UCLA basketball: Bruins finish regular season with 56-46 loss
By Chris Foster, reporting from Tempe, Ariz.
The Los Angeles Times
March 6, 2010 | 3:24 pm
This was hardly a selling point nationally for the Pacific 10 Conference.
Sure, Arizona State handled UCLA, 56-46, at Wells Fargo Arena. But the Sun Devils, who finished the regular season second in the conference, were hardly the poster children for an at-large spot into the NCAA tournament.
The Sun Devils scored 13 unanswered points to start the game, but were unable to secure a dominating victory before a national television audience.
The conference could face a chore in getting a second team into the NCAA tournament should regular-season champion California win the conference tournament. The Sun Devils (22-9 overall, 12-6 in conference play) seemed the conference’s best bet.
In past seasons, a victory over UCLA would resonate nationally. But this version of UCLA basketball hardly rates a bounce. The Bruins (13-17, 8-10) will have only their third losing since 1947-48 unless they win the conference tournament and reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.
Arizona State’s national reputation is scarred by its a 0-3 record against teams currently in the Associated Press top 25. The Pac-10 has a 2-13 record against ranked teams.
Saturday’s victory did little to enhance the Sun Devils’ resume. They burst to a 13-0 lead, holding the Bruins scoreless until Tyler Honeycutt’s dunk 5 minutes and 20 seconds into the game.
But Arizona State meandered from there. The Sun Devils shot only 41% and were five for 23 on three-pointers. Center Eric Boateng was their only player in double figures, finishing with 16 points and 14 rebounds.
But UCLA could not capitalize on the Sun Devil’s sluggishness. Back-to-back three-pointers by Nikola Dragovic pulled the Bruins to within 35-30 with 16:46 left in the game, but they got no closer.
UCLA shot 33%, making only four of 20 three-pointers. Dragovic and Malcolm Lee each had 15 points to lead the Bruins.
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UCLA loses to Arizona State, 56-46, in regular-season finale
Next stop is the Pac-10 tournament, where there's still hope: The team that wins that goes on to the NCAA tournament.
March 06, 2010|By Chris Foster
The Los Angeles Times
Reporting from Tempe, AZ — There is simplicity to UCLA's season at this point.
"It is spring break or the NCAA tournament this season," forward Nikola Dragovic said.
This moment has been coming for weeks, months even. But the reality check moment followed a 56-46 loss to Arizona State at Wells Fargo Arena Saturday, UCLA's last game before the Pacific 10 Conference tournament.
A national television audience may have got a glimpse at what kind of tournament this will be.
The Sun Devils scored the first 13 points, then meandered. UCLA cut the lead to five, 35-30 with 16 minutes 49 seconds left, then went gently into that sweet Arizona night, losing for the third time on a team's Senior Day, including their own.
The next step is easy, and a doozy. The Bruins win the conference tournament or start working on next season. UCLA opens the tournament at Staples Center against Arizona at noon on Thursday.
"The last few years, we went into the tournament trying to improve our seeding," said Dragovic, who had 15 points. "I'm not sure this has sunk in with the young guys yet, but this is the end if we don't win."
There are many in the Pac 10 who may feel the same, possibly even for Arizona State, which has won eight of its last 10 games.
The Sun Devils started Saturday with some March Madness, holding the Bruins scoreless until Tyler Honeycutt's dunk with 15:36 left in the half.
Eric Boateng, their 6-foot-10, 257-pound center, carried that forward, having his way with whomever was in his way. He finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds, six of which were offensive.
Freshman "Brendan Lane got a rude awakening about what it's like to play against a really good player," Howland said. "Boateng absolutely outmuscled him because he outweighs him by probably 55 pounds."
But the second-place Sun Devils were unable to kick sand in the Bruins' face and hardly seemed the poster children for an at-large spot for the NCAA tournament after the fast start.
Arizona State (22-9 overall, 12-6 in conference play) shot only 41% from the field. The Sun Devils were five of 23 on three-pointers.
Howland, though, was ready to lobby for the Sun Devils.
"I think Arizona State and California should be in" the NCAA tournament, Howland said. "Washington is probably on the bubble, but they are a team that is hot right now."
The conference could face a chore in getting a second team into the NCAA tournament should regular-season champion California fail to win the conference tournament. The Pac 10 has a 2-13 record against teams currently ranked in the top 25.
UCLA (13-17, 8-10) doesn't have to impress the selection committee, merely win. The only chance of the Bruins avoiding their third losing season since 1947-48 is to reach the NCAA's Sweet 16.
"We're back to 0-0, like everyone else," said guard Malcolm Lee, who had 15 points. "It doesn't matter what you're preseason ranking was. It doesn't matter if you were the conference champion. It's a new season."
The Bruins displayed Saturday what has hampered them during the "old" season. Their defense was leaky. They were outrebounded 39-30. Their core players logged too many minutes. They shot 33% from the field and made only four of 20 three-pointers.
Still, back-to-back three-pointers by Dragovic had the Bruins down by five.
