This post was updated Jan. 14 at 8:50 p.m.

The Bruins’ trajectory since their No. 22 Week 1 ranking has utterly plummeted – undone by inconsistency and an offense stuck in neutral. 

In its first game of the season as an unranked team, UCLA men’s basketball (11-6, 2-4 Big Ten) lost to Rutgers (9-8, 2-4) 75-68.

“We’re struggling, it’s pretty obvious,” said coach Mick Cronin.

It appeared that both teams entered Monday’s matchup with something to prove. The Bruins’ loss followed a three-game losing streak – their longest of the season – which also knocked them out of the nation’s top 25. Meanwhile, the Scarlet Knights sat just three rungs away from the cellar of the Big Ten and were similarly on a three-game skid. 

A quest for redemption manifested itself at the tip – both teams scrappy, both teams responding in tune to each other’s buckets. 

Several Bruins showcased fleeting bursts of energy, only to fade to the background quickly thereafter. Senior guard Kobe Johnson notched two steals and a 3-pointer within the first six minutes, but was pulled to the bench after registering two fouls.

“He made a really bad decision with his foul in the backcourt,” Cronin said. “It was a foul, it was a bad decision, it didn’t help. We could have maybe extended the lead a little.”

The Bruins’ height advantage over Rutgers was personified by 7-foot-3 sophomore center Aday Mara – towering five inches over the Scarlet Knights’ tallest player – yet Mara managed to score just two points through the affair. 

And that seemed emblematic of UCLA’s 40 minutes at Jersey Mike’s Arena – size and potential on paper struggled to translate to any sort of authority on the court. Mara’s muted impact mirrored the team’s seeming incapability to capitalize on mismatches or facilitate an offense that could dictate the pace of the game. 

Guard/forward Eric Dailey Jr. said the squad’s offensive disconnect went hand in hand with its defensive slump.

“We just got to get back to ourselves, our flow,” the sophomore said. “Shots is a part of it, but at the end of the day our defense carries our offense, and we have to get back to being ourselves on defense.”

The squads continued exchanging blows throughout the first half, as the game largely stayed within a one-possession lead for UCLA in the first 20 minutes. The Bruins’ first two-possession lead since the opening minutes came after sophomore guard Sebastian Mack drained a free throw after doing what he seemingly does best – driving to the lane and drawing the foul.

In front of yet another sellout crowd – the Scarlet Knights boast a 73-game sellout streak at their home arena – Rutgers flipped the script on UCLA one minute into the second half. For the first time in the game, the hosts managed to assume command with their first lead. 

“We had a lot of open looks, but you can’t give up 45 points in a second half and win a conference game. Period. I don’t care what your name or your team is, where the game is being played,” Cronin said. “We were really struggling to guard the ball.”

UCLA’s deficit did not let up, despite multiple scoring efforts – including a 90-second lock where neither team budged from a score of 48-45. The Bruins’ highest scorer for much of the season, junior guard Tyler Bilodeau, posted just six points through Monday’s duel – his second-lowest tally of the season.  

Rutgers gained its largest lead of the night as it pulled ahead by seven points with as many minutes remaining. With four key free throws, the Scarlet Knights stretched their lead to nine with 5:48 to play while continuing to stifle any sort of Bruin offense – to the tune of a 31.6% shooting from deep and 42.4% from the field, marking their fifth-straight game with a sub-.500 field efficiency. 

“Offensively, we’re all thinking too much,” Mack said. “We need to just listen more and try to apply it.”

Just when it seemed as though foul trouble and inconsistent shooting would seal UCLA’s fate, the Bruins showed signs of life with about three minutes remaining. A Johnson defensive rebound lit the spark of a run that sophomore guard/forward Eric Dailey Jr. punctuated with a fast break layup, reducing Rutgers’ lead to four. 

UCLA continued its last-ditch effort as the clock ticked down. Johnson drew a foul to send himself to the charity stripe, creating a one-possession game with 76 seconds left. Senior guard Lazar Stefanovic fought to avoid the four-game losing streak, nailing a 3-pointer with 27.6 seconds left, yet quickly squandered his efforts by conceding an and-1 play to Rutgers guard Ace Bailey.

Sending Bailey to the line was the nail in the Bruins’ coffin. As Rutgers sank the ball in from the free throw line, UCLA’s season’s potential plummeted further.