UCLA has a chance to prove itself in Maui Invitational

On the board in UCLA’s locker room, just in case anyone forgot, the score from the Bruins’ season opener is still written:

MONMOUTH 84, UCLA 81.

It was there when the team left for the Maui Jim Maui Invitational on Saturday, and it will be there when they get back.

“It will stay there all year,” point guard Bryce Alford said, “as a reminder of what that felt like for us.”

UCLA (2-1) has not yet put behind lingering frustration from the early loss, but a strong tournament in Hawaii would be a good way to erase the pain.

That would require UCLA to do something it hasn’t yet since Steve Alford became coach: win a nonconference game as an underdog.

UCLA’s tournament begins Monday against Nevada Las Vegas. If the Bruins win, they’ll probably face the No. 4 team in the Associated Press top 25, Kansas, barring a major upset by Chaminade. On the other side of the bracket, No. 14 Indiana (Steve Alford’s alma mater), No. 17 Vanderbilt, St. John’s and Wake Forest await. More likely than not, the Bruins will get an opportunity against a ranked team.

“We do get to prove ourselves a little bit because we’re under the radar,” Steve Alford said. “And we should be. After losing the opener, we should be.”

In the last two seasons, the Bruins went winless in four games against ranked opponents in the nonconference slate.

Last season, they did not come close. They were manhandled by North Carolina at the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. Gonzaga won easily at Pauley Pavilion, and Kentucky embarrassed them at a neutral-site game in Chicago.

Still, UCLA reached the regional semifinal of the NCAA tournament each season, even without an early signature win.

Maui, then, is “not make or break,” Steve Alford said. “We didn’t play well in the Bahamas, got in a funk and still managed to get to the Sweet 16.”

But the tournament, he said, is “an early-season litmus test where we get to see where we’re at.”

Where, exactly, they do stand is murky. In its first two games, UCLA missed the veteran presence of Norman Powell in the backcourt and the defensive athleticism of Kevon Looney in the frontcourt. The three-guard lineup — Bryce Alford, Isaac Hamilton and Aaron Holiday — exhibited sloppy ballhandling. The two starting big men, Tony Parker and Thomas Welsh, were terrors on offense but often too slow on the other end.

Then, against an experienced and dangerous Pepperdine team, UCLA rolled. Holiday, a freshman, scored 14 points in the first half. Parker collected his third double-double in as many games. The guards cleaned up what had been ugly transition defense.

And newcomers, freshman Prince Ali and sophomore Jonah Bolden, made important contributions and added depth that UCLA did not have last season.

The smaller lineups of Monmouth and Cal Poly gave UCLA trouble on defense. Steve Alford has maintained that UCLA’s two-big lineup will match up better against teams from power conferences, which, typically, also have size. Maui will test that prediction.

“Hopefully, coming out of there we’re a better basketball team for playing,” Steve Alford said.

UNLV, the opening-game opponent, is unbeaten in three games and, like UCLA, barely managed to beat Cal Poly.

A win would set up the big test, with the biggest reward, against Kansas. The Jayhawks lost a close game to No. 13 Michigan State on Tuesday, but they remain one of the most talented teams in the nation. A win in that game would be, arguably, the most impressive win of Steve Alford’s tenure, and certainly the most significant nonconference win.

Even a competitive game would be a positive step after last season’s nonconference schedule. And UCLA does not have to beat Kansas to have a successful tournament. Every win, Parker said, would be a challenge. Two wins would help put UCLA’s season back on track early.

“If we can win, every win is signature,” Parker said.

UP NEXT

UCLA vs. Nevada Las Vegas

When: 8:30.

Where: Lahaina Civic Center, Maui, Hawaii.

On the air: TV: ESPN2; Radio: 570.

Update: Last season, UCLA (2-1) picked apart UNLV (3-0) in a closed-door scrimmage. Since then, UNLV has added one of the better freshman classes in the country, led by 7-foot center Stephen Zimmerman, who is averaging 12.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per game this season. The Bruins are familiar with Zimmerman: they had recruited him before he chose the Runnin’ Rebels. He has help: guard Patrick McCaw leads the team in scoring with 16.7 points per game.

zach.helfand@latimes.com

Twitter: @zhelfand