Saturday, January 30, 2010

Can Bruins get their mini-groove back? A date with The Beav



Tyler Honeycutt hopes to repeat his double-double performance at Oregon when the Bruins visit Oregon State at 4:35 pm today

Bruins Look to Rebound at Oregon State

UCLA leads the all-time series with Oregon State 85-33 (.720) and is 36-24 (.600) all-time in Corvallis, Ore.

from The Official UCLA Men's Basketball website
Jan. 29, 2010

LOS ANGELES -

GAMEDAY CENTRAL
DATE: Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010
SITE: Gill Coliseum (10,400)
TIP-OFF: 4:35 p.m. (PT)
TELEVISION: Prime Ticket
TALENT: Drew Bontadelli (play-by-play) and Mike Wozniak (analyst)
RADIO: AM 570 KLAC
SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO: Channel 125
SIRIUS XM SATELLITE RADIO: Channel 102
TALENT: Chris Roberts (play-by-play) and Tracy Murray (analyst)


BRUIN INJURY REPORT
Sophomore J'mison Morgan sustained a partially torn (second degree strain) quadriceps in his right leg in practice on Jan. 12, 2010. He is slated to be out for at least one more week and will miss the Bruins' games this week. Sophomore Jerime Anderson has a hip flexor and has missed the last three games against Washington, Washington State and at Oregon. He is a game-time decision for the Oregon State contest.

SERIES VERSUS OREGON STATE
This is the 119th meeting between UCLA and Oregon State with the Bruins leading the series 85-33 (.720). UCLA is 36-24 (.600) all-time in Corvallis, Ore. The Bruins have won the last nine games by an average of 25.2 points per game (690-463), including the last four in Corvallis by an average of 17.5 points per game (288-218). Last year, the Bruins won their Pac-10 opener at OSU 69-46 on Jan. 2, 2009. Darren Collison scored 16 points and Michael Roll came off the bench to add 16 more to lead the Bruins. Calvin Haynes was the only Beaver to reach double figures, scoring 16 points as well. UCLA Head Coach Ben Howland is 11-3 all-time against the Beavers and 4-2 at Oregon State.

DOUBLE DOUBLE-DOUBLES
The UCLA Bruins had gone the first 19 games of the season without a double-double and then recorded two in the overtime loss at Oregon on Jan. 28, 2010. Nikola Dragovic had his second career double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds while Tyler Honeycutt posted his first with 13 points and 10 boards. The last time the Bruins had accomplished the double double-double feat was in the NCAA Regional Final win two seasons ago over Xavier on March 29, 2008 when Kevin Love had 19 points and 10 rebounds and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute had 13 points and 13 boards.
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Enemy's turn...

Men's Hoops Hosts UCLA in Game to Support Coaches vs. Cancer Share

from The Official Oregon State Men's Basketball website
Jan. 29, 2010

THE SCHEDULE

SATURDAY, JANUARY 30

UCLA (9-11, 4-4) at Oregon State (9-11, 3-5), 4:35 PM

LIVE COVERAGE

Radio: Beaver Sports Radio Network; Mike Parker (play-by-play)

Live Video: None

Live Audio: www.osubeavers.com

Live Stats: www.osubeavers.com

Television: FSN NW; Rich Burk (play-by-play); Lamar Hurd (color)



THE SERIES

Oregon State vs. UCLA: UCLA leads 84-34

Corvallis, Ore.: UCLA leads 35-25

Los Angeles, Calif.: UCLA leads 47-7

Neutral: Series tied 2-2

The Oregon State men’s basketball team returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 30, as the Beavers host UCLA at 4:35 p.m. from legendary Gill Coliseum. The game, which will feature the Oregon State and UCLA coaching staffs wearing sneakers for Coaches vs. Cancer to support the American Cancer Society and its vision of a world with less cancer and more birthdays, will be televised by FSN NW and can be heard over the Beaver Sports Radio Network.

Oregon State enters the contest with a mark of 9-11 on the season, 3-5 in Pac-10 Conference play, after the Beavers rallied to defeat USC, 51-45, on Thursday night. Calvin Haynes tied his career high with 25 points for the Beavers as Oregon State defeated USC in Gill Coliseum for the second consecutive year.

Haynes continues to lead the Oregon State attack as the junior guard enters Saturday’s contest averaging 12.9 points per game. Senior Seth Tarver ranks second on the squad at 10.8 points per game and is the only other Oregon State player averaging in double figures.

Tarver leads the defensive attack for Oregon State, leading the Pac-10 Conference in steals at 2.6 per contest. Oregon State leads the league with 8.1 steals per game as the Beavers rank third in the conference in field goal percentage defense (42.2) and scoring defense (62.2).

UCLA enters Saturday with a 9-11 overall mark, 4-4 in conference play, after the Bruins fell to Oregon in overtime 71-66 on Thursday. Michael Roll leads the way for UCLA at 13.2 points per game as the Bruins have won nine straight in the series and lead the all-time series, 84-34.

SCOUTING UCLA


UCLA, led by seventh-year head coach Ben Howland, enters the weekend with a mark of 9-11 overall, 4-4 in league play, after the Bruins fell in overtime to Oregon on Thursday.

The Bruins, which feature four players in double figures, are led by Michael Roll, who leads the team at 13.2 points per game. Malcolm Lee ranks second on the squad at 12.9 points per game while Nikola Dragovic ranks third on the squad at 11.4 points per contest.

