Tag: UCLA Bruins basketball

Photos from UCLA’s win over Boston University

Through the lens from Monday night.

The UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team dropped out of the top 25 polls following a Friday night loss to New Mexico. 

However, the Bruins turned around and easily handled Boston University on Monday night in Westwood, winning the game 71-40. 

UCLA once again used a flurry of players, and Lazar Stefanovic and Eric Dailey Jr. led the way with 13 apiece as Sebastian Mack chipped in 12 off the bench.

UCLA now moves to 2-1 with a game coming up against Lehigh and a favorable schedule for the next couple of weeks.

Here are some photos from UCLA’s win over Boston on Monday.

UCLA responds with 31-point blowout win over Boston University

UCLA responds with a win.

The UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team lost to New Mexico on Friday in Nevada. As a result, the Bruins dropped out of the top 25 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll and the AP Poll.

However, the Bruins responded in a big way with a 71-40 win over Boston University at Pauley Pavilion on Monday night.

Lazar Stefanovic and Eric Dailey Jr., an Oklahoma State transfer, led the way with 13 points each. Sebastian Mack added 12 off the bench and 11 players saw the court for UCLA.

UCLA scored 39 first-half points and the defense held Boston University to just 18 second-half points.

UCLA’s loss to New Mexico was a bit frustrating, although the Lobos are a better team than many might have expected this year.

UCLA next faces Lehigh on Friday to begin a string of winnable games. They face Idaho State, Cal State Fullerton, and Southern Utah before facing Washington and Oregon.

UCLA falls far in AP top 25 poll after the opening week

No Bruins in this one, either.

The UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team began the year with a blowout win over Rider and then a tough neutral floor road loss against New Mexico. 

However, the Bruins are now out of both the USA Today Coaches Poll and the Associated Press poll.

On Monday, the AP poll came out, and UCLA wasn’t just out of the top 25, but they weren’t even in the “Others Receiving Votes” category.

Here is the entire poll.

Rank Team REC PTS TREND
1 Kansas (44) 2-0 1525 –
2 Alabama (6) 2-0 1439 –
3 UConn (7) 2-0 1398 –
4 Gonzaga (3) 2-0 1371 +2
5 Auburn (2) 2-0 1315 +6
6 Duke 2-0 1222 +1
7 Iowa State 1-0 1206 -2
8 Houston 1-1 1070 -4
9 Arizona 2-0 1004 +1
10 North Carolina 1-1 992 -1
11 Tennessee 2-0 930 +1
12 Baylor 1-1 806 -4
13 Purdue 2-0 795 +1
14 Creighton 2-0 752 +1
15 Marquette 2-0 603 +3
16 Indiana 2-0 600 +1
17 Cincinnati 2-0 454 +3
18 Arkansas 1-1 357 -2
19 Kentucky 2-0 353 +4
20 Florida 2-0 332 +1
21 Ohio State 1-0 273 +5
22 St. John’s 2-0 178 +4
23 Texas A&M 1-1 169 -10
24 Rutgers 1-0 157 +1
25 Ole Miss 2-0 147 -1

Others receiving votes:

Illinois 144, Texas Tech 102, Wake Forest 84, Xavier 78, Texas 51, Michigan St. 41, BYU 26, Kansas St 24, UCF 20, Mississippi St. 15, New Mexico 15, Oregon 14, North Florida 14, Miami 14, Clemson 13, VCU 12, Memphis 8, Wisconsin 6, Grand Canyon 6, Providence 4, Maryland 3, Austin Peay 2, Arizona St 2, South Dakota St. 1, Michigan 1, Columbia 1, Dayton 1.

UCLA not being in the top 25 isn’t surprising, but them being left out of the others receiving votes category is a bit of a shock.

UCLA faces Boston University on Monday night and then Lehigh.

UCLA drops out of USA Today Coaches Poll

The Bruins drop out.

The UCLA Bruins fell to New Mexico on Friday in a tough game in Henderson, Nevada.

In the season opener, they ran over Rider in a blowout win at Pauley Pavilion. However, after entering the year as No. 22, the Bruins have now dropped out of the USA Today Coaches Poll top 25 after the first full week.

Here is the full poll.

Ranking Team Record Points
1 Kansas 2-0 759 (21)
2 Alabama 2-0 724 (4)
3 UConn 2-0 702 (3)
4 Auburn 2-0 660 (2)
5 Gonzaga 2-0 651 (1)
6 Duke 2-0 608
7 Iowa State 1-0 576
8 Arizona 2-0 516
9 Tennessee 2-0 502
10 Houston 1-1 488
11 North Carolina 1-1 456
12 Purdue 2-0 437
13 Creighton 2-0 385
14 Baylor 1-1 328
15 Marquette 2-0 308
16 Indiana 2-0 234
17 Cincinnati 2-0 230
18 Kentucky 2-0 182
19 Florida 2-0 179
20 Illinois 2-0 151
21 Arkansas 1-1 150
22 Ohio State 1-0 148
23 Texas A&M 1-1 99
24 Rutgers 1-0 84
25 St. John’s 2-0 79

UCLA did land in the “Others Receiving Votes” section, which includes the following:

Texas Tech 75; Ole Miss 60; Texas 54; Xavier 38; Oregon 37; Michigan State 29; BYU 29; UCLA 18; UCF 17; Wake Forest 12; Saint Mary’s 12; Kansas State 9; Clemson 9; New Mexico 8; Dayton 8; North Florida 7; Maryland 5; Providence 4; Mississippi State 4; Nevada 2; San Francisco 1; Grand Canyon 1.

UCLA faces Boston University on Monday night at home as they try and get back into the rankings.

