Iowa tries to salvage its first Big Ten Conference Los Angeles road swing, while host UCLA is looking to pull out of a four-game tailspin on Friday.
The Bruins (11-6, 2-4 Big Ten) return home after a taxing road trip to the East Coast, which produced losses of 79-61 at Maryland last Friday and 75-68 at Rutgers on Monday.
The two defeats on the other side of the continent followed another road loss Jan. 4 at Nebraska, and a 94-75 blowout on Jan. 7 vs. Michigan, which ended UCLA’s perfect start (now 8-1) at Pauley Pavilion.
“We’re struggling, it’s pretty obvious,” Bruins coach Mick Cronin said. “We went from a great defensive team, a team that held Arizona to 54 … (and) Gonzaga, (which) probably doesn’t lose the rest of the year, we held them to 62.
“We were winning because of our defense. We were always winning because of our defense,” Cronin added. “In this league, if you can’t stop somebody and you give up 45 points (in a half), you’re not going to win.”
Three of UCLA’s five most porous defensive efforts have come in Big Ten play, and all in losses. The Bruins are 1-5 when giving up 72 points or more this season, with the lone win coming against Prairie View A&M.
Iowa (12-5, 3-3), meanwhile, is giving up an average of 78 points per game after Tuesday’s 99-89 loss at Southern California. In three Big Ten losses, the Hawkeyes have allowed 300 total points.
All three of those games — Dec. 7 vs. Michigan, Jan. 3 vs. Wisconsin and Tuesday against USC — were on the road.
“There are a lot of good teams in this league. It’s not going to be easy to win on the road, so you’ve got to protect home and stay in the fight,” Hawkeyes coach Fran McCaffery said. “On to the next.”
Iowa’s high defensive yields are the byproduct of playing a fast tempo that is producing the nation’s highest point-per-game total of 89.5 (tied with Alabama). Four Hawkeyes average in double-figures heading into Friday’s contest, led by Payton Sandfort and Owen Freeman each with 17.1 points per game.
UCLA’s leading scorer, Tyler Bilodeau at 14.4 points per game, is looking to bounce back from scoring six points without a made field goal in the loss at Rutgers.
