Kentucky win legitimized UCLA basketball team on many fronts

TJ Leaf and UCLA validated gaudy offensive numbers by producing against Kentucky

TJ Leaf and UCLA validated gaudy offensive numbers by producing against Kentucky

The UCLA basketball team’s lofty statistical ranks seemed hollow six games into the season. Even head coach Steve Alford admitted that leading the nation in scoring after running up triple-digit totals against the likes of Pacific, CSUN and Long Beach State didn’t reveal much about his team.

Equaling its 97-point per game average – which now ranks second of 351 Division I college basketball teams – against then-No. 1 Kentucky in Rupp Arena? That singular performance altered the perception of everything UCLA had done to that point.

Turns out the No. 2 Bruins can produce offensively against just about anybody. And play enough defense against another of the best offensive teams in the country to win – on the road. Stats like UCLA’s nation-leading field goal percentage were validated when the Bruins shot 53 percent against Kentucky.

UCLA isn’t just playing at a breakneck pace, evidenced by an average of 14 seconds per possession. What really makes the Bruins scary is that they’re scoring the fifth-most points per possession in the country, making them the only team in the top 11 in number of possessions and offensive efficiency. For a deeper look at the statistical marvel UCLA is to this point, here is a story about the questions UCLA answered in Saturday’s win at Kentucky.