Arizona Basketball: What went wrong in Wildcats loss to UCLA

Arizona Basketball suffered a horrible loss at home against the UCLA Bruins, losing by 13 and having the worst shooting performance ever inside McKale Center.

It was a night that many Arizona Basketball fans, including myself, would like to forget. There are times when a team isn’t shooting well or gets outrebounded or shows a lack of effort, but against the UCLA Bruins, it was all the above. This game will probably go down as one of the worst losses ever inside McKale Center.

25% shooting from the field, 15-59. The worst ever for a Wildcats team since McKale Center was first opened in 1973. During the last 8 minutes of the USC game, they couldn’t buy a bucket and against the Bruins, the basket had a lid on it apparently.

Give credit to the Bruins, they were playing solid man-to-man defense, making it hard for the Wildcats to get good looks, but there were plenty of times the Wildcats had good looks and just couldn’t knock them down. Whether it’s getting more reps in the gym or being able to handle contact when taking it to the basket, everyone on this team has to find a way to get their confidence back on the offensive end.

Arizona Wildcats Basketball

Both teams were knocking down three-pointers early on, but that was really it. The Wildcats did build their largest lead of the game with nine minutes to go in the first half, but then the Bruins took control, heading into the half with a one-point lead.

Missed jumpers, layups, three-pointers, the Wildcats couldn’t make anything and their opponent took full advantage. Whenever they tried to get Zeke Nnaji involved, the physical defense that the Bruins were imposing was too much for him to handle. He only had four points in the first half, all free-throws, finishing the game with 14 points, 10 of those being from the line.

When they were double-teaming Nnaji, he would get that ball to an open teammate but they were unable to consistently knock down the shot. That indirectly forced him to try and get shots up, but he was just having an off night.

In the second half, the Bruins opened up a six-point lead and never looked back.  They would go onto win 65-52. The final score of the game didn’t truly reflect how bad the Wildcats played overall. Besides Nnaji, Josh Green was the only other player to score in double figures with 11 points.

They were outrebounded 34-27, which prevented them from really pushing the pace. The slow pace of the game was favoring the Bruins. Everyone seemed very stagnant and lost at times. There was no flow to the game at for the Wildcats.

On defense, they played good, but not good enough. Unlike the Wildcats, the Bruins shot 51% from the field. There were times when they weren’t closing out on the three-point shooter, giving them open looks or times when the communication wasn’t there and the Bruins got easy looks down low. At this point in the season, that can’t be happening.  Better team communication and closeout is a must!

More than anything the lack of effort and sense of urgency was not there at all. Right from the beginning, they looked flat and were just going through the motions. It was the Bruins that wanted it more and it showed. At home, against a team like the Bruins, on ESPN2, in a crucial game in the Pac-12, this is a game this team should have been prepared and emotionally ready for, they weren’t.

See what Sean Miller had to say after the game:

The Wildcats now find themselves at 6-4 in the conference and face California on the road. They have less than a month to figure it out and get their confidence back. They still have a chance at the regular-season Pac-12 and a chance for a good seed in the Pac-12 tournament.  It’s not over yet! As always, Bear Down, Arizona!