MEN’S HOOPS NOTES

Wednesday, January 22, 1997

On the road again

Thursday’s game against USC is the first of four straight games
that the UCLA men’s basketball team will play on the road. And just
how tough is it to be on the road again? Consider first that no
team in the Pac-10 has a winning record in conference away games.
Secondly, Pac-10 home teams have a 19-8 conference record.

UCLA has an 18-game Pac-10 winning streak in Pauley Pavilion
which dates back to the 1994-95 season.

Miracles are in the air

Moses parted the Red Sea, neither the Cowboys or 49ers are in
the Super Bowl and Jelani McCoy has sunk every free throw he’s
attempted in the last three games. Will miracles never cease?

McCoy had been shooting 26.8 percent from the charity line
before his streak started. But after being 6-for-6 since the
California game, McCoy’s free throw percentage has improved to 36.5
percent.

"He’s been making big, big improvements," UCLA head coach Steve
Lavin said. "He’s gaining more confidence and getting better at
follow-through and technique."

But it is not just McCoy who has been improving on the free
shots. The Bruins as a whole have been connecting more. And the
improvement has come in handy. In the critical last five minutes of
the second half of the Arizona game, all of UCLA’s 11 points came
from the line. In overtime, the Bruins were 9-of-10 from the
stripe.

Through 14 games, UCLA averages 66.7 percent on free throws.
Kris Johnson (82.3 percent), Charles O’Bannon (82 percent) and
Cameron Dollar (80 percent) are amongst the top 10 in the
conference.

Bruins get some respect

It’s amazing what a sweep over the Arizona schools can do for a
team’s ranking.

UCLA dropped out of the Top 25 polls after the Kansas loss, but
the team is now on the cusp of breaking back in. In the USA
Today/CNN poll, UCLA garnered 46 points to place it in 27th place.
In the AP poll, the Bruins are in 29th place with 73 points.

However, in the computerized RPI used by the NCAA tournament
selection committee, UCLA skyrocketed to a No. 18 ranking from a
ranking of 43rd last week.

Complied by Emmanuelle Ejercito, Daily Bruin Staff