What a difference an opponent makes.
For those non-purveyors of league stats, Maryland is the dead-worst team in the B10, from standings to stats.
And, UCLA took advantage, doing a solid job on both O and D. It was weird to see Cronin get in a sound bite at halftime. He seemed disgusted, which caught the sideline reporter by surprise. Surprised at both UCLA ascending to scoring 38 pts and giving up a mere 21 pts. Anytime you give up only 21 pts in a half, you normally have a firm hold on scoreboard. But, when asked if he was pleased after such a solid 1H, he shot from the hip: "yeah but they scored 21 pts". WTF?
It wasn't a perfect half, as it rarely is. UCLA was pressured into going to a zone D early in the first half of the 1H and paid the price in losing badly on rebounding their D board. But, that's parsing what was a very good half of hoops in their house.
What a difference it makes when Dailey is balling out. He really elevates the team play, which he now has done in back-to-back games (high scorer with 18 vs Wisky and high scorer in the 1H tonite with 9) and playing one of his better D halves. Of course, it would help if he did it more consistently, but at least he does have the foundational clay.
No one's in foul trouble, so nice to see what WILL be a nice bouncback game and another several days of rest for Skyy and his barking hammy.
GO BRUINS!