Five takeaways from UCLA's 114-63 deconstruction of North Florida

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The No. 22 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team defended their home den as they obliterated the North Florida Ospreys in an 114-63 blowout win at the Pauley Pavilion on Friday.

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The Bruins won their first two games of the season with a win against the No. 5 Arizona Wildcats to begin the season on Monday. Now, UCLA outscored North Florida with a dominating performance on both sides of the ball that gave the Ospreys no chance at pulling off an upset. Here were five takeaways from the Bruins blowout victory against the Ospreys.

Nikola Kusturica's big night

The six-foot-nine freshman Nikola Kusturica dominated the game and made the college basketball world fully aware of how dangerous he can be on the court. The young star scored 26-points in the first half and didn't miss a single shot. He ended the game with 23 minutes and 29-points as he made 10-of-12 from the field. He also made his presence felt on defense with two blocks and a steal. Kusturica looks like the real deal and should be a reliable star for Cronin and the Bruins for the future.

Silencing doubts quickly

The Bruins should have dominated this game and they did. However, early on in the game there was a chance for North Florida to hang around and catch UCLA off guard. The Bruins defense began to struggle as the Ospreys sunk three's and UCLA clanked shots off the rim. Soon UCLA found themselves in a shootout with North Florida and the Bruins both being tied around 15-points. It didn't last for long though, as Kusturica silenced the doubts and ended North Florida's hopes by sinking threes. The fact that the Bruins battled through the adversity shows what this team is capable of.

Snatching steals swiftly

The Bruins were on a mission on defense against the Ospreys and on their way to a 49-point margin of victory, they stole the ball a whopping 12 times. Freshman forward Joe Philon III had five of the 12 steals and really put together a strong performance all around with 17-points in his 21 minutes. Philon III wasn't the only player snatching the ball from away from Osprey's jerseys with junior point guard Trent Perry stealing it twice and five other players stealing it once.

Got to score fast

If it wasn't obvious by the score differential, the Bruins were much more keen on scoring fast compared to the Ospreys. North Florida was unable to score fast break points at any point throughout the game, whereas UCLA put up 22-points in transition. UCLA has proven to be able to score from any level on the court and as the team continues to gel, it's likely they will begin to put together even more opportunities to score quick points in transition.

Veteran experience

Senior forward Eric Dailey Jr. and Perry both had pivotal plays during the game to help the Bruins remain on track for their blowout win. Both players had 11 points and had some of the most assists and rebounds on the team. Perry led the team in assists with six, as he was fantastic at distributing the ball and creating open shots for his teammates. Meanwhile, Dailey Jr. had nine rebounds with seven coming on defense to prevent second chance opportunities for North Florida.

This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: Five takeaways from UCLA's 114-63 deconstruction of North Florida

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