Bruins’ subpar season ends with third loss to Trojans

LAS VEGAS — There was nothing but silence in the UCLA locker room.

Eventually, there was a voice. But it only came from the player speaking to the media. Outside of that, heads were down and faces were blank.

All the players could think about was what had transpired over the past two-and-a-half hours. By many accounts, it was the same as what had been transpiring over the past two-and-a-half months.

“It’s been a really difficult two-and-a-half months, and that falls on me,” said coach Steve Alford. “We just did a very poor job of getting to these guys.”

UCLA lost to USC by 24 points in the opening round of the Pac-12 tournament Wednesday night. The loss ends the Bruins’ season with a 15-17 record and a five-game losing streak.

Perhaps more deflating, the loss was also the Bruins’ third blowout loss to the Trojans in three tries this season.

“We played them three times, and kind of trying to make adjustments and it didn’t quite work,” said junior guard Isaac Hamilton. “I mean, the fight just wasn’t there.”

What happened to that UCLA men’s basketball team that started the season 9-4, with signature wins over Kentucky and Gonzaga? The team that looked poised for an NCAA Tournament berth?

“I don’t know, I really couldn’t tell you,” said freshman guard Aaron Holiday. “We’re the same team so I don’t know.”

The Bruins may have been the same team on the roster, but they were a different team on the floor from the start of Pac-12 play.

Senior forward/center Tony Parker, who finished his UCLA career with just five points on 2-of-7 shooting Wednesday, shed some light on the situation. He said that the Bruins had more respect for their opponents during the nonconference season, when those key wins occurred. Once conference season started, overconfidence may have been an issue, Parker said.

“I don’t know what we thought the Pac-12 was, (but) the respect for the Kentuckys, the Gonzagas, was a lot higher than it was for the people that we play against twice in a year,” Parker said.

Bryce Alford offered a slightly different reason for the Bruins’ fall-out during conference play. The junior guard said that the team was never able to establish an “identity” on defense. Wednesday night’s game was a prime example of that. The Bruins began the game in a 2-3 zone, but were forced to go out of it after less than three minutes, as USC rained in three 3-pointers.

“We never figured out our identity,” Alford said. “Tonight we had to throw out a trap off of a ball screen, which we never worked on in practice. And that’s just because the other stuff isn’t working.”

All of UCLA’s efforts seemed futile in Wednesday’s game. As was the case in each of UCLA’s three losses to USC this year, the Bruins simply appeared to be the inferior team athletically.

USC threw down four authoritative dunks in the game, two of which brought the entire crowd at MGM Grand Garden Arena to its feet. On one of the dunks, USC freshman forward Chimezie Metu jumped over UCLA sophomore forward G.G. Goloman and tomahawked the ball into the basket.

Meanwhile, UCLA’s drive attempts to the basket were far less fruitful. On several occasions, the Bruins either had their shots blocked or their forward progress halted entirely. The Bruins were 9-of-27 from two-point range in the first half, yielding a 48-29 halftime deficit.

“(USC) just got out, ran, played harder than us,” Holiday said. “They hit first with the 11-0 run (in the first 2:15), and we couldn’t recover. That happened every game, it seemed like.”

This year was the Trojans’ year in the world of Los Angeles college basketball. Their season continues tomorrow in the second round of the Pac-12 tournament.

The Bruins, meanwhile, have a lot of questions to ponder as the offseason looms.

“It’s kind of just a hit in the face of reality,” Alford said, the entire locker room silent around him. “It’s definitely going to be motivation for next year.”