What KSR learned from No. 16 UCLA's 27-point beatdown of No. 20 Maryland

In a little over two days, No. 13 Kentucky men’s basketball (7-2) will take on the No. 16 UCLA Bruins (9-2) inside Madison Square Garden. The Wildcats travel to New York City after having the previous six days off in between games. UK was last seen beating the Yale Bulldogs on Sunday at Rupp Arena, but will face a different kind of beast on Saturday in the Big Apple.

UCLA is coming off an 87-60 road smackdown of the No. 20 Maryland Terrapins (8-3) on Wednesday night. Billed as a top-25 matchup, the contest was one-sided from start to finish. The Bruins jumped out to an early 7-0 lead and controlled a 29-point halftime advantage. It was over at the break — Maryland went down by as many as 38 in the second half and never got closer than 27. UCLA shot 56 percent from the floor for the game, dominated Maryland inside the paint, and easily won the turnover battle 16-4.

No. 16 UCLA beat No. 20 Maryland by 27 points on Wednesday, their largest win against a ranked opponent since March 3, 2000 against…Maryland (35 points).

It was their largest road win against a ranked team since beating USC in 1974. pic.twitter.com/uDYZ852NFi

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 15, 2022

To preface what went down, know that Maryland came into Wednesday night on a two-game losing skid, falling to Wisconsin by five on the road and No. 7 Tennessee by three in a neutral setting. Maryland even managed to overcome a 3-24 shooting start against the Volunteers before making it a close game down the stretch. Prior to those two outings, the Terrapins were a perfect 8-0 on the season with multiple quality wins.

The last two losses continued to spill over though once UCLA threw the first punch. Maryland actually won the second half 40-38, but the halftime deficit was far too much to overcome. That being said, there was still plenty to take away from Kentucky’s perspective.

Here’s what KSR learned from the Bruins’ monster performance against the Terrapins.

What KSR learned from UCLA’s win

UCLA was able to shift the momentum of the game so quickly thanks to active hands on the defensive end. The Bruins turned Maryland over 11 times in the opening 20 minutes of action, 10 of them coming from steals. UCLA spun that into a never-ending onslaught of transition opportunities, which translated to 17 first-half points off turnovers. The Bruins were constantly hawking passing lanes and digging their hands into the cookie jar for easy swipes.

Maryland certainly didn’t help itself on offense though. The Terrapins started the night shooting 3-18 from the field, taking far too many quick (and ill-advised) shot attempts from all over the court. Maryland had 34 first-half possessions and only averaged .588 points per possession (compared to over 1.3 points per possession for UCLA). A light full-court trap throughout the first half from UCLA helped speed up Maryland and forced the Terrapins into poor decisions. Maryland went 7-16 on layups in the first half and turned the ball over more often (32.4 percent) than they scored (26.5 percent). Not ideal.

Regardless, UCLA was pouring in points on the other end. 6-foot-7 Jaime Jaquez Jr. is a footwork maestro in the paint with a silky smooth touch who constantly toyed with Maryland defenders. The early player-of-the-year contender dropped 12 points on 5-11 shooting in the first half. Whoever defends him (likely a combination of Jacob Toppin, Chris Livingston, and Daimion Collins) for the Wildcats will have the toughest task of the afternoon.

Five-star freshman wing Amari Bailey is an athletic, shifty creator with the ball in his hands while veteran starting point guard Tyger Campbell is always roaming the floor on both ends. He was hit with two quick fouls against Maryland that forced him to the bench, but his impact was felt in the four minutes he played in the first half (two steals and one assist). 6-foot-5 junior Jaylen Clark was the leading scorer against Maryland with 19 points and is an incredibly efficient scorer overall. Expect Cason Wallace to match up with Clark on defense.

One player Kentucky will have to always have eyes on is David Singleton, who is an elite shooter at the college level. Standing at 6-foot-4, the fifth-year senior knows his role on the perimeter and doesn’t float away from it too much, but he sure can shoot the lights out. Singleton went 4-5 from distance against Maryland and is 26-52 (50 percent) on the season. If he has a half-inch of space, he’s too open. His release is far too quick to not keep a defender on his hip at all times.

The matchup some will be most intrigued by when UCLA takes on Kentucky is the one in the paint. Five-star freshman Adem Bona (who was heavily considering UK before landing with the Bruins) will take on the reigning national player of the year in Oscar Tshiebwe. Bona finished with 14 points (7-8 FG) and seven rebounds against Maryland, pushing his season averages to 7.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game on 68.9 percent shooting. Going up against Tshiebwe won’t be anything like what he saw against the Terrapins though.

Bona has a growing offensive skillset that includes some high-post playmaking and rim-running abilities, but he’s still a work in progress when he tries to work in the paint. On the defensive end, Tshiebwe’s footwork should torture him. While force-feeding Tshiebwe the ball might not be the long-term solution to Kentucky’s offense, if Bona is on the floor (and he plays nearly 20 minutes per game), it might be too productive an option for head coach John Calipari to look past.

Overall, there’s no other way to slice UCLA’s win other than dominate. If Kentucky comes out sluggish the same way Maryland did — making lazy passes, being loose with the ball, failing to get back on defense, etc. — it will be a long night for the ‘Cats. The Bruins know how to make opponents pay. A lot of Kentucky’s potential success against UCLA might just come down to staying disciplined on both ends. Stick tight to shooters and avoid silly mistakes.

Keep in mind this was just a one-game sample size, but it’s the most up-to-date report we have on UCLA. The Bruins’ 27-point win over a ranked opponent shouldn’t drastically change how Kentucky fans feel heading into Saturday. Maryland is slipping and UCLA needed its first true statement win of the season, which they earned. Saturday will likely feature a close contest from start to finish.