Tyler Bilodeau is UCLA’s leading scorer. (Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire)
This week, UCLA Coach Mick Cronin ranted about his team being soft; top ranked Tennessee got slapped around by Florida for its first loss; and Cooper Flagg had a dunk to remember; Some other college basketball stories we’re following…
Brent Bilodeau Bringing the Offense
Since seemingly bottoming out in 2018-19, the UCLA Bruins improved year by year… until last season’s debacle when they won just 16 games and missed the NCAA Tourney for the first time since 2019-20.
But the Bruins are back this season, getting off to a big start (10-1) before losing three of their last four. Yes, they head into Friday’s game on a losing skid, but opponent Maryland has also dropped its last two games, so this is a great opportunity for UCLA to move over .500 in Big Ten play and try to improve its national ranking of 22.
The Bruins were upset by a surging Michigan team on Tuesday, 94-75, as forward Tyler Bilodeau was simply overmatched defensively against Wolverine big Vladislav Goldin, likely the main reason behind Cronin’s determination that his team needs to be harder to play against.
On the plus side, Bilodeau has generally improved in his first season at UCLA since transferring from Oregon State. The junior has picked up his scoring lately, with 15 or more points in back-to-back games and five of the last six.
A full-time starter since the beginning of last season, Bilodeau has upped his scoring this season mostly thanks an outside game that keeps getting better. He’s also blocking more shots, although that’s not a big part of his game. Bilodeau’s declining free throw shooting, however, is a concern.
Still, this kid can score and offers some mobility. Washington’s Mr. Basketball in 2022, he’s eligible for the NBA draft in 2026, but is unlikely to be drafted if he opted to declare this year.
Interesting factoid: his father Brent was Montreal’s first round pick in the 1991 NHL draft and, while the defenseman played in the AHL, IHL and ECHL, he never made it to the NHL.
PJ Haggerty Making Some Noise
The Memphis Tigers dropped to 22 wins last season, missing the tournament for the first time since 2020-21, but have bounced back big-time this season. With three straight wins, and five of six, the 19th-ranked Tigers are 12-3 overall and tied for first in the American Athletic Conference standings.
In fact, Memphis is the clear conference favourite, currently -430 to take home the AAC regular season title as per FanDuel.
On Sunday, the Tigers had some trouble but ultimately outlasted North Texas 68-64 thanks to PJ Haggerty snapping a scoring drought with 27 points on a brilliant 11-for-14 shooting performance.
The guard started the game on fire, nailing his first seven shots, and he added three steals for good measure. Haggerty, on his third team in three seasons (TCU and Tulsa) is still considered a sophomore, but he’s been a full-time starter in each of his two full seasons.
He’s getting more touches this season and has responded with better shooting – especially from beyond the arc. Haggerty has also improved his work on the offense glass and his steal numbers (at least one in every game), but his turnovers are also up.
Could he be a first team All-American this season? Well, Haggerty is currently fifth in scoring in the country while logging huge minutes and, as Memphis keeps winning, he’s sure to gain more attention for his efforts.
His size (6’3”) and the fact he doesn’t attempt a ton of three-pointers has held him back as far as being an NBA prospect, and he’ll also need to up his skills as a facilitator to have a future as a combo guard.
However, if Haggerty keeps going off like he did on Sunday, scouts are going to want to take a closer look at him because that kind of offensive skill is tough to ignore. So don’t be shocked if he sneaks into the second round of the NBA Draft in 2025 or 2026.
RotoRob Tune of the Day
Beyond his brilliant work with The Guess Who, Burton Cummings has had a lengthy and successful solo career. In 1980, he released a double LP greatest hits collection, The Best of Burton Cummings. It featured the track “Is It Really Right,” which originally appeared on his 1976 debut, eponymous album. This is the album version, not the greatest hits version.