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NEW YORK — Success in March, when the games matter most, is rooted in strong guard play.
Fortunately for UCLA, this is still December.
That means the Bruins have plenty of time to resolve what might be their biggest issue. His game-winning shot against Oregon notwithstanding, Dylan Andrews has regressed since emerging as one of the top point guards in the Pac-12 over the final months of last season.
A bottoming out came Saturday during No. 18 UCLA’s 76-74 loss to North Carolina at Madison Square Garden in the CBS Sports Classic.
Andrews missed five of six shots and finished with more turnovers than assists, including the critical turnover in the final minute that allowed the Tar Heels to complete their comeback from a 16-point deficit. Andrews took an inbounds pass in one corner of the backcourt and immediately had the ball slapped out of his hands and off his leg out of bounds.
It was the third time in the last four games that the usually sure-handed Andrews has finished with more turnovers than assists. Getting Andrews to more closely resemble the player he was late last season must be a top priority going forward.
Here are five takeaways from the Bruins’ first loss since early November:
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Drive time?
Andrews’ production is down across the board from last season.
He’s averaging fewer points, assists and rebounds while committing more turnovers.
The most telling statistic might be free throws. After averaging 2.3 free throws per game last season, Andrews has taken a total of three free throws in 10 games this season.
Might Andrews have become too reliant on taking jump shots? He said before the season that he had spent the summer working on his three-pointer in an attempt to become a 40-50-90 player — someone who makes 40% of his three-pointers, 50% of his shots and 90% of his free throws.
Andrews has increased his shooting accuracy. He’s making 48.7% of his shots (up from 39.5%) and 38.2% of his three-pointers (up from 32.4%). Yet his unwillingness to drive more could be one of the primary reasons he’s not getting fouled nearly as much as a year ago and his overall play has declined.
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A foul situation
Mick Cronin did everything he could to prevent Tyler Bilodeau from fouling out of a game in which he was blistering the Tar Heels.
The coach sat his leading scorer for 6½ minutes and then used defense-for-offense substitutions involving William Kyle III whenever he could so that Bilodeau didn’t pick up a fifth foul.
The problem was that the Bruins’ 14-point lead when Bilodeau exited was down to three when he returned. Cronin said he didn’t want to reinsert Bilodeau earlier given the way the game was being officiated.
Yet an extra minute or two of play from his top offensive weapon could have helped UCLA avert the collapse. Bilodeau managed to play the game’s final 5:15 without picking up another foul.
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Another big problem
UCLA continues to get too little out of its two biggest players.
Aday Mara played only four minutes despite presenting obvious matchup problems for the undersized Tar Heels. Kyle made two highlight dunks but also committed four turnovers, including a bad outlet pass to a teammate who wasn’t looking.
Cronin appears to have little patience for Mara’s mistakes, pulling him shortly after another traveling violation in the first half.
The Bruins will need much more out of their big men the rest of the season, especially given the size of many other Big Ten teams. Mara needs to cut down on his turnovers and Kyle must get better at making free throws given he’s shooting a team-worst 33.3% from the foul line.
Another benefit of playing Mara or Kyle more is sliding Bilodeau onto smaller defenders and preventing him from having to guard players who present their own matchup problems and tend to draw more fouls.
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Costly free throws
The Bruins have been surprisingly bad at the foul line for such a guard-oriented team.
They are making 68.5% of their free throws, ranking No. 261 out of 355 Division I teams. The biggest culprits are Kyle, Mara (57.1%), Skyy Clark (66.7%) and Bilodeau (67.6%).
It’s an area the team must spend extra time on given its eight misses in the second half against North Carolina cost the Bruins a victory. Assistant coach Darren Savino said before the season that Kyle’s form, in which he appears to catapult the ball, was designed to eliminate hesitation in his motion. But he’s shooting considerably worse than his 58% accuracy from a season ago. Savino said the goal was 70%.
There’s no question who the team wants to send to the foul line in the final minutes — Lazar Stefanovic, who has made all 11 free throws he’s attempted.
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Do it again
The last time UCLA (10-2) lost, it went on to win nine games in a row.
The most important lesson from the early setback against New Mexico State? The need to bring focus and intensity every game.
The Bruins did more than enough to beat North Carolina before wavering in focus because of turnovers, missed free throws and silly fouls. The main takeaway, though, might be to keep your best player on the court as long as possible.
The post Dylan Andrews must reassert himself: Five takeaways from UCLA’s excruciating loss appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
