Bruins look to snap Trojans’ four-game win streak in crosstown rivalry

It’s been almost two years since UCLA beat USC in a men’s basketball game. The Trojans dominated the Bruins last season, winning all three match-ups in games that weren’t even close. The margin of victories: 14, 19 and then 24 in the game that ended UCLA’s season in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament. […]

Bruins improved against zone defense since last Trojan encounter

When USC coach Andy Enfield decided to switch from man-to-man to a zone defense eight minutes into his team’s win over UCLA on Jan. 25, the UCLA offense immediately stalled out. The Bruins turned the ball over 11 times in the final 12 minutes of the first half, as the Trojans erased a 10-point deficit […]

Face-off with USC critical in UCLA’s battle for conference title

It’s shaping up to be more of a Pac-3 or 4 than a Pac-12. The top three teams in the conference each have at least 10 conference wins while eight other teams each have less than eight, highlighting the two distinct levels of play in the league. With No. 6 UCLA (23-3, 10-3 Pac-12) facing […]

Men’s basketball’s recent wins due to rebooting of mental game

The reboot worked. After four straight weeks of league play and consecutive losses to Arizona and USC, No. 6 UCLA basketball (23-3, 10-3 Pac-12) needed the week off. They were the first team to start conference play up in Eugene against Oregon and didn’t get its week off until a month later, a stretch of […]

Men’s basketball defeats Oregon State 78-60 behind strong second half

This post was updated Feb. 12 at 9:17 p.m. UCLA men’s basketball notched its fourth consecutive win Sunday, running away from Oregon State with a dominant second-half offensive effort en route to a 78-60 home victory. The Bruins (23-3, 10-3 Pac-12) struggled early on, producing their lowest-scoring half of the season in the first period […]

Men’s basketball leads Oregon State 32-27 at halftime

Though it closed the half strong, UCLA men’s basketball was slow out of the gates Sunday against Oregon State, putting up its lowest-scoring half of the season as it headed into halftime with a 32-27 lead. Fresh off a dramatic comeback victory over the No. 5 Oregon Ducks on Thursday night, the No. 10 Bruins […]

Marked defensive improvements drove UCLA’s takedown of Oregon

After giving up 48 points in the first half Thursday night against Oregon, UCLA men’s basketball looked like it was headed for an even worse showing early in the second half. Coach Steve Alford called a timeout less than three minutes into the latter period. His Bruins had already given up 11 points since coming […]