Interviewing the Enemy: Q&A with The Daily Bruin’s Jon Christon

Get the latest information on Northwestern’s Round 32 opponents before they’re posted.

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  bradley rocker
  

• upon March 18, 2023 12:56 PM

After Thursday’s 75-67 win over 10th seed Boise State, Northwestern will return to the Golden 1 Center for a Round of 32 matchup. The Bruins, led by Tiger Campbell and his Jaquez Jr. stars, are the popular picks to cut the net in Houston for the first time since 1995. To find out more about NU’s Saturday nemesis, Inside NU had the chance to chat with The Daily Bruin’s Jon Christon for a deep dive into the team wearing the UCLA Blue and UCLA Gold.

Inside NU: How do you anticipate the Bruins to adapt to slower, more defense-oriented types of games?

John Christon: In fact, I think a defensive game favors UCLA’s hands. Mick Cronin is known for “tinkering” with the game, so to speak, but I don’t think there are many coaches who can beat him. The Bruins thrive in slugfest his type of game with low possession and high defense. They clearly have one of the best defenses in the country, if not the best, and KenPom says he ranks #1 in adjusted defensive efficiency, so this game is his It is very likely that you will finish in your 50s or 60s. It comes down to experience. UCLA has some experience with games like this on this stage, like redshirt senior guard Tyger Campbell and senior guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. I can). Time and time again, UCLA was able to finish the game offensively without much rhythm. I think Saturday night will be too.

INU: UCLA has lost once since February 1st, and was in a buzzer-beater race with Arizona. How did Arizona do it? And how could big loser Northwestern University do it again tomorrow?

JC: Arizona is a huge team with two starters (Azuolas Tubelis and Oumar Ballo) who are over 6ft 11 tall. When UCLA faced off in the Pac-12 championship game, the Bruins were without freshman forward Adem Bona. His two backup bigs at UCLA (Redshirt senior forward/center Kenneth Nuva and Redshirt freshman forward McEtienne) both fouled out of that game, allowing the Wildcats to dominate the paint. . Arizona was also able to put a big defender on Jaquez. Jaquez struggled quite a bit with that defender as well (13 points on 5-of-18 shooting).

Northwestern isn’t big enough to physically dominate UCLA the way Arizona is, but it can make Jacquez’s life difficult, especially by frequently placing two defenders in the paint area. Jaquez is central to his UCLA offense, and if Northwestern can break his rhythm in the paint early on, it will go a long way in keeping the Bruins under his 65 points and pulling off a successful upset.

INU: Will UCLA’s tournament experience (compared to Northwestern’s lack of experience) be the X-factor in this game? How will the Bruins inspire past failures on the big stage? do you want?

JC: I mentioned this in my first question, but I’ve never seen a college team close out a game as effectively as UCLA. The Bruins are very methodical in his ten-minute approach to the end of the game, just taking lives from his opponents. Part of this is because they’ve played games like this before. was doing. No moment is too big for them.

They are definitely motivated by past losses. This team absolutely hated losing to Arizona in the Pac-12 title game last week. And he took on UNC Asheville in Thursday night’s Round of 64. They fired on all cylinders from the start and were 14-0 runs off the opening tip. In short, this team really takes their past losses to heart. We know Jaquez, Campbell, Singleton, and more are still mad at his Jalen Suggs shot for 2021. I certainly don’t want to play them.

INU: How is UCLA adjusting to life without Jalen Clark?

JC: I think it was better than expected. It’s a small sample, but UCLA has indeed improved both his KenPom’s offensive and defensive effectiveness since Clarke’s exit. That’s not to say UCLA is better off without Clark. Guys like that really stepped up the defense in the second half. This team uses his injury as motivation, especially on the defensive side.

However, I am worried about Jaquez, who has to defend the best wing of the opposing team every game. He’s capable enough, but his 40 minutes of high-level NCAA tournament basketball might be too much for attention on both ends of the court. He struggled in the Pac-12 tournament in his new role, but he appeared to bounce back Thursday (albeit with much less competition).

Overall, I think UCLA’s ceiling will be short without Clarke, but the Bruins have enough depth to live up to his loss and make a deep run in March.

INU: How does the general UCLA community view Northwestern as an enemy?

JC: Bruin’s faithful are probably looking a little too far in the Northwest. UCLA fans are understandably confident, but I’ve seen too many say it will be an easy win for the Bruins. can do. In my opinion the game should actually be pretty close. But I think UCLA fans just look at his number 7 next to his name, look at Northwestern University history, and look ahead to Sweet 16. It’s probably wrong, but time will tell.

INU: What are your predictions for Saturday’s game and how far do you think the winner will go?

JC: 69-58 UCLA.

I think Northwestern will be in the game longer than people expect. UCLA isn’t a good team in the first half, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the Wildcats actually lead at halftime. I don’t think they will lose by then. Boo Boo will certainly put up a good fight, but I don’t think Northwestern will have enough firepower to keep up in the second half, and UCLA won a patented knockout after halftime with his punch. Give one and never look back.

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