BASKETBALL

Preview: Michigan MBB ends west coast road trip at No. 22 UCLA

The Wolverines are tied for first in the Big Ten

Published

23 hours ago

January 7, 2025

Jan 4, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Michigan Wolverines guard Tre Donaldson (3) dribbles the ball against the Southern California Trojans in the first half at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

No. 24 Michigan men’s basketball (11-3, 3-0 Big Ten) took care of the first half of its trip to the west coast with an 85-74 win over USC on Saturday. The Wolverines hope to bring a four-game win streak back to Ann Arbor as they face No. 22 UCLA (11-3, 2-1 Big Ten) on Jan. 7 at 10 p.m. on Peacock. The Bruins are one game back in the conference, with Michigan and No. 16 Michigan State tied for first.

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Scouting No. 22 UCLA

UCLA has lost two of its last three games as it fell short against North Carolina (76-74) and Nebraska (66-58), respectively. On Saturday against the Cornhuskers, UCLA recorded their second lowest point total of the season. The Bruins shot 38.6 percent from the field and just 14.3 percent from deep.

Averaging under 35 rebounds per game, the Bruins are one of the worst teams in the country (tied for 269th) when it comes to crashing the boards. In fact, their leading rebounder (per game) is 6-foot-6 guard Kobe Johnson. Forward Tyler Bilodeau leads the team in scoring, averaging 14.5 points per contest. The only other Bruin averaging over ten points per game is guard Eric Daily Jr. (11.4).

Michigan’s Path to Victory

The Bruins are one of the better defending teams in the conference, if not the country. UCLA has yet to allow a team to score 80 points, a mark Michigan has reached in six straight games. The Wolverines struggle with rebounding at times, but they should be able to dominate that department against the Bruins.

UCLA gets almost 30 points per game from its bench, and it could test Michigan’s depth, particularly at guard. With defense in mind, freshman guard LJ Cason could see an uptick in minutes for this one.

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