Scouting Report: UCLA Bruins

It’s time for a marquee matchup of blue blood programs at the Mecca of basketball. The #13 Kentucky Wildcats (7-2) square off with the #16 UCLA Bruins (9-2) at Madison Square Garden on Saturday evening. Tip-off is set for 5:15 p.m. Eastern Time on CBS. The matchup is game two of the CBS Sports Classic with #23 Ohio State (7-2) and North Carolina (7-4) tipping off in the undercard at 3:00 p.m.

At this point, we all know the stat that will be mentioned throughout the day by Big Blue Nation. Kentucky is just 16-25 in road or neutral site games against Top 25 opponents since the start of the 2015-2016 season. Saturday evening at MSG will give the ‘Cats an opportunity to improve that ugly mark. Beating Michigan in London calmed some concerns, but many fans still want more. No December non-conference game should ever be concerned a must-win by any means. However, this game against the Bruins feels really important for the state of the Kentucky Basketball program.

UCLA is coming off of a dominant 87-60 beatdown at #20 Maryland on Wednesday night. The Bruins are also 2-0 in Pac-12 play and have only lost to Illinois and Baylor on a neutral floor in Las Vegas. This is an excellent basketball team led by head coach Mick Cronin and All-American candidate Jaime Jaquez Jr. UCLA is one of just six teams nationally that rank in the Top 20 of both KenPom’s adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency. The Wildcats will have to play their best game of the season to leave New York City victorious.

As always, we have you covered with a full scouting report leading up to Saturday evening’s tip-off. We will go over the Bruins’ personnel, break down the offensive and defensive schemes, and outline the keys to the game for Kentucky. Let’s dive on in and get to know the UCLA Bruins.

UCLA Bruins Personnel

Starters

#10 Tyger Campbell: 5’11” 180 lbs, Redshirt Senior Point Guard

12.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 4.5 apg

Point Guard. Dynamic playmaker. Capable shooter but more aggressive and dangerous as a driver. No right-hand drives!!! You can hop under the ballscreens and handoffs to start. Don’t let him reject ballscreens. Get your hands up to be ready to contest. We will adjust if he makes a couple behind. Better off staying between him and the basket. Loves to shoot the floater as he drives it. Get your hands up and contest. Don’t get caught with your hands down as he penetrates off the ballscreen. Do not over=help as he drives it. He is a better passer than finisher. Make him score over you going to his left and we will be okay. Stay down on shot fakes. Should closeout short anyway. Pull-up going left, floater or attacking the rim going right. Stay between him and the basket! No layups.

#5 Amari Bailey: 6’5″ 185 lbs, Freshman Guard

10.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.7 apg

Lefty. More of a driver than a shooter. No left-hand drives!!! Closeout short with your hands up. He is looking to attack closeouts going left. Always looking to come back left to finish. Don’t let him spin back to his left hand. Will shoot the pull-up going right and attack the rim when driving it left. Be ready to contest the pull-up. You can hop underneath the ballscreens and handoffs to start. Don’t let him reject ballscreens, especially to drive it left. Make him score contested jump shots with you between him and the basket. Help off of him when he doesn’t have it. Be prepared for him to cut to the basket if you do help. No left-hand drives! No layups.

#0 Jaylen Clark: 6’5″ 205 lbs, Junior Guard

15.5 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.9 apg

Skilled jumbo-sized guard. Thick and strong. Very capable shooter. 10-24 from 3 on the season. Need to be there to give a hard contest. No catch-and-shoot 3s!!! Will shoot behind the ballscreens and handoffs. Need to go over the ballscreens and handoffs to take away the 3. Chase him off of downscreens and get over the flares. More aggressive as a driver. No right-hand drives!!! Be willing to switch to keep a guy on a guy and stay in front. Will turn drives into post moves. Contest the turnaround jumper in the post. Right hand, left shoulder. Bring some help and make him give it up when going right. Runs the floor hard in transition. Have to get back and protect the basket. Crashes the glass hard. Box out! No uncontested 3s. No right-hand drives.

