It’s natural to overcomplicate basketball when you write about it constantly, but sometimes it’s simple.
Michigan was bigger, better, tougher, deeper, and more skilled than UCLA — so it won by 30 points at home. The Bruins fought for 20 minutes, but Michigan’s talent creates a wave of inevitability that eventually overwhelms mediocre teams.
On Saturday, that team was UCLA, and the tidal wave came in the second half.
The Wolverines missed their first shot of the second half, then made 9 in a row en route to 18-of-23 second-half shooting. Michigan missed five shots in the second half while UCLA only made seven (on 27 attempts) with six turnovers.
It wasn’t one, two, or three Wolverines who carried the day. It was a roster that’s simply too deep, too talented and has too many outs on what seems like every night.
Every rotation player scored for Michigan, and more individual Wolverines recorded an assist (8) than the Bruins had total assists (7).
Michigan’s 77% shooting inside the arc wasn’t just its best of the season; it was the program’s third-best mark in the KenPom era. More importantly, it was the worst 2-point shooting defensive performance by UCLA in the KenPom era.
Putting up one of the best 2-point shooting performances of the KenPom era is something that’s supposed to happen in buy games, not against one of the most famous basketball schools ever.
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