizona’s top former Pac-12 rival is back in the national spotlight just in time for a nonconference showdown with the Wildcats on Saturday in Phoenix.
After suffering through a rare losing season in 2023-24, UCLA jumped into the Associated Press Top 25 poll Monday at No. 24 after beating Washington and then-12th ranked Oregon last week.
With newfound NIL reserves helping land four new starters — Tyler Bilodeau (Oregon State), Kobe Johnson (USC), Skyy Clark (Louisville) and Eric Dailey (Oklahoma State) — the Bruins have put together a steadily improving team that struggled in 72-64 loss on Nov. 8 loss to New Mexico but since has ripped off seven straight wins while putting together the nation’s fourth-most efficient defense.
“This is just the way it is now,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said after UCLA beat Oregon 73-71 on Sunday. “You don’t just get six transfers and two freshman and start looking like a well-oiled machine. Guys have played, but they haven’t played for us and it takes a while to create habits, create continuity.”
Cronin said he wanted the Bruins to “make sure we packed our toughness” for what was their first true road game of the season, and noted that they didn’t turn the ball over once against the Ducks’ press in Eugene. UCLA had just nine turnovers overall, while scoring 16 points off Oregon’s 13 turnovers.
Moreover, the Bruins received a clutch – if somewhat fortuitous – game-winner from their one returning starter, point guard Dylan Andrews.
Having missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer with three seconds in Arizona’s 61-59 win over UCLA in the 2023 Pac-12 Tournament, Andrews this time took an inbounds pass from the sideline with six seconds left and UCLA trailing the Ducks 71-70. He then slipped while trying to turn forward, but then drove to the 3-point line off a screen, where Oregon big man Nate Bittle stood a few feet in front of him.
Noting that he was aiming to get the ball to Bilodeau or UCLA wing Lazar Stefanovic, before Oregon switched off screens and blanketed them, Andrews stepped back to launch a 3 over Bittle’s outstretched hands.
It bounced off the glass and into the hoop with 0.4 seconds left.
“My main goal was to try to get it to the basket, draw a foul or something, but he was playing so far back that it was an easy shot to get off,” Andrews said. “During those times, you see the ball in slow motion. It felt good when it left my hand.”
Afterward, Cronin lamented defensive breakdowns that led to the erasure of UCLA’s seven-point lead with three minutes left but overall said the Bruins showed improvement. ‘
UCLA’s Kenneth Nwuba (14), Sebastian Mack (12), Lazar Stefanovic, rear, head coach Mick Cronin, second from front right, and Dylan Andrews (2) wait for a call from the referees during the second half of a matchup against Arizona in Tucson on Jan. 20, 2024.
“My analysis early in the Big Ten is that it’s so deep and it probably always was that way, but now it’s deeper. You’ve got to get better,” Cronin said. “I also coach at UCLA, where we have the most titles and the second-most final fours. I didn’t come to UCLA to win regular season games either.
“For us, it’s about progression and getting better. Today we were able to win, but I thought we got a lot better today. We came together, we got more cohesive and the guys played with confidence.”
Wildcats get prep edge
While UCLA had to travel to play at Oregon on Sunday, the Wildcats will have over a day’s advantage in prep time after having hosted Southern Utah on Saturday.
It will likely come in handy for a team that’s still recovering from losing four of five games before its 102-66 win on Saturday. The Wildcats also had the week leading up to the Southern Utah free to practice and rest.
It’s just “keep building on what we built this week,” UA forward Henri Veesaar said on Saturday. “Of course, UCLA is a really good team, a scrappy team and we got to be ready for them.”
The Wildcats typically use long weeks of practice to focus on themselves as well as their upcoming opponents and coach Tommy Lloyd warned that it can’t be all about what UCLA is doing.
“The emphasis is going to be on Arizona basketball,” Lloyd said. “Here’s the deal: UCLA is is a good program and if we go in and all we’re worried about is UCLA and assume that we’re going to show up and play well, we’re going to get our ass kicked.
“We’ve got to make sure we go into that game and we do the things to play well, to give ourselves a chance.”
Tennessee takes top spot
While UCLA jumped into the AP poll Monday, Tennessee moved into the No. 1 spot after former No. 1 Kansas lost twice and Auburn lost to Duke. The Jayhawks (7-2) dropped to No. 10 while Auburn (8-1) remained in the No. 2 spot.
Among UA opponents this season, Duke (7-2) moved up from No. 9 to No. 4, Wisconsin (8-2) dropped from 11 to 20, Cincinnati (7-1) dropped from 14 to 22, Houston rose from 17 to 15 and Oklahoma (9-0) moved up from 21 to 13.
ASU (8-1) received the 27th most points in voting while Baylor (5-3) and West Virginia (6-2) were the other Big 12 teams receiving votes. Arizona (4-4) has not received any votes since losing two of three games in the Battle 4 Atlantis over Thanksgiving week.
Big 12 honors Iowa State players
Iowa State’s Keshon Gilbert was named the Big 12 Player of the Week and teammate Joshua Jefferson was named the conference’s Newcomer of the Week after they helped the Cyclones beat then-No. 5 Marquette and Jackson State.
Gilbert scored a game-high 24 points and seven assists in Iowa State’s 81-70 win over Marquette while averaging 20 points and 6.0 steals for the week.
A transfer from Saint Mary’s, Jefferson had double-doubles in both games, going 7-of-10 from the field to score 15 points with 12 rebounds against Marquette.
