LOS ANGELES -- UCLA entered their first Big Ten conference game of the season on a five game winning streak. They faced off against a familiar Pac 12 foe in the Washington Huskies. The bruins have been excellent on the defensive end this season, leading the country in scoring defense by holding teams to an average of 52.4 points per game.
Star player Tyler Bilodeau set the tone early by scoring the first seven points of the game for the bruins. UCLA struggled shooting the ball from three in the first half. Washington began to double the post almost daring the guards to shoot the ball from three. Despite the early struggles they managed to carry a five point lead into the half.
In the second half sophomore guard Sebastian Mack absolutely took over the game. Mack's ability to get to the rim changed the game, he also poured in two threes in the second half. Washington was able to cut the lead to as low as two in the second half, but the bruins managed to pull away with the help of six threes in the second half.
Every time UCLA needed a basket, they put the ball in the hands of Mack. He finished the game with 16 points, five rebounds and three assists. A positive takeaway for coach Cronin this game was the lack of turnovers. The team only turned the ball seven times all game. However, they did struggle from the charity stripe making only 50% of their free throws.
For UCLA it was a good win to start of the conference season, moving them to (1-0) in the Big Ten and (7-1) on the season.
Next up, the bruins play undefeated and #12 ranked Oregon in their toughest challenge of the season so far.
