UCLA’s lackluster defense against Arizona overrides offensive efforts

Arizona’s Kadeem Allen held the ball near the half court logo as the shot clock ticked down to just six seconds, with UCLA senior guard Bryce Alford standing in front of him.

Down six with just over two minutes left in Saturday’s matchup with the Wildcats, the Bruins were in desperate need of a stop.

They wouldn’t get it.

Allen lowered his shoulder, exploded past Alford, and arrived at the rim unchallenged by any kind of help defense.

It was far from an uncommon sight for the sellout crowd at Pauley Pavilion, which watched Arizona repeatedly slice up the UCLA defense.

“We just didn’t get stops in either half,” said UCLA coach Steve Alford. “We didn’t defend the dribble at all – all of our guards really struggled keeping the ball in front – and we were late with a lot of help.”

En route to 48 points in each half, the Wildcats averaged a gaudy 1.32 points per possession, the worst mark the Bruins have allowed this season.

The defense has been a relative weakness all year for UCLA, but against most opponents, the Bruins, who boast one of college basketball’s most efficient offenses in recent memory, have been able to score their way to wins.

That formula didn’t work Saturday against a top-notch opponent in Arizona.

Steve Alford said he’d like to see the Bruins’ defensive efficiency – which represents the number of points allowed per 100 possessions – in the mid 90s or, at worst, the high 90s.

Saturday’s performance, though, raised UCLA’s opponent-adjusted defensive rating to 102.3, per kenpom.com, which puts the Bruins 123rd in the country.

For a team with national title aspirations, that’s a very worrying statistic.

No national champion since 2002 has entered the NCAA Tournament lower than 57th in adjusted defensive rating.

“The place that we want to go, we’ve got to play defense,” said freshman point guard Lonzo Ball.

The defensive problems Saturday were widespread, Steve Alford said, with the unity the pass-happy Bruins show on offense completely missing on the other end of the floor.

“There’s not as much trust, there’s not as much unselfishness at the defensive end to help one another as what happens at the offensive end,” Steve Alford said. “On the offensive end, you see assists. Well, on defense, they don’t calculate assists, but there’s assisting to defense, and we don’t do that nearly as well.”

The defensive trust issues result in part from a lack of communication.

“We’ve just got to talk more – I think that’s the biggest thing is just being able to hear that somebody’s there (in position to help),” Bryce Alford said. “Having that voice in your ear saying, ‘Hey, I got you on this side,’ or ‘Hey, a screen’s coming,’ stuff like that really goes a long way on the defensive end. I think sometimes we get a little quiet on that end, and it hurts us.”

For a brief stretch in the second half, UCLA went to a 3-2 zone in hopes of producing some stops. It was successful for a time, allowing the Bruins to trim the deficit.

Arizona, though, eventually pushed the lead back toward 10, forcing UCLA to abandon the zone.

“Once you’re down eight or nine points inside four minutes, all a zone’s going to do is eat clock,” Steve Alford said. “Regardless of whether it’s zone or man that we’re in, we’ve got to play more in a stance and we’ve got to have more urgency to get stops.”

Trier’s the Thing

The Wildcats, who are tied for first in the Pac-12, are a strong squad, but have hardly been an offensive juggernaut. Their 96 points were a season-high, and the team’s offensive efficiency Saturday was its second-best mark of the year.

Arizona did, however, have guard Allonzo Trier, its third-leading scorer last year as a freshman, who was back for the first time this season after a suspension for a positive performance-enhancing drug test.

Trier did not start, but played 27 minutes and produced 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

“I don’t think we win without him,” said Arizona coach Sean Miller. “Having one of your best players makes a difference.”

Steve Alford said Trier’s presence hadn’t adjusted the game plan for UCLA because the news of his return did not come out until late Friday night. With a 1:00 p.m. “tipoff,” the Bruins had no morning practice to tweak their preparations.

UCLA fans serenaded Trier with chants of “Ster-oids” and “P-E-D” throughout the game, but the sophomore quieted them with several highlight plays. He scored six points in the final minute of the first half, capped off by a coast-to-coast lay-in mad dash at the buzzer, to push the Wildcats’ halftime lead to 11.

In the second half, after UCLA had clawed back to within five, Trier beat the Bruins down the court to deliver a powerful dunk in transition.

“It really opens up the floor,” said Arizona freshman guard Kobi Simmons of Trier’s return. “It gives us more depth. He’s really become a great passer and it really helps because the other teams have to focus on another great player.”