Bryce Alford spent the final five seconds of the performances that would make him Pac-12 Conference player of the week on the bench.
He wasn’t hurt. He wasn’t in foul trouble. He wasn’t celebrating a blowout victory.
He just wasn’t the best defensive option.
With UCLA leading Utah by one point and needing a final stop Saturday at the Huntsman Center, Bruins Coach Steve Alford inserted guard Aaron Holiday in place of his son.
“We wanted to be long, we wanted to be even more athletic, we were only guarding for five seconds,” Steve Alford said Tuesday, “so we went with that lineup.