#24 Jaime Jaquez Jr.: 6’7″ 225 lbs, Senior Guard/Forward

17.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.1 apg

Skilled wing. Best player. RIGHT-HAND DRIVER!!! NO RIGHT-HAND DRIVES!!! He is going to relentlessly get to his right hand to score. You have to get over and cut him off. Bring help as he drives it right to make him pick it up or pass it. Cannot let him operate comfortably for 4, 5, 6 dribbles. Will play off of ballscreens some. You can hop under. Be willing to switch. Loves to slip ballscreens into space. Will turn drives into post moves. Right hand, left shoulder. Uses a ton of shot fakes. Stay down on the fakes. Always pivoting around to come back right. Be physical and sit on that left shoulder. Give a hard contest to the turnaround jumper. Do not let him turn the corner going right! Should be very active stunting and faking at him when he has the ball. NO RIGHT-HAND DRIVES!!!

#3 Adem Bona: 6’10” 235 lbs, Freshman Forward

7.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.0 apg

5-man. Looking to score everything right at the rim. Will ballscreen and roll to the basket. They will lob it up to him on the roll some. Just give ground on the ballscreen and stay between him and the basket on the roll. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Be physical and get him off of the block. His percentages will go down significantly the further off of the block you make him catch it. Make him score over you outside of the paint. Very active on the offensive glass. Box him out!!! Don’t let him play harder than you at the rim. Don’t give up a dunk by helping up inside. Mostly looking to score on the roll, via a dump-off pass, or on the offensive glass. No dunks. No deep post catches. Get him off the offensive glass!

Bench

#34 David Singleton: 6’4″ 210 lbs, Fifth Year Senior Guard

10.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.6 apg

SHOOTER!!! NO 3s!!! 52 of 80 shots have been 3s. 50% on the season from deep. Have to be tight to him at all times to take away the catch-and-shoot 3s. Chase off downscreens and get over the flares. Be willing to switch if there is too much space. You are switching to take him away from 3. Tighten up to him as the ball is driven toward you. Absolutely no help off of him. Have to find him in transition. Really looking to squeeze off 3s when he is open. Your only responsibility when guarding him is to take away the 3-point attempts. No 3s!!!

#2 Dylan Andrews: 6’2″ 170 lbs, Freshman Guard

3.8 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 1.5 apg

Backup point guard. Will handle the ball a lot when he is in there. Driver!!! No right-hand drives!!! Much more aggressive as a driver than as a shooter. Just 2-13 from 3 this season. Closeout short to stay between him and the basket. Hop under the ballscreens and handoffs. You want to stay between him and the basket and guard against the right-hand drives. Very good cutter when he is off of the ball. You can help off of him, but don’t completely lose him and give up a layup on a basket cut. You can bring some help when he is driving it right. Get the ball stopped in transition. Looking to make him score contested 2s outside of the paint. No right-hand drives. No layups.

#14 Kenneth Nwuba: 6’10” 255 lbs, Redshirt Senior Forward/Center

2.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 0.6 apg

Backup post. He is in there to ballscreen and roll to the basket. Not really looking to throw it to him on the block. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Be physical on his left shoulder and push him off of the block. Just make him score with you between him and the basket. No drop steps. Don’t help up at the rim and give up a dunk. He is going to be physical when the shot goes up. Very good offensive rebounder. Box out!

#4 Will McClendon: 6’3″ 210 lbs, Redshirt Freshman Guard

2.0 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 1.0 apg

Backup guard. Been in the rotation the last two games. Willing shooter. 6 of 9 shots have been 3s. Play him straight up to begin. Be there to contest the obvious catch-and-shoot and then guard against the right-hand drives. Stay between him and the basket.

UCLA Bruins Offense

Coach Mick Cronin has the UCLA Bruins executing at a really high level with their halfcourt offense. They are primarily a ballscreen continuity team with some 4-around-1 Motion as well. At the end of the day, they do a very good job of playing to each of their individual piece’s strengths and taking good shots on every possession. The Bruins are not afraid to keep moving the basketball and play deeper into the shot clock. We have to be ready to guard ballscreens for all four of their perimeter players, especially #24 Jaquez Jr. who is 6’7″ and essentially plays the “4.” Be willing to switch the ballscreens and then bring help to make him give it up.

