Bruins cut trees and head for clearing...the Pac-10 summit

-Good game. Coach Ben resurrects the man-to-man, mixing it with the recently introduced 2-3 zone to perfection. It kept Stanford guessing.

-Freshman forward Tyler Honeycutt shimmies close to a triple-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, three blocks and two steals.

-Freshman forward Reeves Nelson bullies for 18 points and eight rebounds for the Bruins. Senior guard Michael Roll had 16 points and senior forward Nikola Dragovic added 15.

-Bruins made their free-throw shots in the end when they needed to, beats Stanford in this one, 77-73. UCLA moves into a 4-way tie for first place in the Pac-10 with California, Arizona and Arizona State.

-Up next: Cal Bears, Saturday, Feb 6

-NO LET UP, BRUINS!!! BEAT CAL!!!


 

Bruins have a share of the Pac-10 lead

They defeat Stanford, 77-73.

By Chris Foster
The Los Angeles Times
February 5, 2010

UCLA has a pretty good place among the Pacific 10 Conference's muddled masses . . . first.

Of course, first place includes 40% of the conference, with two other teams lurking one game back. But the Bruins walked away from Pauley Pavilion after surviving against Stanford, 77-73, with their fourth victory in five games.

"We're just a good team," freshman Tyler Honeycutt said.

That may be enough to be dominant in the Pac-10 this season. Trouble is, everyone else can claim that as well.

Stanford certainly could, with its tag-team offense. Landry Fields had 35 points and Jeremy Green 18, putting on a second-half exhibition by scoring 34 of the Cardinal's 41 points, while forcing the Bruins out of their 2-3 zone defense.

Yet the "just a good team" mantra took hold.

Honeycutt finished with 12 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, three blocks and two steals. Reeves Nelson bullied his way to 18 points. Malcolm Lee, Michael Roll and Nikola Dragovic made key free throws in the final two minutes.

And the Bruins (11-11 overall, 6-4 in conference play) even showed they could play a little man-to-man, as Coach Ben Howland's preferred defense sparked a 9-0 run that turned the game around.

All in all, a good but not great performance that left UCLA tied for first place with California, Arizona and Arizona State.

"I'm not too worried about that," Howland said, following it up with the tried-and-true "I'm taking it one game at a time."

Still, Howland has scanned the rest of the conference and come to the conclusion that, "There is no one where you can say, 'Oh, we'll win that one.' There is no team like that."

Stanford (10-12, 4-6) could be that team, as the Cardinal's only victory away from Palo Alto is on foreign soil. Stanford beat Virginia in Cancun, Mexico, and is 0-9 away from home in the United States. Still, the Cardinal is no gimme, not with Fields and Green.

It was Green who torched UCLA for 30 points in a victory in Palo Alto last month. The Bruins were aware, with players pointing at him to make teammates aware where he was at all times.

So Fields made 13 of 18 shots.

Fields' layup off an offensive rebound gave Stanford a 60-54 lead with eight minutes left. The Bruins went man, Howland's preference until his current team changed his mind.

The zone has become so embedded in the Bruins' game plan that they have not worked on man defense in practice, "not a bit," Howland said.

They seemed to remember how. Stanford, leading 60-56, made only two of six shots and turned the ball over three times in the next five minutes.

"I think it confused them," Roll said.

The Bruins' offense, meanwhile, was a share-and-share alike outfit, with 6-foot-8 Honeycutt directing much of it.

Honeycutt's pass to Nelson with time running out on the shot clock resulted in a layup and a 67-62 UCLA lead with four minutes left.

"The thing he does is see the floor," Howland said. "He has height, Magic Johnson height. It gives him opportunities."

The Bruins shot 58% in the second half. They also made 18 of 26 free throws. UCLA had only five turnovers. All were areas where they labored earlier this season.
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UCLA basketball: Bruins scrap out 77-73 victory over Stanford
By Chris Foster
The Los Angeles Times
February 4, 2010 | 9:51 pm

UCLA did a two-step around Stanford’s two-man game Thursday.

