The Bruins beat Wisconsin 85-83 on Tuesday, improving to 14-6 on the season (4-3 in the Big 10). The electric victory snapped a seven-game win streak for the red-hot #18 ranked Badgers. The win is the team’s 3rd against a top-20-ranked opponent, something the committee will undoubtedly value come tournament time.
Aday Mara was the game-changer for the Bruins. After dozens of games with limited opportunities, he finally broke out. The sophomore scored a career-high 22 points, adding five rebounds and two blocks in just 21 minutes of action.
His performance was immediately recognized by the crowd. After a dunk on one end and a block on the other midway through the second half, the fans roared in chants of “Mara, Mara, Mara”.
He was unstoppable in the paint, doubling his previous career-high in free throw attempts, sinking 8/11 from the line. The breakout was certainly a long time coming for Mara, who seemed composed despite a career effort. “It feels good to have this game…to be able to help the team”, he said.
Although Mara shined brightest, the game was really a team effort, with big plays coming from unlikely places. William Kyle III, after just five minutes of game time on the night, was subbed in with 30 seconds left with UCLA up 82-80. He went on to stuff Wisconsin’s John Blackwell with nine seconds to go, sealing the game. “To come in and do something like that man that just shows that as a team we’re starting to click”, Sebastian Mack said.
Mack finished second on the team in scoring, with four boards and two assists as well. He came up big in clutch time himself, adding seven points in the final five minutes of play. Mack’s aggressiveness continues to be crucial in late-game situations. “He can deal with the physicality of the Big 10”, Coach Cronin noted, “He actually plays better when it gets like that.”
Wisconsin’s coach Greg Gard spoke to the physicality of the Bruins as a whole. “Even though they’re new to the Big 10 I feel like they play like a Big 10 team”, he said about the Bruins.
It was three-point shooting that kept the Badgers alive in the contest. At times a shot went up and the crowd could tell it was going to go down. The unit sank 15 threes, hitting on a whopping 50% of attempts. This effort was led by Wisconsin’s John Tonje, who scored 24 points on 86% shooting from beyond the arc.
Although the Bruins did not shoot nearly as efficiently from range, the team conceded just seven turnovers, a season low. UCLA has now scored 80+ twice in a row, something they haven’t done since Nov. 22 and Nov. 26.
The gauntlet that is the Big 10 feels never-ending for UCLA. The team faces another brutal stretch coming up, including games against cross-town rival USC, and two top 15 teams, in Oregon and Michigan State, respectively.
However, Coach Cronin continues to adopt a calm mentality. “When you’re in leagues like this you gotta just win and get to the next one.”
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Featured image courtesy of Jan Kim Lim, UCLA Athletics