LOS ANGELES — The UCLA men’s basketball team is going for a sweep against crosstown rival USC on Saturday, following a 15-point win at Galen Center on Jan. 27.
That victory began a six-game winning streak for the Bruins that unceremoniously ended against Utah on a buzzer-beating tip-in Sunday.
UCLA has had the entire week to prepare for the Trojans, which has provided them with a coveted opportunity for a reset and not spend a portion of every practice watching film.
“This time of year, it’s good to only have one game in one week so you can get some rest,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “The guys are constantly getting hit with game plans … we spend two or three days of an unbelievable amount of preparation, put into scouting our opponents and game plans. I’m not saying (just) us, I’m talking college basketball … the mental grind of that with players is something I try and stay in tune with.”
Sophomore guard Dylan Andrews finished with a game-high 20 points in the 65-50 victory over USC last month.
“My main thing is turning defense into offense,” Andrews said. “Letting defense be the thing that leads into your offense, not just focusing on offense, because sometimes the ball is not going to go into the basket and you need to figure out what else you can do to affect the game.”
Sophomore forward Adem Bona added a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds and two blocked shots against the Trojans. Bona’s ability to affect the game with timely shot blocking could also spur the team’s fast-break offense.
“Blocking and having possession of the ball just opens the fast break for you because the whole team is on attack while there is no one back on defense,” Bona said. “I think it helps a lot for me to be able to make plays like that. That’s big-time plays, stopping them from getting a point, getting us a point on the other end. I think that’s big-time plays and I need to make more of those.”
UCLA VS. USC
When: 7…
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