UCLA basketball loses to New Mexico in Nevada

A tough loss for UCLA.

The UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team began the year with a blowout victory over Rider in Westwood. On Friday night, the Bruins had a tough test against the New Mexico Lobos in Henderson, Nevada.

Unfortunately, New Mexico came out on top against UCLA. The Lobos had a 41-30 lead at halftime and UCLA couldn’t muster up enough in the second half. New Mexico ended up winning the game, 72-64.

It was a poor effort from UCLA, with the exception of Oregon State transfer Tyler Bilodeau, who led the way again. This time, he had 23 points with 15 rebounds and a pair of steals as he was the only UCLA player to register double figures in points.

Donovan Dent and Nelly Junio Joseph, two returning players for New Mexico, combined for 33 points in a strong effort.

It’s a tough loss for UCLA, although not a bad loss by any means with New Mexico expected to be a strong team. The Bruins next play against Boston University at home on Monday night.

UCLA-New Mexico a game to watch in opening weekend

UCLA-New Mexico should be a good one.

The UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team had no issues in the opening night win over Rider at home.

However, Friday’s game against the New Mexico Lobos in Henderson could be a tough test.

College basketball insider Jon Rothstein picked five games to watch for the weekend, and one of them was UCLA taking on New Mexico in Las Vegas.

“How much better are the Bruins than last season’s team that finished 16-17? We’ll have a pretty good idea after this neutral site clash in Las Vegas. Keep a close eye on how UCLA’s depth affects New Mexico point guard Donovan Dent over the course of 40 minutes. Tip off for this game is at 11 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.”

The others on his list were North Carolina-Kansas, Tennessee-Louisville, Arkansas-Baylor, and Auburn-Houston. However, all eyes will be focused on Mick Cronin’s team as they face the Lobos in a tough game.

UCLA lands at No. 20 in College Sports Wire rankings

Bruins ranked in these predictions.

The 2024-2025 college basketball season has officially kicked off. On Monday, there were some big upsets, with North Florida beating South Carolina as one of them.

Gonzaga blew out Baylor in a strong showing by the future Pac-12 school.

The UCLA Bruins did what they were supposed to and took care of Rider in Westwood with no issues.

Andy Patton of College Sports Wire dropped his top-25 rankings on the opening day of the 2024-2025 college basketball season.

In those rankings, he had the UCLA Bruins at No. 20.

“Mick Cronin’s UCLA squad was a massive disappointment last season, but a retooled roster comprised of key returners Sebastian Mack and Dylan Andrews, along with transfer portal additions Tyler Bilodeau (Oregon State) Kobe Johnson (USC) and Skyy Clark (Louisville), should have this team at or near the top of the Big Ten standings.”

Fellow Big Ten schools Oregon (No. 21) and Indiana (No. 24) are right behind UCLA.

The Bruins began with an easy win over Rider in Westwood on Monday night, and they follow things up with a tough showdown against New Mexico in Las Vegas on Friday.

UCLA rolls by Cal State LA in tune-up game

The Bruins had no issues here.

The UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team had an exhibition game against Cal State Los Angeles on Wednesday night at Pauley Pavilion.

It was a good chance for Mick Cronin to tinker with lineups, especially with all of the new faces in Westwood this season.

UCLA got the easy win, 100-64, as Oregon State transfer Tyler Biloedeau led the way with 24 points in an impressive debut.

It is no surprise to see Bilodeau play well, and Cronin spoke about his output after the game.

“As you can see, Tyler Bilodeau can score. He can score at Oregon State and he can score here.”

UCLA is expected to be a major factor in the Big Ten Conference and they are No. 22 to begin the season in the polls. They start the regular season on Monday night at home against Rider and then play New Mexico in Las Vegas before a stretch of Boston, Lehigh, Idaho State, Cal State Fullerton, and Southern Utah.

UCLA basketball hope to fine-tune things against Cal State LA

The Bruins play their first and only pre-season game ahead of their first season in the Big Ten.

The UCLA men’s basketball team is set to take the court this Wednesday in an exhibition matchup against Cal State L.A. at the Pauley Pavillion.

After a disappointing 2023 season, the Bruins are back in action with some familiar and unfamiliar faces on the roster. Head coach Mick Cronin weathered the storm last season with UCLA, despite some serious ups and downs and a deflating second-round exit in the Pac-12 Tournament.

Now, the new-look Bruins hope to cross their t’s and dot their i’s before starting the season on November 4th at home. The No. 22 ranked team in the nation, UCLA has high expectations in 2024 after the transfer portal additions of forwards Kobe Johnson and Eric Dailey Jr. and guard Skyy Clark.

The Bruins are in uncharted territory this season as they begin their tenure in the Big Ten. With questions swirling surrounding the trajectory of the program and Cronin’s ability to coach a blue-blood program, UCLA fans will get their first taste of the 2024 team this week in what should be a blowout win in Westwood.

Adem Bona makes regular season NBA debut

Adem Bona gets run on Opening night!

Former UCLA Bruins basketball star Adem Bona was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2024 NBA Draft.

He ended up making the roster and then didn’t take long to see some action in the season opener for the Sixers.

On Wednesday night, Bona got some run with the Milwaukee Bucks leading comfortably in the fourth quarter.

However, Bona scored a basket and had a rebound in just two minutes.

The Bucks ended up winning easily, 124-109, although the Sixers didn’t have Paul George or Joel Embiid on the floor for the first game of the season.

Bona joined rookie Jared McCain and as the first year players to get some playing time on opening night.

The Sixers next face off against the Toronto Raptors on the road on Friday night, so we will continue to monitor and see how Bona does during his first season in the NBA.