Current record: 11-6, 2-4 in Big Ten play
The skinny: UCLA has lost four in a row largely because it’s losing the paint battle on both ends. UCLA’s offense has the lowest rim rate in the Big Ten. Just 31% of the Bruins’ shots come at the rim. Defensively, top-100 teams are shooting a whopping 69.5% at the rim against the slightly undersized frontline.
That math just isn’t math-ing.
It’d also be helpful to make a jump shot. UCLA is shooting just 21% from downtown since the calendar flipped to 2025. That ranks 363rd out of 364 Division I teams, and its opponents are shooting a whopping 38% from downtown in that same timeline, per Bart Torvik.
That gap is wildly unsustainable, so UCLA is certainly due for some positive shooting regression on both ends. A slightly softer schedule should help the Bruins get back on track in the next 10 days, but it’s hard to see how this interior defense just magically gets better.
UCLA is still a tournament team, but the visions of a Big Ten banner were a mirage.
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