Shooting Woes Continue to Plague Bruins

The UCLA Bruins have hit a dry spell offensively the past few games, struggling to shoot the ball at a winning clip. There are major question marks surrounding this group and their ability to keep pace with the rest of the Big Ten in terms of scoring.

Jan 7, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA Bruins forward Tyler Bilodeau (34) reacts against the Michigan Wolverines in the second half at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The UCLA Bruins (11-4) have been struggling heavily to make enough baskets to earn wins in the Big Ten recently, losing their last two conference contests with very poor shooting performances in both games. A solution must be found quickly before it is too late and the Bruins are behind the curve.

In a 94-75 home loss to the No. 24 Michigan Wolverines on Tuesday night, the Bruins shot a dreadful 10% from three-point range, making just two of 20 attempts from beyond the arc. They finished the game 25-60 from the field, good for 41.7%. They also made just 23 free throws on 34 total attempts.

It was not just a few guys that struggled either, it was the entire team. Four different Bruins went 0-3 or worse from three-point land in the loss even when provided open looks at the rim. There does not seem to be any other answer to fixing this losing skid than finding the bottom of the hoop.

In last week's road loss to the Nebraska Cornhuskers, the Bruins were 4-28 from downtown and finished the contest shooting 38.6% from the field. The offensive output has not been enough to win tough conference games at home or on the road. This team must find a boost on the scoring sheet.

The Bruins are the number one team in the Big Ten defensively, allowing an average of 61.5 points per game. That number was under 60 points before they nearly up 100 to the Wolverines earlier this week. They also forced 16 turnovers against Michigan and 13 against the Cornhuskers.

It simply does not matter how good this team does defensively, it must make shots to win games. The opposing teams within the Big Ten are too talented to be limited to 40-50 points a game and the Bruins must find a way to keep pace even when they are playing their best defensive game.

Many of UCLA's shots in each game were not bad ones. Their ball rotation and lack of turnovers leads them to finding open shots, but simply are failing to knock them down. The amount of talent on this team is too great to be shooting as poorly as they have been the last few games.

The Bruins will have another crack at it on Friday night when they square off with the Maryland Terrapins (11-4) on the road. It will be very interesting to see what type of approach this team will take to a conference game that is now a must-win after falling to 2-2 in Big Ten play.

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.