First, UCLA had no answer for Michigan’s interior dominance.
Then, after a massive comeback pushed the Bruins into the lead, they could not stop the Wolverines from long range.
The one-two punch was enough to stagger No. 22 UCLA during a 94-75 loss to No. 24 Michigan that dropped the Bruins back to .500 in Big Ten play.
After somewhat neutralizing Vladislav Goldin following his monster first half, UCLA was undone by Tre Donaldson’s three-pointers in the second half. Donaldson made four shots from long range after halftime and finished with 20 points.
The Wolverines (12-3 overall, 4-0 Big Ten) easily set the mark for most points scored against the Bruins (11-4, 2-2) this season thanks to Goldin adding 36 points on 13-for-18 shooting.
UCLA was out of sorts on both sides of the court on a night when it made two of 20 three-pointers and missed nine free throws in the second half.
Tyler Bilodeau and Sebastian Mack each scored 17 points for the Bruins, who have lost two consecutive games for the first time this season.
For a while, it looked like the game was headed for an epic finish.
Once trailing by 18 points late in the first half, UCLA surged into a 55-51 lead six minutes into the second half after ratcheting up its defensive intensity and making two three-pointers after having missed their first nine shots from long range.
The biggest crowd of the season was roaring when Bruins forward Eric Dailey Jr. followed a putback with an old-fashioned three-point play on a layup in which he was fouled after teammate Dylan Andrews came up with a steal.
Michigan’s Vladislav Goldin dunks in the first half.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
But UCLA fell into an extended cold spell, going without a field goal for more than five minutes. Michigan followed a 7-0 run with a 6-0 push to take a 76-64 lead, and Wolverines fans soon overtook the quiet arena with “Lets go blue!” chants.
UCLA was back to full strength for the first time in several weeks after forward William Kyle III returned from an undisclosed medical procedure that had sidelined him for two games and Dailey was back from the facial injury that kept him out against Nebraska last weekend. Guard Skyy Clark also played after absorbing several shots to his shoulder against the Cornhuskers.
Michigan’s domination started at tipoff, Goldin easily beating Bilodeau for the jump ball and drawing a foul on his Bruins counterpart only 47 seconds into the game.
Goldin soon dunked on Bilodeau on back-to-back plays, including one in which he knocked Bilodeau to the court and flexed after completing the play.
There was no shame in getting beat by Goldin considering he scored on nearly every defender on the way to 21 points by halftime while making nine of 11 shots, including four dunks. UCLA coach Mick Cronin tried a variety of lineups, replacing Bilodeau with 7-foot-3 center Aday Mara and briefly playing Bilodeau alongside Mara.
The supersized lineup seemed to briefly stabilize the situation for the Bruins before Cronin yanked Mara after he missed a tip-in and got dunked on by Goldin midway through the first half. Mara did not return for the balance of the first half, logging only five minutes by the game’s midpoint.
UCLA compounded its inability to counter Michigan’s interior dominance with more bad shooting. Three days after the Bruins made only 14.3% of their three-pointers during a loss to Nebraska, they were somehow worse against the Wolverines, missing all eight shots from long range by halftime.
Mack’s relentless drives to the basket, including an acrobatic layup in which he was fouled, kept the Bruins from getting blown out. UCLA trailed only 47-37 at halftime, largely because the Wolverines committed eight more turnovers than the Bruins.
After a brief respite, it would get much worse for UCLA.