2. UCLA was restrained from long range
UCLA shot a season-low 10% and went 2-20 from three. They were 13 behind the Wolverines, who were over 50% altogether. Both successful triples came in the second half for UCLA. The Bruins actually had more blocks than they did 3-point jumpers in the loss. To quantify it, they went 6-48 from the 3-point line over the last two losses.
Dating back to the Purdue Fort Wayne victory, Michigan basketball has made 10 or more threes in those four straight wins. Donaldson has made 14 triples, while Nimari Burnett downed 10 of his own during that span. Donaldson made one that would have been good from well past NBA range on Tuesday.
Michigan basketball did all of this without Roddy Gayle Jr. in the lineup and minimal production from their bench. 85 points came from four of the five starters, but is that sustainable in March? 94 is also the most points given up by the Big Ten's most suffocating defense. Michigan's average over the last seven, is 91 per game.