With the start of college basketball season in early November, we’ll examine the conference as a whole and Indiana’s roster over the coming weeks.
Today, our team previews continue with UCLA.
Previously: Penn State, Washington, Minnesota, USC, Northwestern, Nebraska, Iowa, Oregon, Maryland, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Michigan
UCLA was one of the nation’s most disappointing teams last season. The Bruins started the season in the top 30 of the KenPom ratings and finished 98th.
After a Final Four appearance in 2021 and trips to the Sweet Sixteen in 2022 and 2023, Mick Cronin and the Bruins finished with a losing record for the first time in his tenure.
UCLA lost Adem Bona to the professional ranks along with five transfers but returns a solid nucleus along with a transfer portal haul that should help the program bounce back in a major way in year six of the Cronin era.
The Bruins return the guard duo of Dylan Andrews and Sebastian Mack, who logged significant minutes last season in Westwood.
Andrews, a 6-foot-2 junior, played 35.2 minutes per game last season and averaged a solid 12.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.2 rebounds per game. Over the team’s final six games, he averaged 21.2 points.
The 6-foot-3 Mack returns for his sophomore season after a productive yet inefficient debut season. Mack logged nearly 27 minutes per game and averaged 12.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.3 steals. However, he shot only 38.7 percent from the field and 28.3 percent on 3s. He had the eighth-best free throw rate in the Pac-12 last season and converted at a 72.2 percent clip from the line.
USC transfer Kobe Johnson joins the UCLA roster and should start on the wing. A 6-foot-6 senior, Johnson averaged 10.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.2 steals last season for the Trojans.
Up front, the Bruins will likely start a pair of transfers in Tyler Bilodeau and William Kyle III.
The 6-foot-9 Bilodeau arrives from Oregon State and is a capable perimeter shooter. Bilodeau made over 39 percent of his 3s in Pac-12 play and averaged 14.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists for the Beavers in 29.3 minutes per game.
Kyle III was the defensive player of the year last season in the Summit League and was second in the country in dunks behind Purdue’s Zach Edey. The 6-foot-9 junior averaged 13.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.6 blocked shots in 27.7 minutes while shooting 62.3 percent from the field.
Depth won’t be an issue for UCLA, as…