UCLA wasn’t supposed to win games like this.
All year long, the Bruins (29-3, 15-3 Pac-12) have won games because of their offense, not despite it.
On Thursday night against USC, though, it was the defense that allowed UCLA to escape with a 76-74 victory in the quarterfinal of the Pac-12 tournament, holding the Trojans (24-9, 10-8) under 40 percent shooting.
“This is probably a game we don’t win back in January,” said coach Steve Alford. “We’ve had very, very few nights where we haven’t shot it well or scored in the 80s-plus. This was one of those nights, and yet we find a way to get a win.”
By any measure, it was a pitiful performance from the nation’s highest-scoring offense, which floundered once again to handle the Trojans’ swarming zone defense.
The Bruins shot their lowest field goal percentage of the season and turned the ball over 13 times, including 10 in the first half. From an efficiency standpoint, UCLA’s only worse performance was Jan. 25 at USC.
That game, back when the Bruins’ defense was consistently porous, resulted in a loss to the Trojans. This time, UCLA showed that its recent defensive improvements are legitimate, that this team can beat a good opponent even when its high-octane offense isn’t flowing.
“In March especially, defense is extremely important because there will be nights like this where you might not shoot it quite as well,” said junior center Thomas Welsh after the game. “It’s just about hunkering down and getting stops and that’s what we did a really good job of tonight.”
Looking ahead
UCLA will face No. 7 Arizona (28-4, 16-2) on Friday night for the third time this season, this time with a trip to the conference finals on the line.
The explosive Wildcats are coming off a 92-78 win over Colorado Thursday night in which they exploded for 54 points on 64 percent shooting in the second half. All five starters reached double digits.
“We know we’re going to have to be better tomorrow night than what we were tonight,” Alford said after the win over USC. “I think it’s two top-five teams going at it in the semifinal game of a conference tournament.”
Last time the teams met, UCLA used a dominant second half to win 77-72 on the road at Arizona, outrebounding the Wildcats 19-8 in the latter period.
It was a drastic shift from the squads’ first meetup in January, when Arizona won the rebounding battle 42-33, and part of a larger trend for UCLA, which has improved significantly on the glass during its current 10-game winning streak.
In fact, much of the Bruins’ defensive improvement can be attributed to better board play.
Over the past 10 games, UCLA’s defense has actually allowed a higher effective field goal percentage and forced fewer turnovers than it did over the season’s first 22 games.
And yet the Bruins have skyrocketed up the defensive efficiency leaderboards, largely because of stronger rebounding on both ends of the floor.
An improved offensive rebounding rate has cut down on opponents’ transition opportunities, while better defensive rebounding has helped UCLA close out possessions after forcing misses.
In those 10 games, the Bruins have allowed opponents to grab just 23 percent of their missed shots, a mark that would rank first among all major-conference teams in the country.
If UCLA can replicate its previous performance against Arizona, in which the Wildcats grabbed a season-low three offensive rebounds and allowed 12, the Bruins will be in good position to win Friday night.
“Rebounding and playing defense is what it’s going to be,” Welsh said. “They are a great rebounding team so we’re going to have to crash the glass, hopefully get extra possessions on the offensive end for ourselves.”
But if the battle of the boards comes out in favor of Arizona, the nation’s 14th-best rebounding team, UCLA could have trouble containing a team with a vast array of scoring options.
Asked whether he felt the Bruins found the answer during the second half of the teams’ last matchup, Welsh smiled and tilted his head as if to say he wasn’t sure.
“It’s tough because rebounding is one of those things where you could box out, you could have incredible position, but the ball could bounce to the other side of the rim,” Welsh said. “It’s just about being consistent with boxing out, trying to gain position, so when the ball does come around where you are, you’re able to be aggressive and go get it.”
Welsh was sure about one thing.
“It’s going to be a great game,” he said. “They’re going to come at us. We’re going to bring it, too. We’re really excited.”