UCLA falls to Nebraska when the Bruins can’t | College News

LINCOLN, Neb. —  With its best all-around participant out and its level guard falling into a deeper funk, UCLA needed some step-up performances to beat Nebraska.

What did the Bruins get?

Sebastian Mack made three of 11 photographs and dedicated 4 turnovers earlier than fouling out.

Kobe Johnson and Lazar Stefanovic mixed to make six of 18 photographs.

The complete crew made 4 of 28 three-pointers.

It was no surprise, then, that No. 15 UCLA faltered towards the finish of a 66-58 loss to Nebraska on Saturday given it performed the complete recreation with out ahead Eric Dailey Jr. and would possibly as effectively have been with out level guard Dylan Andrews given his continued struggles.

At one level halfway by way of the second half inside Pinnacle Bank Arena, having reentered the recreation whereas scoreless with three turnovers, Andrews nearly instantly threw a go out of bounds and obtained yanked again.

It wasn’t what the Bruins needed contemplating they have been already lacking Dailey, who was sidelined by lingering points from the shot to the face he absorbed two weeks in the past during a recreation in opposition to North Carolina.

“He’s not playing well,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin mentioned of the junior who has averaged 1.3 factors, 1.3 assists and a pair of.3 turnovers whereas taking pictures 11.8% over his final three video games.

Andrews went on to end with two factors and 4 turnovers in solely 19 minutes, his remaining indignity coming when he had a shot swatted on a drive to the basket in the remaining minute.

The sold-out crowd delighted in each UCLA miscue whereas giving the Bruins (11-3 general, 2-1 Big Ten) maybe their first true style of life on the highway in the Big Ten after they received at a half-empty Matthew Knight Arena final month.

After pulling to within 61-58 with 24 seconds left and inflicting some audible unease in the crowd, UCLA’s comeback hopes have been crushed when Nebraska guard Sam Hoiberg made two free throws and Andrews had his shot rejected.

Forward Tyler Bilodeau’s 15 factors weren’t practically enough on condition that UCLA shot 38.6% from the area and was particularly cold from long vary in opposition to a crew that packed its protection into the paint and dared the Bruins to beat them with three-pointers. They couldn’t.

They compounded their 14.3% taking pictures from past the arc by committing 15 turnovers in opposition to a crew that doesn’t use strain protection.

“Look,” Cronin mentioned, “if you shoot the ball as poorly as we did, the only chance you have is to take care of the ball; you can’t give them 17 points off your turnovers, you’ve got no chance, you can’t overcome it, so it’s just math at the end of the day.”

Why have been the Bruins having a lot bother operating a clean offense?

“I just think we were trying to do too much,” Bilodeau mentioned. “Probably need to just keep things simpler and make simple passes. They’re a good defensive team and they were rotating a lot from the baseline, so we were trying to keep everything in the middle. Probably should have executed that a little better.”

Guard Brice Williams scored 16 factors to help the Cornhuskers (12-2, 2-1) notch their twentieth consecutive home victory, tying the college report that they had established twice beforehand.

Forward Berke Buyuktuncel, who transferred from UCLA to Nebraska during the offseason, scored 4 factors and grabbed a team-leading 9 rebounds in opposition to his previous crew, cracking up Stefanovic during an exchange earlier than the recreation.

“He had a couple of jokes,” mentioned Stefanovic, Buyuktuncel’s former roommate. “It was good to see him.”

Starting in place of Dailey, who had scored 18 factors final weekend in opposition to Gonzaga and regarded superb Saturday when he went by way of pregame warmups, Mack was on the assault as typical however didn’t present enough of a elevate along with his 9 factors offset considerably by his sloppiness with the ball. Stefanovic added 10 factors off the bench and Skyy Clark had 9 for the Bruins regardless of absorbing a number of photographs to his shoulder.

Cronin mentioned he didn’t have clearance from Dailey’s household to handle his medical scenario however was hopeful he might return in opposition to Michigan on Tuesday. That’s when the Bruins might additionally get back ahead William Kyle III, who didn’t play in opposition to the Cornhuskers after present process an undisclosed medical process final week.

With his crew down to 9 scholarship gamers on condition that three others are redshirting, Cronin mentioned he instructed guards Trent Perry and Dominick Harris they might get extra alternatives. They fumbled the likelihood, combining to miss all three photographs and committing three turnovers of their 18 minutes.

“Guys have to step up,” Bilodeau mentioned. “Injuries are part of the game, that’s going to happen, and we’ve still got to learn how to win with them.’

Even with so much going wrong, the Bruins were in position to win midway through the second half.

They were down by only four points when a corner three-pointer from Hoiberg, the son of Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg, sparked an 8-0 run for the Cornhuskers that pushed them into a 50-38 lead with eight minutes left and essentially doomed the Bruins.

After using an early loss to New Mexico to forge the toughness and urgency needed to roll off nine consecutive wins, maybe this was another lesson for the Bruins.

“I think every road game in the Big Ten is going to be a tough environment,” Bilodeau mentioned. “We’ve got to know going into the game that it’s going to be a war.”