LOS ANGELES \u2014 In reflection of UCLA\u2019s recent two-game skid, head coach Mick Cronin\u2019s greatest focus, he said, is to build a culture of toughness and getting defensive stops.<\/p>\n
That process took a positive step Saturday as the Bruins (11-5, 3-2 Big Ten) allowed their lowest total of the season, in a 67-55 win over Maryland (7-9, 0-5).<\/p>\n
The Terrapins shot 31% from the field and 19% from deep. They stayed in the game because they grabbed 20 offensive rebounds and turned it into 24 second-chance points, the Bruins\u2019 only lapse, but a significant one.<\/p>\n
Sophomore Trent Perry started in place of Skyy Clark (hamstring) for the second straight game and led the team with 16 points, his fourth time in double-digits in the last five games. Eric Dailey Jr. added 15 points.<\/p>\n
As part of Cronin\u2019s pursuit for an identity, he pledged to exhaust every angle, whether it be changing personnel, practice habits or schemes, to improve UCLA\u2019s defense.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, that manifested itself in a heavy commitment to the 2-3 zone, a scheme Cronin has seldom deployed across his lengthy career, but one the Bruins have relied on in spurts this season.<\/p>\n
A 2-3 zone can mask defensive liabilities on a roster. It can expose poor shooting teams and increase the ball pressure \u2014 especially with how the Bruins extended their short-corner defenders. However, it can leave a defense susceptible on the offensive glass.<\/p>\n
Each of those avenues played out.<\/p>\n
Maryland grabbed seven offensive rebounds and scored 13 second-chance points in the first 10 minutes to take a slight lead. But then it flipped, as UCLA\u2019s guards deflected passes, creating turnovers and finishing defensive possessions before offensive rebounding opportunities could happen. The Bruins closed the half on a 24-5 run, allowing Maryland one field goal in the final nine minutes.<\/p>\n
Perry and Jamar Brown sparked the run. Perry hit a step-back 3-pointer and drove for an and-1 floater. Brown swished a shot from the corner and scored a layup off an inbound pass.<\/p>\n
Sensing the surge, the Pauley Pavilion crowd urged the Bruins on and they rewarded it with highlight plays. Steven Jamerson II spun for a layup and Donovan Dent threw an alley-oop to Eric Dailey Jr. A layup and a turnaround jump shot from Dent extended the lead to 38-21 at halftime.<\/p>\n
Holding a significant lead throughout the second half, the Bruins slowed the pace of the game, using the shot clock to their advantage. They worked into the double-bonus with eight minutes to play as Tyler Bilodeau hit a pair of free throws to make it a 13-point game.<\/p>\n
That gradual tempo, however, meant any Bruins mistake was costly. Empty possessions stacked together and the Terrapins crept back into the game with a 10-2 run. Maryland\u2019s George Turkson Jr. converted an and-1 off an offensive rebound. Digi Coit drove past Dent for another and-1 to make it 56-50.<\/p>\n
At that point, the Bruins had gone without a field goal for 3:30, but Perry hit a corner 3-pointer to restore some cushion.<\/p>\n
A culture of toughness, as Cronin put it, was a given with his teams of the past. The transfer portal era forces a coach to essentially reconstruct that each season. It\u2019s certainly taking Cronin longer than he\u2019d like, but UCLA made progress on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The Bruins put a lid on the Terrapins\u2019 rim and withstood a late surge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LOS ANGELES \u2014 In reflection of UCLA\u2019s recent two-game skid, head coach Mick Cronin\u2019s greatest focus, he said,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":528748,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3723],"tags":[7,3474,217,325,231,772,1544,66,5747,2239],"class_list":{"0":"post-528747","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-basketball","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-big-ten-conference","10":"tag-college-basketball","11":"tag-college-sports","12":"tag-ncaa","13":"tag-ncaa-basketball","14":"tag-ncaab","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-ucla","17":"tag-ucla-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115874868988408537","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=528747"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528747\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/528748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=528747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=528747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=528747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}