LOS ANGELES — Steve Alford's UCLA debut was a little too close for comfort. A late-night contest in front of a home crowd of 6,859 at Pauley Pavilion, No. 22 UCLA came away with a 72-67 win over Drexel but only after some second-half drama.
The Dragons (0-1) cut the lead to just one point with only 2:21 left to play and were again within striking distance in the final minute. It was a trying season opener for the new-look Bruins and if Alford's goal was putting a completely different product on the floor than that of his predecessor, Ben Howland, he succeeded.
Here are three things we learned about the Bruins in their season opener.
1. Transition is where UCLA will thrive
When UCLA dictated the tempo, Kyle Anderson effectively pushed the ball up ahead to either David Wear, Zach LaVine and Tony Parker and the Bruins were tough to guard.
But after the Dragons had 20 minutes to adjust, they successfully made those adjustments and forced them to play a half-court offense and the Bruins struggled.
"The thing coming out of this game that is glaring is, when we're not in transition, what happens?" Alford said. "Drexel was able to slow our half-court offense."
UCLA shot 45 percent from the field but only attempted 14 3-pointers and connected on five. In the first half, it outscored the Dragons 18-6 in the paint and scored 10 points off turnovers.
But by the end of the game, those numbers were almost even and Bruins were visibly frustrated when they weren't able to get out in transition.
Case in point: A missed lob from Parker to LaVine late in the second half would have been a big momentum swing. But instead, LaVine and Parker stayed behind arguing about the mistake and let Damion Lee get out on the break for layup, putting Drexel back by just four.
"That's the first time we've really had to play half-court offense since we started exhibition games," Wear said. "You could tell we were standing a little bit. But it’s the first game of the season."
2. The zone defense is a work in progress
The 2-3 zone employed under Alford that was rarely, if ever, used under Howland, looked stout at times but when the lead was cut in the second half, the Bruins momentarily looked lost.
"In stretches it was really good," Alford said. "They were 5-for-23 from three, so they shot 21 percent, 38 percent overall. We'll take those numbers. Did we have breakdowns defensively? Yes. But those are pretty good numbers."
The Bruins switched to a zone near the end of the first half and the result was positive: In the final four minutes, the Dragons went just 2-for-7 from the field and 1-for-3 from the arc.
With the free-throw deficit growing by the minute, the Bruins went to it early in the second half before switching back to man-to-man when Drexel closed the gap.
"The change of defenses messed them up a little bit so that was a great job by coach Alford," Kyle Anderson said. "Either way, we have to get better on the defensive end."
3. Kyle Anderson is undoubtedly the leader
While reluctant to say that his offense features a traditional point guard, it was clear that sophomore guard Anderson was the general on the court.
Anderson scored 12 points, pulled down 12 boards and dished out seven assists while only turning the ball over once. He also had two blocks, a steal in 38 minutes.
The team was just better when Anderson was on the floor.
"That's the job of quarterbacks is to control the ball, no turnovers, give your offense a chance," Alford said. "I thought Kyle did a good job of running the offense and then when we had lineups -- where we were small, he did a great job of being our lead rebounder."
Anderson's versatility will be heavily utilized and his composure and ability to lead an offense heavily relied on.
Another bright spot in the game was freshman LaVine, who had 14 points, three rebounds, three steals and impressed with explosive plays.
"Zach played very well, knocked down three big threes, guarded very well made a couple mistakes that freshmen are going to make," Anderson said.
