Five determing factors for the UCLA Bruins' NCAA tournament run
The margin for error shrinks severely in March. For the UCLA Bruins to make an extended run in the NCAA tournament, the Bruins will have to execute in crunch time to have a chance at making a run in the East Region.
Mick Cronin’s team will have some confidence entering the tournament but the team will have to excel in a few different areas to make a compelling run . Here’s five determining factors for how UCLA’s March will go.
Survive the close calls
Overall UCLA had been pretty good in close games this season. The Bruins have a record of 5-3 in games decided by less than five points, with one of those losses coming versus the 32-2 Arizona Wildcats.
If the Bruins excel in crunch time, the group is plenty capable of beating elite teams, which they’ve done a few times this season, just ask Purdue, Illinois or Michigan State.
Three-point volume
It’s not to say that UCLA’s three-point efficiency isn’t important, it certainly is, it’s just that the Bruins have proven to be a terrific shooting team . For the season, UCLA has been the best three-point shooting team in the Big Ten at 38.2%.
The more threes UCLA can get up, the better their offense should fare.
Xavier Booker
It won’t be long NCAA tournament for UCLA if they don’t get standout showings from Donovan Dent and Tyler Bilodeau. The Bruins need the supporting cast to stand up and Xavier Booker definitely has the talent to do that.
If Booker can stretch the floor and fight on the glass, UCLA will be much better off on both sides of the court.
Knock down your free throws
While free throw shooting is always capable of determining a close game, that’s especially true for this UCLA team.The Bruins are shooting a respectable 76.7% from the line but they can get a wild hair up their nose. UCLA needs to make the most of their opportunities at the free throw line.
Trent Perry being scary
Trent Perry is quite the X-factor for the Bruins. Cronin clearly relies on Bilodeau and Dent, and while Booker has the talent, he’s proven too unreliable to have huge expectations for. Perry played great in the Big Ten tournament, and if he can keep that up, UCLA has much more scoring depth.
Perry is averaging 12.7 points per game this season, shooting 41% from deep as a sophomore. UCLA will need to be able to trust Perry to take and knock down big shots.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: Five factors that will decide how UCLA's NCAA tournament will go
