At full strength and fully optimized, UCLA routs No. 16 Oregon for fifth straight win

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UCLA’s Eric Dailey Jr. pulls a rebound away from Oregon’s Kwame Evans Jr. in the first half of the Bruins’ 78-52 win Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

They’re back to full strength. They’re getting excellent guard play. They’re optimizing lineups that now include a certain Spanish 7-footer.

On the night that Tyler Bilodeau returned from an ankle injury, the UCLA Bruins showed just how formidable they can be.

What was supposed to be a showdown turned into a rout, the Bruins outclassing a nationally ranked team on their home court.

UCLA was better across the board Thursday night during a 78-52 victory over No. 16 Oregon before the most raucous and appreciative crowd of the season at Pauley Pavilion.

Read more: Why has Sebastian Mack thrived as UCLA’s cold-blooded closer? He’s ‘got no fear’

The fans were on their feet and roaring after UCLA center Aday Mara threw an outlet pass reminiscent of legendary predecessor Bill Walton to Eric Dailey Jr. for a vicious one-handed dunk. The Bruins were up by 27 points and everyone wearing blue and gold could dream about the possibilities for a team that seemed lifeless as recently as 2½ weeks ago.

Now look at them.

The Bruins (16-6 overall, 7-4 Big Ten) have won five games in a row and have gone 6-0 against their old Pac-12 rivals, including a nonconference triumph over Arizona.

Dailey led the way with 21 points on eight-for-nine shooting, point guard Dylan Andrews added 15 points without a hint of the cramping issues that sidelined him for the final five minutes against USC, and Bilodeau had 15 after missing most of the last two games because of his sprained ankle.

UCLA’s Skyy Clark knocks the ball out of the hands of Oregon’s Brandon Angel in the first half Thursday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

The Bruins won so comfortably that a good chunk of the crowd departed before the final minutes to beat traffic as UCLA coach Mick Cronin inserted a slew of reserves. Trent Perry provided a final highlight…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/full-strength-fully-optimized-ucla-055016313.html

Author : LA Times

Publish date : 2025-01-31 05:50:00

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