Three days after a crushing defeat on their home floor, the #22 UCLA Bruins (11-5, 2-3 Big Ten) once again found themselves on the wrong side of a blowout. Despite only trailing by four points at halftime, the Bruins quickly found themselves drowning amidst a sea of turnovers and fouls as they fell 79-61 to the Maryland Terrapins (12-4, 2-3 Big Ten).
Just about anything that could have gone wrong did go wrong for UCLA on Friday night. The Bruins, coming into the evening averaging only 11.3 turnovers per game, coughed the ball up a whopping 21 times during the game. Foul trouble also played a role in the Bruins’ collapse, with Maryland making 18 of their 21 attempted free throws, and head coach Mick Cronin found himself in the locker room early after a pair of technical fouls resulted in his ejection.
With the loss on Friday night, UCLA has now lost three consecutive Big Ten conference matchups and four of their last five games after starting the season 10-1. The Bruins have not won a Big Ten game since a December 8 win over the Oregon Ducks.
The Maryland Terrapins, meanwhile, improved to 12-4 overall and 2-3 in Big Ten play. The win is the Terrapins’ first statement win of the year, having previously lost tight contests against #15 Marquette, #8 Purdue, and #9 Oregon. Three Terrapins scored in double figures with Belmont transfer Ja’Kobi Gillespie leading the way, scoring a career-high 27 points with 4 assists and 4 steals in the contest.
Mick Cronin Ejected In Loss
Trailing 60-51 late in the second half, the Bruins found themselves facing another problem when head coach Mick Cronin got called for two technical fouls in rapid succession, getting ejected after the second technical. After a series of what Cronin considered to be missed fouls on the Terrapins, Cronin screamed at referee Jeff Anderson, resulting in the techs. Cronin spoke with the media on the incident in his postgame press conference, saying he spoke with Anderson earlier in the second half:
“I told him to give us a chance. [He’s] not giving us a chance to win.”
Cronin clearly felt that his conversation with the refs didn’t help, as he later stated that his ejection was intentional:
“I tried to get thrown out. I wanted out, I had enough. I’m sending a message, I’m tired of it… The second half, the game got to a point where nothing was being called and we weren’t tough enough, OK? That being said, in defense of my players, OK, I don’t think we were having much of chance. You’re getting grabbed, thrown, chopped, whatever, it’s hard.”
Despite what he considered to be poor officiating, Cronin also made sure to emphasize that he knows his team needs to be better moving forward:
“We have regressed. I kind of addressed that the other night. It’s a mindset, it’s a mindset with all teams and all players. It’s a mindset. You have to be — to be a great defensive team, you have to be totally committed to it. It’s not easy.”
UCLA Bruins Poor Run Of Form
After starting the season 10-1, the Bruins are losers of four of their last five games. UCLA has now lost three straight Big Ten conference games in their inaugural season in the conference, with two of those losses coming by 18 or more points.
The Bruins have struggled on their cross-country conference treks, going 0-2 in road matchups with Maryland and Nebraska and losing both games by an average of 13 points. The Bruins have shot 40% from the floor and 21.7% from beyond the arc in both games. On their Big Ten road trips, the Bruins also turn the ball over at a higher rate than in other matchups. Despite a season average of 11.3 turnovers per game elsewhere, UCLA has committed 18 turnovers per game in their two long-distance conference matchups.
Maryland Terrapins Statement Win
The Maryland Terrapins came into the matchup on Friday night in desperate need of a landmark win. Winless against ranked opponents and with only one conference win in their first four Big Ten matchups, Maryland was looking for some kind of spark to help ignite their season. Junior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie was more than happy to provide that spark. Gillespie had 16 points at halftime en route to a 27-point, 4-steal, 4-assist performance in a career night. Following the win, Terrapins head coach Kevin Willard spoke about the guard’s impact and improvement this season:
“We had a good conversation about just understanding what it takes to play at a high level… just getting him to understand not only the level of effort that you have to play with but the attitude that you have to come into every game… and I think that’s something he’s starting to realize.”
Senior forward Julian Reese was also integral to the Terrapins’ victory, posting a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds alongside 2 steals and 2 blocks. Freshman Derik Queen, who has recently been rocketing up NBA Draft boards, put up 8 rebounds and 5 rebounds for Maryland.
The UCLA Bruins continue their East Coast road trip with a visit to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on January 13, while the Maryland Terrapins will host the Minnesota Golden Gophers on the same day.
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