For the first time this season, UCLA men’s basketball head coach Mick Cronin is expected to have full use of his young roster Monday night when the Bruins open the Maui Invitational in Honolulu.
Not only will UCLA (3-0) have freshman forward Berke Buyuktuncel available after being cleared for competition late Saturday by the NCAA upon the team’s arrival in Hawaii, but Cronin told reporters in a separate side session provided Sunday by UCLA Athletics that sophomore point guard Dylan Andrews is expected to return to the lineup when it takes the floor against No. 4-ranked Marquette (3-0) at the Stan Sheriff Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. PT and will air on ESPN2.
Andrews, who started the first two games this season, did not appear in the Bruins’ 78-58 home win over Long Island last Wednesday due to a “coach’s decision.”
“We gotta grow,” Cronin said after the win. “We gotta learn to play harder, longer. Obviously, Dylan not playing didn’t help us. You cannot turn the ball over and beat real teams.”
UCLA had 14 turnovers, in addition to going 0 for 5 from the 3-point line. It snapped the program’s streak of 792 consecutive games with at least one basket from beyond the arc.
Freshman Slovenian guard Jan Vide played 21 minutes off the bench as a result of Andrews’ absence. He said there are still adjustments to be made to the American style of play after finishing with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting and seven assists with just one turnover.
“It’s much more physical, the defense is stronger,” Vide said. “So I think I’m still a bit tight on that. I need to relax a bit more and try to take care of the ball. (Cronin) is trying to improve me.”
Defensively, the Bruins are still trying to learn how to switch on defense and avoid getting beat to the middle, Cronin said.
“If we don’t execute certain switches against Marquette, they’re scoring,” Cronin said. “If you’re in help (defense), they’re in trouble. We were in help too much (against Long Island).”
The Bruins are 4-0 all-time against the Golden Eagles, including a 69-60 win at Pauley Pavilion to conclude a home-and-home series in December 2020.
Marquette, which is coming off a 71-64 win at Illinois, has three players averaging double figures in scoring to start the season led by junior guard Kam Jones (19.3 points).
Opponents are averaging 66.3 points on just 37.2% shooting — including 23 of 78 (29.5%) on 3-pointers.
On the glass, the Golden Eagles have been outrebounded by an average of 39.7-38.7 and now must deal with a formidable Bruins frontcourt and size that stretches from 6-foot-7 on the wings to 7-foot-3 in the paint.
Watch Cronin's full formal press conference below (courtesy of UCLA Athletics):
