UCLA Basketball: Star Sophomore Confident Bruins On Upswing After Recent Run

The Bruins have won three of their last four.

It appears the UCLA Bruins have turned a corner after a tumultuous start to the season. 

At 9-11, the Bruins have won three of their last four, and if it wasn't for a late-game collapse against Arizona, they would be on a four-game winning streak.

“Yeah, for sure," Dylan Andrews said when asked if the team is headed in the right direction. "I feel like we’re getting one percent better every day. Throughout the season we’re going to have our ups and downs. … We just got to keep going [and] keep pushing heading into the next game.”

Dylan Andrews via UCLA Athletics

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐈 𝐠𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐠𝐮𝐲𝐬.@dylan_andrews4 led all scorers with 20 points.#GoBruins | 🏀💪 pic.twitter.com/ZxftadyKb1

— UCLA Men’s Basketball (@UCLAMBB) January 28, 2024

This Bruins team is young. They lost their five leading scorers from last year and replaced them with Lazar Stefanovic and seven freshmen. There were bound to be struggles because of the inexperience. There are also high expectations because the letters U-C-L-A are across their chest.

“Not a lot has shocked me, to be honest with you. I knew they were good kids. I knew I was going to have to put them in a position to win. We don’t have overwhelming talent. We don’t have a player of the year. So, we are going to have to figure out ways to do things. But I also have to make sure I give them some confidence. There was a stretch where they lost their confidence and they were feeling the pressure of playing at UCLA. My [focus] was to eliminate all of that. This is about you and your career. You’re a good kid. Let’s try to make you become a better player. If we all become better players, the results will change. We can’t worry about the result.”

Per UCLA head coach Mick Cronin via UCLA Athletics

Andrews and his teammates should be extremely proud of their performance at the Galen Center on Saturday night and take this feeling of joy into the next game.