No. 19-ranked UCLA readies for a road swing through the Pacific Northwest with a final home-court tune-up on Friday, welcoming Presbyterian to Los Angeles.
The Bruins (4-1) host a Blue Hose team that is at the end of a three-game California road trip. Presbyterian (3-4) is on a three-game losing skid after dropping the first two games of its Golden State trek to Sacramento State on Sunday and Cal on Tuesday.
The same Sacramento State squad that outlasted Presbyterian, 64-62, was UCLA’s last opponent, and the Hornets bore the brunt of the Bruins’ frustrations after a 69-65 loss to Arizona last Friday.
UCLA coach Mick Cronin altered the starting lineup in Tuesday’s 79-48 win, bringing Tyler Bilodeau, Xavier Booker, Donovan Dent and Skyy Clark off the bench. The move paid dividends as the Bruins dominated the interior and overwhelmed Sacramento State defensively, holding the Hornets to just 13-of-54 shooting from the floor.
“We’ll see how guys practice,” Cronin said about whether he planned to stick with the starting lineup used on Tuesday. While Eric Dailey Jr. has been a starting fixture in all four of his appearances, Jamar Brown and Trent Perry were making their second starts while Steven Jamerson II and Brandon Williams made their firsts.
“Right now, we’re in a mode of trying to learn how to play hard enough to earn the jersey that they wear,” Cronin added. “I left my hometown, and coaching at my alma mater (Cincinnati) … because of how much respect I have for UCLA basketball. And I try to respect that my players play with that kind of effort and show that same respect.”
While Bilodeau and Dent are two of UCLA’s three leading scorers at 14.8 and 12.3 points per game, respectively, they struggled offensively coming off the bench on Tuesday.
Dent shot 2-of-9 from the floor and a dismal 1-of-5 at the free-throw line for five points, and Bilodeau fouled out after shooting 1-of-5 from the field in 18 minutes of play.
Finding a more consistent offensive output against aggressive defense figures to be the central theme of Friday’s contest for both teams, as Presbyterian comes in having yet to score more than 68 points against an NCAA Division I opponent.
But while the Blue Hose’s scoring average of 67.3 points per game ranks No. 330 nationally — only Jonah Pierce at 15 points per game and Carl Parrish at 14.6 are averaging more than 7.4 — Presbyterian has been stout defensively.
The Blue Hose are limiting opponents to 69.9 points per game on 43.2% shooting from the floor. Following Tuesday’s 67-57 loss at Cal, Golden Bears head coach Mark Madsen said Presbyterian’s physical style of play gave his team trouble.
“Our guys will be ready to play,” Blue Hose coach Quinton Ferrell said about Friday’s matchup. “With our program, I don’t expect anything less than that. Being without Erik (Taylor due to injury), Josh Pickett did a tremendous job on a one-day prep going out there and playing point guard.”
