Dec 17, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Dylan Andrews (2) dribbles the ball against Prairie View A&M Panthers guard Orlando Horton Jr. (12) in the second half at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

UCLA Bruins Becoming Absolutely Lethal in Massive Area

Originally posted on UCLA Bruins on SI
By Matthew Schmidt | Last updated Dec 20, 2024 8:00 AM ET

The UCLA Bruins eviscerated the Prairie View A&M Panthers by a score of 111-75 on Tuesday night, and while UCLA was certainly expected to beat Prairie View A&M, it was the way the Bruins won the game that made things so impressive.

Five different UCLA players scored in double figures in the victory, with junior guard Dylan Andrews leading the way with 21 points.

The victory demonstrated something about the Bruins that should terrify the Big Ten and the college basketball landscape as a whole: depth.

While many teams across the nation rely heavily on a couple of players, UCLA has a group of guys it can turn to on any given night.

Yes, Tyler Bilodeau is clearly the team's top scorer. He is averaging 14.1 points per game on 49.6/35.5/73.3 shooting splits.

But the Bruins also have numerous other players who can step in and provide Mick Cronin's squad with a massive lift.

In the case of Andrews, for example, the Gardena, Ca. native has scored in single digits four times in nine games (he missed a couple of contests) this season. However, it's clear that Andrews — who averaged 12.9 points a night last year — is fully capable of being UCLA's top gun.

Whether it's Bilodeau, Andrews, Eric Dailey Jr. or even bench guard Sebastian Mack, the Bruins are absolutely teeming with talent from top to bottom.

Cronin and Co. did an incredible job poaching players via the transfer portal during the offseason, plucking four different players — including Bilodeau and Dailey — from other teams.

The Bruins have a heck of a mix here, and they are also starting to regularly hit 3-pointers, which was a major issue for the club earlier in the season.

It's hard not to be enamored with UCLA, which has gotten off to a 10-1 start and owns impressive wins over Oregon and Arizona. Throw Washington in there, too.

The Bruins are also the best defensive team in college basketball, so if they are also to put together a consistently balanced offense like we have recently seen, then UCLA will become that much more dangerous the rest of the way.

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This article first appeared on UCLA Bruins on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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