How UCLA Can Contend In Stacked Conference

The UCLA Bruins men's basketball team has started its season nicely, but so has everyone else. How can the Bruins contend in the packed conference?

Nov 20, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Idaho State Bengals forward Isaiah Griffin (12) and UCLA Bruins guard Kobe Johnson (0) celebrate against the Idaho State Bengals in the second half at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The UCLA Bruins stayed hot with their victory against Idaho State on Wednesday, putting up back-to-back 40-point halves.

UCLA has won three straight after its loss to New Mexico, but much like every other team in the league, winning has been common.

In the Big Ten, every team is over the .500 mark, and the largest loss amount is one. While none of the teams in the conference have faced each other yet, UCLA has made a good pace in keeping up with its conference opponents. As the season moves along, how can the Bruins contend in a packed conference?

The Bruins have scored 80-plus points in three of their four wins this season and have had many contributors on both offense and defense in the five games played so far. In Wednesday's victory, the team recorded 23 rebounds and 16 assists, and two players dropped 20 points or more for their team.

Junior forward Tyler Bilodeau has been a strong contributor to the team thus far. In his 20-point game against Idaho State, Bilodeau extended his team-leading 16.4-point average per game. The Bruins will need the junior to continue to contribute if the Bruins want to stay competitive in the conference.

Two Bruins have cracked the top 10 in the conference in steals this season: Skyy Clark with 2.4 steals per game and Kobe Johnson with 2.2 steals per game. Clark is ranked fourth, and Johnson is ranked sixth. These Bruins will look to stay at the top of the conference when it comes to their defensive part of the game.

The Bruins currently rank 13th in the conference in average points per game, with 77.8, and rank second in the league in their defense, having their opponents average 55.4 points per game. A wide margin like that can only spell good things for this Bruins team when it comes to staying competitive.

The Bruins are ranked fourth in the conference in points differentials, outscoring their opponents by 22.4 points. While the Bruins's 3-point percentage ranks near the bottom of the conference rankings, the team has flourished in other parts of their game to give their fans hope moving forward into the season.

Ensure you follow on X (Twitter) @UCLAInsideronSI and @tcav30 and never miss another breaking news story again.

Please let us know your thoughts when you like our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.