Bruins' Loss to UNC Largely Due to Lack of Scoring Distribution

The UCLA Bruins are one of the best teams in the nation at spreading the basketball across their roster and having several players contribute in a big way. That did not happen this past weekend as they did not play their style of basketball.

Dec 21, 2024; New York, NY, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Sebastian Mack (12) drives to the basket while being defended by North Carolina Tar Heels guard Seth Trimble (7) during the first half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images / John Jones-Imagn Images

The No. 22 UCLA Bruins (10-2) snapped their nine-game win streak with a crushing loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels (8-6) with a very uncharacteristic performance this past Saturday. A team that usually has three or four scorers in double figures had just two, a huge reason for the loss.

In the 76-74 defeat, two Bruins finished with season highs in scoring. Junior forward Tyler Bilodeau posted 26 points while sophomore guard Sebastian Mack poured in 22 points for his best game this year. The pair combined for 48 of 74 points, something the Bruins almost never do.

In 12 games this year, the Bruins have had six different players lead the team in scoring. They have done a sensational job this season of sharing the rock and being able to find several different guys to be the star. They struggled to find more than two guys to make a positive impact.

Mack came off the bench and notched his season high while Bilodeau was really the only starter to shoot the ball well. There were just 13 points scored from the other four starters including zero points from senior guard Kobe Johnson and two points each from Eric Dailey Jr. and Dylan Andrews.

15 turnovers did not help the cause as the Bruins failed to keep a double-digit in the second half. Not to mention, terrible free throw shooting led to the loss as they were just 13-of-22 from the line. Those were the glaring issues besides failing to share the ball effectively.

Looking back at the Bruins' signature win earlier this season over the No. 12 Oregon, they had four different players score in double figures shared between starters and bench players. That has been their recipe for success all season, but simply did not execute correctly against the Tar Heels.

When the Bruins are clicking, they do not receive monster games from multiple players but solid performances of 10 or more points that add up amongst the team. They will need to do that this weekend when they face the No. 14 Gonzaga Bulldogs at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.

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