BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — It was just another day in sunny Los Angeles on Monday, where the Michigan basketball The program changed its focus from USC to UCLA, after beating the former on Saturday night in the first of two matchups in Southern California.
Staying at the W Los Angeles — West Beverly Hills Hotel, the Wolverines aren’t as close as they were when they were at the USC Hotel, two doors down from the Galen Center before the 85-74 victory on Saturday, but remain close enough to run the mile in 70 degree and sunny weather to and from campus on Sunday for practice.
On Monday morning, the plan was for the team to head to Pauley Pavilion again for practice to get familiar with the sight lines before Tuesday night’s matchup with the Bruins (10 p.m., Peacock).
This will be the second ranked game of the season for No. 24 Michigan (11-3, 3-0 Big Ten); the Wolverines will have a tough task against Mick Cronin’s No. 21 Bruins (11-3, 2-1 Big Ten). This is a group that not only returns home after a tough away loss at Nebraska (66-58 Sunday), but is one of the few teams as deep as UM.
UCLA reaches true 10 depth in its rotation; with all 10 players averaging at least 10 minutes – well, one of them is at 9.9 – and at least four points per game.
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But the Bruins’ calling card this season has been their defensive tenacity; they rank No. 4 according to KenPom in efficiency on that side of the ball (89.1) and are No. 1 in creating turnovers (26% of opponent possessions).
“Physical, extremely physical,” UM head coach Dusty May said of the Bruins. “They return you at a high level, which is obviously concerning for us. They play guard, they get downhill, foul. Just tough coverage – their level of intensity, their level of aggression is second to none in the Big Ten.”
Even though this is Cronin’s sixth year at UCLA, he has had to rebuild his roster through the portal. Tyler Bilodeau (Oregon State), a 6-foot-9 big, leads the team with 14.5 points per game and is second in rebounding (5.2), while Eric Dailey Jr. (Oklahoma State) is a 6-foot-8 forward with an 11.4 GAA. points per game.
Although Dailey — who played for UM assistant coach Mike Boynton last season as a freshman — missed Sunday at Nebraska with a nose injury, May said the staff believed he would play Tuesday. This is the first time UM has met UCLA as league foes, but historically the advantage has gone to the Bruins, with UM just 6-12 all-time against the Bruins, and only 1-6 at Pauley Pavilion.
As for May and Cronin, one of the Florida teams, May was an assistant in beating one of Cronin’s Cincinnati teams in a “knockout fight somewhere in New Jersey” about ten years ago, but the two do not have a personal relationship outside of that.
Much like the Bruins, the Wolverines pride themselves on their physicality; but they need to make sure they don’t get too Hollywood on their trip West. The Golden Globes were just 2.2 miles away Sunday night, and May joked that he saw the area closed off, but he and the team didn’t attend.
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“Keep a low profile,” he said with a smile.
UCLA students are also on break, so it might still be a UM-friendly environment at Pauley, but that doesn’t mean it’s not at the end of a week-long trip to Los Angeles.
Illinois just went 2-0 on its West Coast swing, and Maryland went 0-2. How teams perform in the West this year will go a long way in determining their fate in the Big Ten and their rankings come March. UM’s work is half done.
“We all know that road wins are invaluable when it comes to winning a championship,” May said. “You have to accumulate victories on the road. You have to take care of the land at home. And the fact that we’re playing as well as we are on the road gives us the confidence to take on tough environments, especially when we come to Purdues and Michigan State with sold-out arenas.
“I don’t know what type of environment it will be tomorrow, but I know we are going to face a determined and hungry basketball team.”
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Michigan vs UCLA Basketball Prediction
Michigan is one of two undefeated teams in the Big Ten in conference play and capable of beating any team on any night. That said, Wolverines are humans too. They just left the single-digit temperatures of Ann Arbor and spent a week in 70 degrees and sunny Los Angeles. Between practice and workouts, we had plenty of time to lounge by the pool. That’s all well and good, but UCLA came back from Lincoln not very happy about scoring 58 points in a loss. It may be another UM-friendly crowd, but the Wolverines have flirted with danger a little too much this year and at the end of a long West Coast road trip, it’s catching up with them. The choice: UCLA 73, UM 70.
Next up: the Bruins
Match : No. 24 Michigan (11-3, 3-0 Big Ten) at No. 21 UCLA (11-3, 2-1).
Trick : 10 p.m. Tuesday; Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles.
Television/radio: Peacock (online only); WWJ-AM (950).
Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on @RealTonyGarcia.
This article was originally published on Detroit Free Press: Michigan vs UCLA basketball prediction in top 25
