Kentucky holds overmatched UCLA to seven first-half points
All the pregame talk regarding the impact of UCLA's lack of depth sure seems pretty silly now.
The Bruins couldn't stay competitive against top-ranked Kentucky through the first TV timeout, let alone long enough for their starting five to get worn down.
The top-ranked Wildcats throttled UCLA 83-44 Saturday in Chicago in a game that was even more lopsided than the margin of victory indicated. Kentucky led 24-0 before surrendering a point, 41-7 at halftime and 43-7 before the overmatched Bruins finally reached double figures.
UCLA's seven first-half points were the least it has ever scored in a half, shattering the program's previous all-time low of 14. The only sliver of good news for the Bruins was that they avoided eclipsing the program's worst-ever loss, a 109-61 throttling at Stanford in 1997 known as the "Maples Massacre."
Saturday's margin of victory reflected the chasm of a talent gap between two of college basketball's most decorated programs.
Eight-time national champion Kentucky boasts an unbeaten record and a roster so loaded with future NBA talent that John Calipari has gone to a two-platoon system to accommodate it all. Eleven-time national champion UCLA already has lost four games, has yet to defeat anyone of consequence and only has three scholarship guards and six rotation players on its roster.
In spite of those differences, the beatdown UCLA endured Saturday was eye-opening.
Top perimeter threat Norman Powell had nightmare 1 of 13 shooting night and neither Tony Parker nor Kevon Looney were effective in the paint against Kentucky's superior size and length. Bryce Alford and Isaac Hamilton enjoyed some success long after the outcome had been determined, but UCLA was at a disadvantage in size, athleticism and depth all over the floor.
It also didn't help the Bruins that Kentucky rained down threes against their porous defense. Devin Booker sank five and Aaron Harrison hit three as the Wildcats went 12 of 26 from behind the arc, a worrisome development for future Kentucky opponents hoping to spring an upset by forcing John Calipari's team to hit from the perimeter.
The possibility of whether Kentucky can go unbeaten should be a frequent topic of conversation this week in the wake of Saturday's rout, and quite frankly it's a reasonable question. The SEC is vulnerable, Louisville is the only non-conference challenge remaining and the Wildcats are winning by an average of 29.1 points per game so far this season.
It's possible Louisville or Florida can challenge Kentucky or someone the Wildcats don't respect catches them napping the way Columbia almost did, but one thing is abundantly clear after Saturday's game.
The team that topples Kentucky certainly will not be UCLA.
For more Kentucky news, visit CatsIllustrated.com.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
