UCLA Has Turned Glaring Weakness into Massive Strength

The UCLA Bruins have completely turned things around in a pivotal area this season.

Dec 14, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Kobe Johnson (0) celebrates with Eric Dailey Jr. (3) after defeating the Arizona Wildcats at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The UCLA Bruins logged yet another impressive win over the weekend, defeating the Gonzaga Bulldogs by a score of 65-62.

It marked UCLA's second victory over a ranked opponent this season as the Bruins improved to 11-2 on the year overall.

During the triumph, Mick Cronin's club shot a blistering 12-of-24 from 3-point range, representing UCLA's latest long-distance barrage in what has become a stretch full of them.

It is in stark contrast to earlier in the season, where the Bruins were struggling mightily from downtown.

As a matter of fact, at one point, UCLA ranked 213th in the nation in 3-point percentage, which appeared to spell massive trouble for the team moving forward.

However, the Bruins have righted the ship.

Thanks to some incredible marksmanship in recent weeks, UCLA has moved all the way up to 58th in the country in that category, as it is now connecting on 37.1 percent of its triples.

The Bruins now have four players shooting over 40 percent from deep: Eric Dailey Jr., Trent Perry, Lazar Stefanovic and Tyler Bilodeau.

UCLA went from not being able to throw the ball into the ocean to being littered with shooters all over the floor, which will be absolutely critical to the team's success as the season progresses.

Of course, you do have to wonder if the Bruins' recent hot shooting stretch is a bit of a mirage, as they are draining treys with absurd efficiency.

On that same token, however, the squad's struggles from distance in the former stages of the regular season may have also been a bit fluky.

The truth of the matter is that UCLA probably lies somewhere in the middle, and perhaps it will start shooting 37 percent from three more regularly throughout the course of the 2024-25 campaign rather than having hectic highs and lows.

There is no question that the Bruins are an incredibly talented team, and with conference play ready to start after the New Year, it's time for UCLA to really kick it into gear.

We'll see if the Bruins continue lighting it up when they host the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Jan. 4.

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