No. 7 UCLA proves too physical and talented for No. 3 Arizona Basketball

LOS ANGELES, CA – No. 3 Arizona Basketball (16-2, 6-1) was outmuscled in their 76-59 loss to the No. 7 UCLA Bruins (14-2, 6-1). 

Just as No. 7 UCLA welcomed No. 3 Arizona Basketball into town for a premier, Tuesday Night conference matchup against two, Top 10 teams, the Bruins also welcomed back fans for the first time in a few weeks.

Playing inside a raucous and packed Pauley Pavilion with huge conference implications on the line, the first five minutes of the game certainly delivered with things going back and forth.

Both teams started white-hot from the field, all while playing at a sprinters pace. The Bruins would pull ahead 17-16 after a made three-pointer from Johnny Juzang with 14:50 to play.

Unfortunately for Arizona, that was the best stretch of basketball that they would play in the first half.

UCLA would end the half by outscoring Arizona 23-13, holding the Wildcats to just 12-34 shooting (35.3 percent), including 4-15 from three.

Despite playing one of their worst halves of basketball, Arizona Basketball still only trailed by 11 to enter the half.

Hoping to put together a better performance in the second half, unfortunately, the Wildcats were ice cold from the field, perhaps still feeling the effects from playing their third road game in the last six days, also being without a healthy Azuolas Tubelis.

Starting the half by shooting 0-4, Arizona would fall behind by 16 after the first five minutes of play after UCLA’s Jules Bernard made jumper made it 50-34.

Arizona would finally start to come alive in the second half around the 14:38 mark, outscoring the Bruins 19-11 to cut UCLA’s lead to just eight with 7:43 to play.

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, that was the closest that they would get in the second half, as UCLA would close the door on Arizona, ending the game on a 14-6 run to deliver the 16-point win over the Wildcats.

Where do the Wildcats go from here?

With the loss, Arizona Basketball falls to 16-2 (6-1) on the year and will have a few days off before returning to action on Saturday afternoon for a showdown with rival ASU in Tucson.

While Tuesday night was a tough evening for Arizona, overall, it was a good learning experience for the Wildcats as they were overpowered by a talented and more experienced UCLA squad. Hopefully, Arizona uses loss for good and returns to action an improved team.

Listen to coach Tommy Lloyd following the teams’ loss.