UCLA, looking to get back into the Top 25 rankings after a one-week absence, hosts slumping Oregon on Saturday in Los Angeles in a battle of former Pac-12 basketball rivals.
The Bruins (6-2, 1-0 Big Ten) escaped with an 82-80 win over Washington in both teams’ conference opener in Seattle on Wednesday, almost losing a 16-point lead in the last six minutes of the game. UCLA managed to hold on, led by Skyy Clark’s 25 points and six 3-pointers plus 21 points from Tyler Bilodeau.
“Skyy is one of the best scorers in the country when he is really going,” Bruins coach Mick Cronin said. “Tyler gives us consistent games. … That’s our system and that is what will help us win games. We can continue to work from there.”
UCLA has been a better first-half team, outscoring opponents by 71 points in the first 20 minutes of games and only 28 points in second halves.
The Bruins are 1-2 against teams from power conferences, losing to Arizona of the Big 12 and Cal of the Atlantic Coast Conference before beating Washington. Now come the Ducks, who are on a four-game losing streak after winning their first four games of the season.
Oregon (4-4 ,0-1) went to the Players Era men’s tournament in Las Vegas and lost three straight games during Thanksgiving week, then returned home to Eugene, Ore., and fell 82-77 to No. 24 Southern California on Tuesday. Kwame Evans Jr. paced the Ducks with 23 points and nine rebounds against the Trojans.
The Ducks have played their past two games without injured star big man Nate Bittle, a preseason All-Big Ten team selection.
Beyond that, longtime coach Dana Altman criticized his own work.
“We’re a poorly coached team, this is all on me,” Altman said this week. “Our parts are better than how we’re playing right now, our players are better, we’ve got a great staff. Coaching is about trust, and players don’t trust what I am saying, and there’s no connection there.”
