Playing on the road at Michigan was UCLA’s toughest task. The Bruins faltered and now face an equally, or even more, difficult task Saturday in their first ranked opponent.
The Bruins host No. 25 Cincinnati on Saturday at Pauley Pavilion at 12:30 p.m. UCLA has yet to take down a team with a winning record and is ranked just 88th in RPI with three nonconference games left.
Veterans Thomas Welsh and Aaron Holiday carried the Bruins in Ann Arbor and now head coach Steve Alford wants his young players to take the next step.
Freshman guard Kris Wilkes is averaging just 8.8 points in the past five games after he was scoring at a 16.8-point clip to start the year.
“We’ve got to him going again,” Alford said. “I think always some of it’s the player, some of it is the newness of a team too of making sure he gets more touches and he’s getting involved.”
More on Wilkes and the rest of UCLA’s freshman class that’s looking to keep growing
Other links:
- Alford drops in on Andy Katz’s March Madness 365 podcast to talk about his roster, the team’s performance against Michigan and the matchup against Cincinnati (his segment begins at the 30-minute mark)
- Some football links:
- UCLA has five representatives on Athlon Sports’ All-Pac-12 second team.
- Pro Football Focus highlights Jordan Lasley and Nate Meadors
UCLA WR Jordan Lasley made the most of his snaps in route this season – leading the way among draft-eligible Pac-12 WRs. pic.twitter.com/tFZm7QZvDs
— PFF College Football (@PFF_College) December 15, 2017
UCLA CB Nate Meadors led all Pac-12 cornerbacks this season, with his 353 snaps in coverage, without allowing a TD. pic.twitter.com/ScBZYOkUdH
— PFF College Football (@PFF_College) December 14, 2017