Earlier in the day Thursday, in the same building No. 15-seeded Princeton stunned No. 2-seeded Arizona, the UCLA's men's basketball team saw just what could happen in its own 2/15 match-up if the focus isn't there early.
The Bruins never let UNC Asheville’s dreams about making its own NCAA tournament history begin to form.
UCLA made its first seven shots, scored the game's first 14 points and rolled to an 86-53 win in an opening-round West Region contest at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
The Bruins (30-5) will face No. 7-seeded Northwestern in the second round Saturday at 5:40 p.m. PT.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Amari Bailey scored 17 points apiece to lead five double-figure scorers for UCLA, which shot 54% from the field.
UNC Asheville (27-8) never got going, shooting 37.3% and just 6 of 20 on 3-pointers. The Bulldogs, who came in with the nation's seventh-best mark beyond the arc, were paced by Drew Pember's 13 points.
The Bruins, however, limited Pember to just eight shot attempts.
Turning point of the game
UCLA forward/center Kenneth Nwuba, starting in place of Adem Bona, accounted for six of the team's first 16 points. That already set a new career high for Nwuba, who had the Bruins up by 11 points less than five full minutes into the contest.
His hook shot then bumped the lead to 32-11 with 8:51 left in the first half.
The Bulldogs had issues getting into the offense, turning the ball over 12 times to lead to 22 UCLA points off miscues in the half.
The Bruins, who shot 59.4% for the half, had nearly as many made field goals (19) as shot attempts allowed (20) en route to a 46-25 halftime lead.
Bruins standout on offense
Others scored more and had more assists, but Nwuba's contributions were the most surprising.
Most importantly, the start allowed Bruins head coach Mick Cronin to give Bona a couple more days to rest his sore left shoulder.
Bona was throwing down dunks in the layup line, so it wasn't a matter of any setback. Nwuba just made the decision easier for Cronin.
He was an early focal point and it was as if Nwuba just inherited all of the looks typically reserved for Bona. Nwuba had 10 points and made all four of his shot attempts.
Bruins standout on defense
The Bruins' dominant first-half start was engineered by Jaquez Jr., whose five steals surpassed his career high before halftime.
It's not that he necessarily sacrificed offense for early defensive focus, either.
He filled the void created by the absence of Pac-12 defensive player of the year Jaylen Clark, providing a disruptive presence for UCLA.
UCLA play of the game
It wasn't so much as a single play as it was the game-opening 14-0 sequence.
Already leading 4-0, a Tyger Campbell 3-pointer, missed UNC Asheville shot and two Nwuba dunks pushed the lead to 11-0.
The Bulldogs never had an answer and the rout was on early.
Why UCLA won
Perhaps it was a matter of catching UNC Asheville off guard, as the Bruins went right to Nwuba early and had him go to work as a scoring option.
The Bruins dominated the paint 32-8 in the first 20 minutes.
UCLA demoralized UNC Asheville from the tip and there was never a moment of doubt to get the Bruins feeling nervous about thoughts of an upset. That allowed them to play free and easy throughout the contest.
UCLA stats
Starting five
PG Tyger Campbell: 7 pts on 2/9 FGs (1/3 3-ptrs), 3 rebs, 10 asst, 1 stl
G Amari Bailey: 17 pts on 6/12 FGs (0/2 3-ptrs), 4 rebs, 6 asst, 3 stls
G David Singleton: 11 pts on 4/8 FGs (3/7 3-ptrs), 2 rebs, 3 asst, 1 blk, 1 stl
G/F Jaime Jaquez Jr.: 17 pts on 8/14 FGs (0/1 3-ptrs), 8 rebs, 1 asst, 5 stls
F/C Kenneth Nwuba: 10 pts on 4/4 FGs, 4 rebs, 1 asst, 2 blks
Bench
G Dylan Andrews: 5 pts on 2/7 FGs (0/1 3-ptrs), 3 rebs
F Mac Etienne: 10 pts on 5/5 FGs, 2 rebs, 1 blk
G Will McClendon: 4 pts on 2/2 FGs, 3 rebs, 2 asst, 1 stl
G/F Abramo Canka: 5 pts on 1/1 FGs (1/1 3-ptrs), 1 reb
G Russell Stong: 1 reb
F Logan Cremonesi: 2 rebs, 1 asst
G Jack Seidler: DNP (coach’s decision)
F/C Adem Bona: DNP (left shoulder)
G Jaylen Clark: DNP (lower right leg)
F Evan Manjikian: DNP (right arm)
