UCLA men’s basketball needs wins against Oregon schools to improve Pac-10 record
Junior guard Lazeric Jones and the Bruins will look to get an important Pac-10 win against Oregon State on Thursday. The Bruins are only 1-2 in Pac-10 play so far and are coming off of a 63-52 loss to USC at the Galen Center on Sunday.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Oregon State
Tonight, 5:30 p.m.
Corvallis, Ore.
Prime Ticket
UCLA heads to Corvallis to face a streaky Oregon State team. The Bruins have not lost to the Beavers in 11 games.
By Matt Stevens
Jan. 12, 2011 11:59 p.m.
It’s still early, but Ben Howland and company thought they would be better than they currently are.
At least in terms of wins and losses, the coach figured that his UCLA men’s basketball team would sit a little prettier than 9-6 after playing three games in the Pac-10.
“I thought we’d be a little ahead of this,” Howland said Tuesday. “A couple wins.”
The Bruins have already watched winnable games slip away from them in the young season.
A four-point loss against Virginia Commonwealth at Madison Square Garden and a one-point heartbreaker against No. 3 Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse come to mind.
But a nine-point drudging at the hands of Montana remains a head-scratcher, and two conference losses to Washington and USC remain fresh in everyone’s head.
Regardless, the Bruins find themselves only three games with more than 0.500 and 1-2 in the Pac-10.
“Nine-and-six,” junior guard Lazeric Jones repeated aloud. “That’s not really where I figured we would be. We’re behind where I think we should have been.”
Typically, Howland said coaches like to split conference road series and take care of business at home. The problem is, UCLA has already dropped a game at home and the losses are starting to add up.
Howland employed coach-speak when asked if the team needs a road sweep this weekend against the Oregon schools UCLA is expected to beat.
He said the team was focused solely on getting past Oregon State (7-8, 2-2 Pac-10) tonight, and he might be right to focus his attention on the Beavers, who beat a 14-3 Arizona team in their last home stand.
“Watching them on film, they are much improved over a year ago,” Howland said. “(Sophomore guard Jared) Cunningham is one of the best athletes in our league.”
“To get that one (against Oregon State) will be a real monumental challenge. Trust me.”
Sophomore forward Tyler Honeycutt said that Oregon State has “improved a lot since last year,” playing at a faster tempo, relying less on its Princeton offense, running more motion and ultimately, scoring more points.
The Beavers averaged only 60.3 points per game in 2009, but have broken out for nearly 74 points per game this year.
And the Beavers will almost certainly give the Bruins their first serious taste of a zone defense.
“They will mess up everything you have going on the offensive side,” Jones said.
To counter, the Bruins will have to shoot better from the perimeter. One game after he ruptured a tendon in his right middle finger against Washington, Jones went 0-7 from the field against USC, wearing protective taping that he said he is still getting used to.
Howland said he will look to Jones to lead his team in adverse situations, namely when the team becomes lackadaisical down the stretch of a game.
He added that losses hurt, and though this isn’t where he thought they’d be, his squad is still miles ahead of a year ago.
Perhaps expectations are simply a matter of perspective.
“I go back and watch games from last year and it’s very painful,” Howland said.
“We’re so much better than we were last year, and I have to go back and remind myself of that ““ that we’re heading in the right direction.”
