ASU Basketball: 2019 Pac-12 Week 19 Power Rankings

T-8: UCLA Bruins (16-15, 9-9 Pac-12) LW: T-4

Not long ago, things looked like they were going up for UCLA. Winners of three in a row, UCLA had risen toward the top of the Pac-12 standings.

Then, last week happened. That plunged the Bruins in the opposite direction.

In a trip to the Rocky Mountains, the Bruins fell victim to Colorado and Utah, losing by double digits in both contests.

The first of those – a 93-68 defeat to Colorado – displayed UCLA’s inability to stop the Buffaloes down low. Against the Bruins’ zone defense, Colorado scored 46 of their 93 points in the paint.

In addition to the inside scoring, the Buffaloes dominated on the glass. Colorado collected 12 more rebounds than UCLA, many of which led to easy buckets.

Individually, Tyler Bey did the most damage against UCLA. He scored a game-high 27 points on an efficient 13-of-20 shooting.

One game later, the Bruins kept it closer, losing by just 11 points, 92-81. But this time, UCLA played a sound game of basketball. The Bruins’ 47.5 percent clip from the field kept them in the game, and most of their other stats were on par with their season averages.

But Utah gained separation from its prolific three-point shooting. The Utes shot around 45 percent from beyond the arc. Donnie Tillman, a sophomore forward, was the most efficient from deep, hitting four 3-pointers on seven attempts.

With the losses, UCLA sits at No. 7 in the Pac-12. This pairs them with Stanford in the first round of the conference tournament. If the Bruins get past the Cardinal, they’ll face Arizona State in the quarterfinals.

– Field