UCLA Bruins vs. Kansas Jayhawks Preview and Pick

The Bruins just don’t feel like a team that is heading to the NCAA Tournament again, as HC Ben Howland really has his work cut out for him. There have already been two losses against the Villanova Wildcats and VCU Rams, and if things really continue on this path away from home (even though those two losses were at neutral sites), UCLA is going to be in a boatload of trouble come Pac-10 time. The good news is that there is definitely enough size for the Bruins this year to cause some real damage. Both Reeves Nelson and Tyler Honeycutt are now sophomores and are playing like seniors after last year was basically their on the job training in their first seasons playing in LA. Nelson has had four straight double-doubles, and he is averaging 17.6 points and 10.4 rebounds per night. Honeycutt, more of a pure scorer and a ball handler, is averaging 14.6 points and 8.0 rebounds, but he also already has 24 turnovers to speak of in just five games. Freshman Lazeric Jones is averaging 12.6 points per game as well, while Malcolm Lee is the team’s fourth double digit point scorer at 11.5 points per game.

Kansas is a deep team… a very, very deep team. It’s not often that you see a squad rank No. 3 in the nation in scoring (92.0 PPG) and No. 16 in defense (56.7 PPG), but that’s what HC Bill Self has to work with. He’s going to add one more lethal weapon to his arsenal here in a couple weeks as well when Josh Selby, a freshman phenom that is already expected to be a top pick in the NBA Draft, becomes eligible to suit up. This is the first home game since before Thanksgiving for the Jayhawks, who went to Las Vegas to blast the Ohio Bobcats and Arizona Wildcats in back to back days. This is a tough little stretch that cannot be ignored for KU, as the Bruins and Memphis Tigers are inevitably going to be bringing their A games. If you discount the NCAA Tournament, the Jayhawks had a five game ATS winning streak going before losing out by a single point against Arizona last week. The Morris’ are the two men to watch for the Jayhawks. Marcus Morris is leading the team in scoring at 19.0 PPG, while Markieff Morris is averaging 12.3 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. Tyshawn Taylor already has 43 assists this year as well in just six games.

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UCLA is about to get a dose of reality now that it is playing the big boys on its schedule. The Bruins were rocked by a dozen points at home last year by the Jayhawks and were crushed for 17 the last time these two teams met at Allen Fieldhouse. We expect nothing more than another very similar and very solid effort, as Rock Chalk should roll by close to 20.