The Bruins were eight of 10 from the foul line, four by Malcolm Lee, in the final 1 minute 37 seconds to hold off the Cardinal, 77-73, at Pauley Pavilion, surviving Landry Fields and Jeremy Green.

The two shredded the Bruins much of the game. Field and Green had 34 of Stanford’s 41 second-half points. Fields finished with 35 and Green had 18 for the game.

Things were so dire for the Bruins that they did the unthinkable, going to a man-to-man defense the final 7:39. UCLA seemed incapable of playing man consistently this season, which led to a permanent switch to a 2-3 zone.

This time, though, they were up to the task. The move sparked a 9-0 run to erase a 60-56 deficit. UCLA never trailed again.

Reeves Nelson's dunk with 3:08 left gave UCLA a 69-64 lead. The Bruins then held on, with Michael Roll’s two free throws finally settling matters with three seconds left.

Nelson had 18 points and eight rebounds for the Bruins. Tyler Honeycutt had 12 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, Roll had 16 points and Nikola Dragovic added 15.
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UCLA beats Stanford, now part of four-way tie atop Pac-10
By Jon Gold Staff Writer
The Los Angeles Daily News
Updated: 02/04/2010 11:12:53 PM PST

UCLA saw the future on Thursday night against Stanford, and the future is now.

On back-to-back plays, the Bruins' star freshmen shone bright: First, center Reeves Nelson wrestled his way for a gritty offensive rebound and converted a layup, then forward Tyler Honeycutt swatted a shot on the other end.

The future is now, and for the night, the future is sweet.

Honeycutt finished with 12 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists and Nelson had a team-high 18 points as UCLA hit clutch free throws down the stretch to fend off the Cardinal 77-73 on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion that put the Bruins in a four-way tie for first in the Pacific-10 Conference.

"I know there was a newspaper article out there today saying I should do it all," Honeycutt said. "I love to rebound, I love to pass, I love to score."

Against Stanford, though, UCLA needed Honeycutt's passing the most.

Honeycutt and sophomore guard Malcolm Lee teamed for 13 assists, matching all of Stanford, and the Bruins turned the ball over just five times.

For measure: Against the Cardinal on Jan. 9, the Bruins had 23 turnovers. On Thursday, they needed every possession, as Landry Fields made them pay on the other end.

Playing a 2-3 zone defense for most of the game, the Bruins watched the Cardinal's star forward tear them up from all over the court. He shot from long range and made it. He penetrated and laid it in. He faded away and he leaned in and he lost balance.

And he made it and made it and made it.

Fields had 35 points on 13-of-18 shooting and added 10 rebounds, taking the lead from teammate Jeremy Green, who torched UCLA (11-11, 6-4) for 30 points in the teams' first matchup.

The Bruins switched to their familiar man-to-man defense with roughly seven minutes left in the game and Stanford (10-12, 4-6) holding a narrow lead.

But UCLA put the clamps on and took a one-point lead with 5 minutes, 50 seconds left and never let it go.

"The first half we kind of played at their pace, which we didn't want to do," Honeycutt said. "We wanted to kind of slow it down. Landry had a good game - so did Green - but in the second half, we played good defense all-around."

Speaking of all-around, back to Honeycutt.

While still showing some freshmanitis, missing a pair of clutch free throws and two 3-pointers, Honeycutt displayed the passing skills that drew coach Ben Howland's eyes.

"The thing he does a great job of is seeing the floor," Howland said. "He's learning now not to over-dribble. He's got that height - like a Magic Johnson advantage. He made some great passes tonight. He's doing a great job rebounding. He made some unbelievable plays today."

Down the stretch, UCLA's biggest weakness turned into a strength.

Seniors Nikola Dragovic and Michael Roll each hit a pair of free throws with less than 10 seconds left to ice the game and sophomore guard Malcolm Lee hit four in the last two minutes.

"Malcolm made four free throws too during that point," Howland said. "It was great. I expect Reeves to make his, but he'll be fine. We're shooting a lot of free throws right now. But we made our foul shots in the second half. They really stepped up."