The UCLA basketball team is off to a decent 5-2 start this season, but they have come up short in their two biggest games. The Bruins were close, but they fell twice in the Maui Invitational to #4 Marquette and #11 Gonzaga. The combined margin of defeat in those games was just six points. UCLA was very close, and they will have some more opportunities for big wins coming up in the next few weeks. Next up for the Bruins is a road game against Villanova basketball, but they be without Berke Buyuktuncel on Saturday night in Philadelphia.

Berke Buyuktuncel will not be able to play for UCLA basketball on Saturday night as he will be out with an ankle injury, according to a tweet from Ben Bolch. Buyuktuncel is a true freshman this season, but he is already getting a decent amount of playing time for the Bruins. So far this season, he has played in fives games and started one, and he is averaging 5.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG and 1.3 APG.

Saturday's game against Villanova is the start of a big non-conference stretch for the Bruins. UCLA also takes on Ohio State and Maryland before Pac-12 play gets going in late December.

This stretch is going to be a crucial one for UCLA. The Bruins were a couple plays away from some major wins in the Maui Invitational, and if they won those two close games, they would probably be a top-10 team right now. Obviously, a win in the first one would've set them up with a different matchup in the next round, but still, it's clear that this time is close to getting over the hump. The next few weeks will tell us a lot about the Bruins.