Gott’s Thoughts: Men’s basketball needs to win to keep The Den full

The UCLA men’s basketball team should be very motivated to win these next two games up in Washington, and win them by a lot.

No, not because the No. 11 Bruins (19-3, 6-3 Pac-12) are falling behind in the Pac-12 standings or national rankings. They should want to win so the student section is full when they come back home.

Plain and simple, the UCLA student body will not come out to watch a losing team, and that’s what the Bruins have been lately.

First they were upset by Arizona on their home court, and then UCLA suffered an ever greater upset to USC at the Galen Center days later.

If this losing trend continues, get ready for a sparse student section.

Low student attendance was a problem last season when the Bruins finished with a 15-17 overall record, but it hasn’t been an issue this season. Not since freshmen Lonzo Ball and T.J. Leaf started winning games.

Think @uclatheden is pumped for #UCLA vs #Arizona. Student line stretches out more than 1/3 of a mile. pic.twitter.com/Xcdv8BxEnS

— Derrek Li (@DerrekLi) January 21, 2017

Just to be clear, I am not taking a dig at The Den or UCLA Athletics. I think both of those organizations have done a great job in providing students with both great seats and affordability with the Den pass.

However, these organizations are tasked with a tough job – marketing to a group of people who take time management very seriously. UCLA students are busy, and they’re only going to get busier as we reach the middle of the quarter and the midterms that come with it.

There are only four schools with both a top-25 men’s basketball program and a top-25 ranking in the U.S. News and World Report’s most recent National Universities Rankings: Duke, Northwestern, Notre Dame and UCLA.

Prowess in both athletics and academics is still definitely something to be proud of, but it presents challenges when it comes to getting students to dedicate hours in the middle of their week to standing in line and watching the game. Especially when they could be streaming the game from the library instead.

As a result, the team needs to give students a good reason to invest the time in coming to Pauley Pavilion, and they answered that call early in the season with deep 3s, towering dunks and victories. They were a team worth watching, even for the strapped-for-time, stressed-out UCLA student.

But now the Bruins have lost two in a row. And if they lose a couple more, students won’t want to spend a night out if they think their team might suffer another upset.

Without a raucous crowd, it might be harder for UCLA to maintain the energy required to play at a faster pace. A slower pace means less offensive possessions and less points, which doesn’t bode well for a defensively challenged squad like the Bruins.

This week’s road trip presents an opportunity to the team. They need to show the students that they can manhandle unranked teams like Washington and Washington State, just like they did earlier in the season.

If the Bruins want their fellow students in the seats at their next home stand – which features two nationally televised games plus a rematch against USC – they need to start winning again.

Because when it comes to the UCLA student body, winning is the best marketing.