UCLA at Oregon Postgame: Ducks fly through the Bruins' Swiss cheese D, beat UCLA 86-72

This postgame recap will be brief as I'm in NYC in the thick of a blizzard.

First Half

(Some) Stats at the half:

Score: 31 UCLA - 41 Oregon.

Shooting %: 34 v 44 (henceforth, UCLA first, Oregon second)

3%: 57 v 33

FT: 3/5 v 4/7

Blocks: 2 v 6!

Bruins lead the game for the first two minutes peaking at 9-5 but then Oregon took over and never let go. UCLA was shooting poorly for most of the half, dipping lower than 30% for a bit, and generally everything wasn't working for UCLA. All the hustle plays, 50-50 balls, went Oregon's way.

Hamilton (3 points, 2 assists) picked up 3 fouls so sat for a big part of the half and Bryce was simply bad out there until he finally made a 3 towards the end (5 points, 2 assists).

Holiday was the main offensive and defensive force out there with 9 points (team leading), 3 of 6, and 2 assists. Holiday kept UCLA from being completely blown out in the first half IMO.

Oh and the defense by UCLA? It was as soft as butter that has been left out on the porch on a warm summer's day.

Second Half

My TV and internet feed were spotty for the second half. It's a blessing for me really.

UCLA started the second half with a 10-4 run to make the score 45-41 Oregon. But the Ducks came right back and an Elgin Cook jumper gave them a 12-point lead with under 15 minutes to play.

The Bruins stuck with it though and an Isaac Hamilton three-pointer put UCLA only three points down with 12:22 to go. That was as close as the Bruins would get as Oregon roared right back with a 7-0 run to make it 63-53 with 9:56 left.

Thomas Welsh's dunk with 6:48 left would again cut the lead to 7, but every time UCLA tried to get back in the game, Oregon came back stronger.

A 5-0 run put the Ducks up by 12 points with five and a half minutes left and, while the size of the Oregon lead would vary between ten and fourteen points, the outcome of the game was never in doubt.

Wrap-up

Final stats:

Score: 72 UCLA - 86 Oregon.

Shooting %: 44 v 49

3%: 50 v 36

FT: 11/15 v 8/13

Aaron Holiday led in scoring with 19 points and he should be commended for trying to will the Bruins to a win, almost single-handedly. Thomas Welsch turned up the intensity in the second half and contributed 16 points and 8 rebounds. The drop-off is huge after these two with Hamilton, BAlford, Parker and others just not doing much.

Steve Alford's team plays terrible defense and the announcers rightfully mocked UCLA all game. Simply put, it's disgusting.

Gotta go help my old landlord shovel snow, so I leave the floor to the much more knowledgable fans. Comment away!

Go Bruins!