When UCLA does dial up a set play it is usually to get Jaquez Jr. in space for some sort of isolation. However, more times than not they will be free-flowing within their continuity or motion offense. Let’s take a look at the film for more of the Bruins offensively.

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This is a good look at the UCLA Bruins ballscreen continuity offense. We will be guarding this on the majority of halfcourt possessions. A few things to be ready for: 1) #24 Jaquez Jr. loves to slip the ballscreens, 2) they will lift their opposite post but it is generally a non-shooter, and 3) they will dribble at you and go backdoor on the second side. #0 Clark isn’t the most aggressive from beyond the arc, but he will settle behind the ballscreen if you go under. Do not go under!!!

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Here is another look at the same ballscreen continuity as you see above. The only wrinkle here is they get into it differently with the Iverson cut entry. You simply cannot let #24 Jaquez Jr. turn the corner to his right hand like this. You can see it coming from a mile away. He is relentlessly going to attack the basket to his RIGHT HAND!!! Get over and cut him off.

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UCLA doesn’t run a lot of set plays, but when they do call something it’s typically going to be an isolation for #24 Jaquez Jr. Baylor does a good job of switching the little ballscreen. You always want to switch ballscreens set inside the arc, especially when they are guard on guard. However, there needed to be a LOT more help after the ballscreen. There is no reason to go guard #10 Campbell outside the 3-point line with your back completely turned to #24 Jaquez Jr. At the very least you need to be stunting and faking at him as the ball is driven. If we are going to let him dribble it six times and operate one-on-one like this it will be a long night.

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Again, so much of what the Bruins do is predicated around #24 Jaquez Jr. creating offense. We have to have all five guys locked in on doing a good job with him. Error on the side of being “too” aggressive and helping “too” much. We would rather he have to make the play to the next guy than operate freely in space. This is good initial defense at the point of the ballscreen. However, you can’t let him come back to his right hand! Instead of just swiping at the ball, #1 for Baylor needed to be all the way in there to cut off the right-hand drive. On the ball, you can’t let your brain relax when you cut him off the first time because he is always coming back right.

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The UCLA Bruins will set high flat ballscreens and when they do they like to use their best shooter, #34 Singleton, as a back screener for the roll man. The help would need to come off of #24 Jaquez Jr.’s man in the weak side corner because you can’t help off of #34 Singleton or you will give up a 3 on the pop. Just need to try and see the lob coming on the roll so you can go make a play on the ball.

UCLA Bruins Defense

Under head coach Mick Cronin, the UCLA Bruins are a straight man-to-man team defensively. They switch a lot of ballscreens and look to stay between the ball and the basket. However, they have found a ton of success this season turning opponents over as well. This primarily has come from their guards picking spots to apply one-on-one pressure. #0 Clark and #24 Jaquez Jr. average 2.5 and 2.0 steals per game respectively from putting pressure on the ball. You can’t let them speed you up because they aren’t necessarily hunting the steals, they just come as a function of the turned-up pressure. #5 Bailey and #10 Campbell both get over one steal per game as well.

UCLA hasn’t been good at guarding the basket so far this season. If we can simply play without turning it over and get good shots up we should find success offensively. The Bruins have generally been better guarding in the halfcourt than in transition this season as well. We are at our best in transition so don’t be afraid to hunt some early shot clock opportunities.

Keys to the Game

• Win the turnover battle. UCLA ranks fifth nationally for fewest turnovers per game and 15th in forcing turnovers. We can’t let them have an advantage there today. Value the basketball.
• Dominate the glass. The UCLA Bruins have been a good, but not great, rebounding team. This is always an area where we should excel in theory. 77% or better defensive rebounding percentage.
• Convert at the free throw line. This is an area where we have to improve. 75% or betting at the free throw line today.
• Dictate the pace. We’ve allowed teams like Bellarmine and Yale to slow the game down against us and keep it close. UCLA plays a slower style as well, but with significantly more talent than those teams. Need 71 possessions or more.