The game itself obviously isn’t the news of the night, but it nonetheless continues. No. 13 UCLA looked very to start, getting abused on the boards by Indiana State, a Missouri Valley Conference team that lost four of its five starters from a year ago.
The Bruins couldn’t grab a lead until more than halfway through the period; low-lights include Kyle Anderson turning the ball over off Josh Smith’s feet, and Smith grabbing a defensive rebound only to toss it away on a bad pass and subsequently going “deer in headlights” as he got hit with a blocking foul. UCLA started shaking off the opening night jitters, and went on an 8-0 run to that helped stretch open a 36-27 halftime lead.
Jordan Adams, probably the least heralded of the four freshmen, has been a pleasant surprise so far. The 6-foot-5 guard was the first player off the bench and asserted himself quickly, shooting 3 of 7 to lead the game with 9 points.
As for Shabazz Muhammad, he continued to rock what looked like Ray Bans while sitting on the bench. Also, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea played the national anthem and wore a “Free Shabazz Muhammad” T-shirt.