Men’s basketball suffers lopsided loss to Jayhawks in semifinal game

The UCLA men’s basketball game Tuesday night was eerily similar to two harrowing losses from last year: the 39-point loss to Kentucky and the 32-point loss to Utah.

The difference was only 19 points Tuesday, but the beating was just as thorough.

No. 5 Kansas (3-1) ran UCLA out of the gym within the first 10 minutes, taking a 15-point lead into the second media timeout. By halftime, the Jayhawks’ lead was nearly doubled, sitting at 26 points.

The Bruins hadn’t trailed by that much at halftime since the Kentucky game last year, which was one of the program’s most lopsided losses ever.

That game was decided by UCLA’s ineptitude on offense. Tuesday’s game was determined by the Bruins’ incompetence on defense.

UCLA allowed Kansas to shoot 57.6 percent from the field in the first half, on 19-for-33 shooting. The Jayhawks’ 59 points are the most the Bruins have allowed in a half since allowing 61 to then-No. 1 Arizona on Feb. 13, 2003.

The Bruins were done in by their zone defense, as the Jayhawks were scorching from beyond the arc. In the first half, Kansas went 8-for-15 on three-point jumpers, buffering any chances for a UCLA comeback.

With Kansas building such a sizeable halftime lead, it didn’t matter what UCLA did in the second half. The Bruins played as well as a team can play offensively, shooting 59.3 percent on 16-for-27 shooting, but it still wasn’t enough to cut the deficit below 19 points.

UCLA’s second half performance lacked two key ingredients for a comeback: some three-pointers and some key defensive stops. UCLA made just two of its seven attempts from 3-point range in the second half, and still allowed Kansas to shoot 50 percent from the field.

With the loss, UCLA will finish up its stay in Maui, Hawaii, by playing unranked Wake Forest (3-2) on Wednesday at 4:30 PST. The winner will take third place in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational.

Compiled by Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.