It was a valiant effort but the UCLA Bruins ran out of offense against the UConn Huskies in the second round of the NCAA tournament. With Tyler Bilodeau missing a third-straight game the Bruins’ scoring ran out of juice, falling 73-57.
UCLA missed Tyler Bilodeau’s offense once again
For the second-straight game, it seemed as if the Bruins would be getting Bilodeau back. But once again UCLA had to face a do-or-die game without their leading scorer. Unlike the Bruins’ first round win over UCF, the supporting pieces didn’t step up on Sunday.
The Bruins defense did an admirable job
Mick Cronin, who picked up a technical foul for clapping, had his UCLA defense humming, as they had the UConn offense all out of sorts for most of the first half. However, the Bruins weren’t able to create enough separation while the Husky offense struggled, as UConn roared back and led 38-33 at halftime.
UConn legend Alex Karabon led the way
The longtime UConn forward Alex Karabon drowned the Bruins. Karabon scored a career-high 27 points, with the four-year starter knocking down four threes. Karabon calmed the waters for UConn, who turned the ball over 16 times and shot 47% from the field.
The supporting cast didn’t do enough for a UCLA win
In the win against UCF, Eric Dailey Jr, Xavier Booker and Trent Perry all played strong games. The trio was less impactful on Sunday, combining for 30 points on 11-27 shooting. Donovan Dent struggled again to shoot the ball, ending his lone season with UCLA with 11 points on 2-9 shooting.
UCLA fans can wonder about what would have happened with a healthy Bilodeau
It’s a frustrating end to the season for Cronin’s team. Perhaps things could have unfolded differently with a healthy Bilodeau but UCLA’s offense couldn’t find enough offense in the loss. The Bruins battled, but the up-and-down season has come to a close.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: UCLA runs out of offense, Bruins season ends with 73-57 loss to UConn
Reporting by Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
