Colorado will challenge No. 4 UCLA’s weakest defensive links

No. 4 UCLA's road trip begins tonight against a Colorado team that  is a deceiving 0-3 in the Pac-12 after playing all three of its conference games on the road

No. 4 UCLA’s road trip begins tonight against a Colorado team that is a deceiving 0-3 in the Pac-12 after playing all three of its conference games on the road

It should probably frighten the Pac-12 – and maybe the rest of college basketball – that the UCLA basketball team has ample room to improve.

It’s not surprising that a team whose two best players are freshman would get substantially better over the course of a season, but it’s another thing to identify areas for potential growth for a 16-1 team ranked No. 4 in the country.

Entering tonight’s game at Colorado, UCLA is allowing 13 offensive rebounds per game. This not only hurts them in obvious ways like allowing opportunities for second-chance points. It hampers what the Bruins do best, run the fast break.

UCLA can argue it has the best transition offense in college basketball, freshman point guard Lonzo Ball being the obvious catalyst. If UCLA can cut down its opponents’ offensive rebounds, it can help itself in two areas.

Colorado is an interesting case on the boards. The Buffaloes’ front court is on the smallish side, but they’ve got one of the largest, most physical backcourts in the Pac-12. In other words, Bryce Alford and Isaac Hamilton are facing a difficult test on the defensive end. Colorado will likely try to post up UCLA’s two weakest defensive links, and they will certainly test them on the boards.

Read the complete preview for UCLA versus Colorado here as the Bruins embark on their second road trip of conference play, one it will finish in Utah.