UCLA is averaging 67.0 points per game while holding opponents to 68.4 points per contest. The Bruins are currently hitting 46.0 percent of their shots from the field and are shooting 33.4 percent from beyond the three-point arc. Opponents are hitting 44.3 percent of their shots from the field and 37.5 percent from beyond the three-point line.

DEFENSE, AND THE 1-3-1, LEADING THE WAY FOR OREGON STATE

The Oregon State defense has been among the nation’s best as the Beavers have been forcing turnovers and keeping opponents field-goal percentage down through 20 games. Specifically, Oregon State’s 1-3-1 zone defense has received the share of the attention as the guard at the top of the zone, Seth Tarver, is a big reason why.

Tarver leads the way for the Oregon State defense as the senior leads the Pac-10 Conference and ranks No. 15 in the NCAA at 2.6 steals per game. The effort has allowed Oregon State to lead the league at 8.1 steals per game, a mark that currently ranks No. 71 in the nation. Last season, Tarver became the first Oregon State player since Gary Payton in 1989-1990 to lead the league in steals during conference play as the forward averaged 2.0 per game.

When opponents do get shots off against Tarver and the 1-3-1, they have not been able to hit them with consistency. Oregon State ranks third in the league in field goal percentage defense at 42.2 percent and ranks third in the Pac-10 in scoring defense (No. 48 NCAA) at 62.2 points per game. The Beavers also rank high in three-point field goal percentage defense as Oregon State ranks second in the league (No. 32 NCAA) at 30.2 percent.

Seth Tarver CONTINUES TO PLAY WELL

Senior forward Seth Tarver has been one of the leaders of the Oregon State attack since the start of season, averaging 10.8 points and 4.7 rebounds through 20 games. Tarver has reached double figures in 13-of-20 games this season with a season-high of 18 points while recording three assists and three steals in a win over George Washington.

The senior led the Oregon State attack at the “Duel in the Desert” tournament and was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 11.7 points and 5.3 rebounds through the three games.

Tarver currently leads the Pac-10 with 2.6 steals per game and is among the active career leaders in several categories, ranking 11th in career points (872), fourth in rebounds (480) and first in steals (159). The forward also established a single-game career-high with eight assists in a win over Mississippi Valley State.

Calvin Haynes BACK TO OLD FORM THROUGH FIRST ROUND OF PAC-10 GAMES

The leading scorer for Oregon State last season, junior guard Calvin Haynes has shown in recent games why he was a key member of last year’s College Basketball Invitational championship squad. Three times this season (vs. Fresno State, Cal and USC), Haynes has tied his career-high with 25 points. The mark is the most points by an Oregon State player this season.

Haynes has reached double figures in 8-of-11 games and now leads the team in scoring at 12.3 points per contest. The junior guard has been able to consistently hit the outside shot as he ranks fourth in the Pac-10 Conference at 45.0 percent (36-of-80) from behind the three point arc.
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UCLA BASKETBALL: Bruins lost their way in Eugene
By Jon Gold, Staff Writer
Wittier Daily News
Posted: 01/29/2010 09:01:58 PM PST


CORVALLIS, Ore. - For 15 minutes on Thursday, everything was going right for the UCLA men's basketball team.

The Bruins held a 13-point lead over the Oregon Ducks at McArthur Court with 5:25 left in the first half after freshman forward Tyler Honeycutt converted a layup, drew the foul and hit the free throw.

Then everything faded to black.

Twenty-nine points in 15 minutes dwindled to two over the next five and a half, and those two came on two Honeycutt free throws with no time left in the half.

Before Oregon eventually clipped the Bruins in overtime, 66-61, it had to close the gap early and did by trimming that 13-point deficit to just three at halftime.

"We saw how the lead dissipated. A bad foul on a 3, a couple quick shots," Howland said. "In basketball it's always about time and score. We're up 29-20 and we jack up a shot with 25 seconds left on the shot clock with a guy in our face.

"We lost a little bit of the focus in what we were doing to get good shots."

Early on, the Bruins were mixing it inside and outside and working against the Ducks' zone defense by getting the ball into the lane and then passing it back out. Oregon seemingly flipped a switch, though, frustrated UCLA into rushed shots and simply threw a wrench into the Bruins offense.

Howland wasn't surprised. His players weren't doing the two most important things to break a zone.

As UCLA faces another zone defense today at Oregon State, with tipoff scheduled for 4:35 p.m., Howland knows the Bruins can't wait as long to right the ship.
"Getting the ball in the high post and dribbling gaps; when we got the ball reversed, we did a very poor job," Howland said. "We only had 15 high-post touches and only 14 times did we dribble a gap. We have to do a better job."

Malcolm in the middle

UCLA sophomore guard Malcolm Lee at times looked particularly harried by Oregon's full-court press, but neither of his two turnovers were forced by the press.

The imposing Lee, moved to the point guard position after sophomore point guard Jerime Anderson went down with a hip flexor - Howland said he expected Anderson to play today - can be a disadvantage at times.

"He's got to learn how to play lower, how to keep his dribble lower," Howland said. "He's going against guys pressing last night who are 5-foot-6, 6-feet tall, and he's 6-5. I think it's going to help him a lot.

"Who's a natural? Russell Westbrook wasn't a natural, and he's in the NBA starting at the point."

Keefing it going

Howland said a major point of concern against Oregon was the post play and the lack of production from senior forward James Keefe, who had just one shot attempt in 16 minutes. Howland said Keefe would remain in the starting lineup but needs to be more of a presence.

"We have to get the ball to James more and get him a chance," Howland said. "There were three or four instances where he was wide open and we weren't feeding the post to him."

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