Kentucky humiliates UCLA as Bruins score 7 points in the first half
The tally was Kentucky 8, UCLA 7 at the half.
No, it wasn't a low-scoring game Saturday in Chicago.
Rather, the top-ranked Wildcats had eight blocked shots in the first half; the Bruins, meanwhile had seven points.
The final score was No. 1 Kentucky 83, unranked UCLA 44. It was the second-worst defeat in the storied history of the Bruins, the worst being a 109-61 thrashing by Stanford in 1997.
Going inside the total destruction of the former Wizards of Westwood, one can find:
• In addition to scoring fewer points than Kentucky had rejections in the first 20 minutes, UCLA allowed 41 points. That translated into a 34-point deficit. At halftime.
• The Bruins were a rich 3 for 37 from the floor before intermission -- a lusty 8.1 percent. They caught fire in the second half, going 16 for 34 to wind up a crisp 26.8 percent from the floor overall.
• They managed to shoot 25 percent from the foul line, somehow only earning four chances from the charity stripe -- and making one measly free throw the entire game.
• The Bruins can be proud of the fact (we guess) that they only had 10 personal fouls the entire game; Kentucky had 13.
UCLA coach Steve Alford can look at the fact that his team had 21 offensive rebounds . . . until it sinks in that the Bruins had that many opportunities due to their awful prowess from the field.
The Bruins did manage to outscore what Jim Mora Jr.'s UCLA football team averaged this season -- 33 points -- but it was no sure thing.
Overall, the Bruins fell to 8-4 as Kentucky rose to 12-0.
UCLA has to wait until Dec. 28 for a chance to redeem itself. The Bruins go to Tuscaloosa and will face Alabama, which is 7-3 (6-0 at home).
That starts a three-game road swing for the Bruins. UCLA does not return home until a Jan. 8 game against Pac-12 rival Stanford. Alford and the Bruins can only hope the fans at Pauley Pavilion have forgotten this Saturday horror.