"Then I called timeout and went back to the zone, stupidly," Howland said.
Arizona State's Jamelle McMillan sank a three-pointer and Boateng followed that with a power move for a layup.
It left the Sun Devils ready to make a case for themselves. "Our team has played very good basketball for the last eight weeks," Coach Herb Sendek said.
It left the Bruins embracing a new role.
"We're the underdogs," Dragovic said. "Maybe that's our chance. I don't think anyone expects anything from us."
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Lethargic UCLA falls to Arizona State
By AL BALDERAS
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Published: March 6, 2010
Updated: March 7, 2010 12:46 a.m.
TEMPE, Ariz. - UCLA didn't have much to gain from beating Arizona State on Saturday afternoon.
It showed.
The Sun Devils scored the first 13 points of the game and rolled to a 56-46 victory over the Bruins at Wells Fargo Arena.
The Bruins ended their regular season with three consecutive losses, falling to 8-10 in the Pac-10 and 13-17 overall.
Senior center Eric Boateng led Arizona State, scoring 16 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. His rebounds and four blocked shots were career highs.
"It was a good game," said Boateng, who wasn't as interested in the individual achievements. "It feels good to win. That's the aim. I really didn't care about anything else but ending the regular season with a win. The win is the most meaningful thing for me."
Boateng contributed five points to the Sun Devils' 13-0 start, but he was just warming up.
A dunk by Tyler Honeycutt ruined the shutout, but the Bruins weren't able to narrow much of the gap that had been created.
Boateng had little trouble getting past the Bruins' defenders and rebounders. Freshman Brendan Lane did his best to keep up with the veteran but couldn't do it. Neither could J'mison Morgan, who played in short bursts.
"I've got to use this as motivation in the offseason to get stronger, bigger, do whatever I can now," Lane said. "I'll look at this game in the offseason to motivate me every day."
The returning Bruins would be wise to do the same.
UCLA shot 32.7 percent from the field, tying its season-low.
Michael Roll went into the game averaging 14 points per outing but was held to two points after going 1 for 9 from the field. That included six misses from 3-point range.
"I have those off days, and he encourages me to keep shooting and I do the same thing to him because I know that at some point he's going to start making them," Nikola Dragovic said of Roll.
Dragovic and Malcolm Lee scored nine of their 15 points in the second half and lead the Bruins in scoring.
UCLA used a 9-0 run early in the second half to cut the Sun Devils' lead to 35-30 but Arizona State called a timeout to regain its footing.
Jamelle McMillan hit a 3-pointer after the timeout and the Sun Devils were able to extend their lead back to double digits.
"We cut it to five, they called a timeout and I went back to the zone (defense), stupidly, and they hit a wide-open three in the corner," UCLA coach Ben Howland said.
The Bruins' final attempt at a comeback came moments later when a 3-pointer by Dragovic cut the Sun Devils' lead to six points. UCLA essentially wrote its own ending by scoring just two points in the next 7:03.
The Bruins have less than a week to get a lot of work done. The Pac-10 Tournament will start next Wednesday at Staples Center, with the Bruins playing their first game on Thursday.
"We've had a disappointing season, both the nonconference and the conference season," Howland said. "We still have one more chance to have a whole new season."
That new season begins against Arizona after Washington beat Oregon State on Saturday night in Gill Coliseum at Corvallis.
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Bruins left shaking their heads after loss
By Jon Gold, Staff Writer
Wittier Daily News
Posted: 03/06/2010 10:56:08 PM PST
TEMPE, Ariz. - Sometimes a shrug says everything.
Sometimes it's the head shake or the droopy shoulders.
Sometimes it's the frown that speaks volumes.
Every so often, though, a basketball player will say everything that needs to be said in three words, sum up an entire season's worth of frustration in one phrase and utter the exact line that rings true for a team and its fan base.
On Saturday afternoon after 1-for-9 shooting, including 0 for 6 from 3-point range in a 56-46 loss at Arizona State, UCLA senior guard Michael Roll was that man.
"How do you feel when you have an off-day?" he was asked.
He paused, shook his head and dropped his shoulders.
"Wanna get away?"
He continued and started his answer with a strong expletive.
"I don't know," Roll said. "It was terrible. I just tried to stay focused on the next shot, back to the fundamentals. ... nothing went in. I don't know."
Around Bruin Nation, no one does.
No one knows how UCLA can play so well in the teams' first matchup, in which it knocked down 83 percent of its shots in the first half at Pauley Pavilion on New Year's Eve and then shot 32.7 percent from the field 65 days later.
Was it the Sun Devils' scorching start as they blitzed the Bruins on a 13-0 run to start the game?
Was it Arizona State's stifling perimeter defense, which held UCLA (13-17, 7-9) to 20percent shooting from 3-point range?
Was it the Sun Devils' 6-foot-10, 257-pound center Eric Boateng, who got the best of Bruins freshman forward Brendan Lane in the lane for 16 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks?
No one knows, except Malcolm Lee.
"Point-blank, period, they just came out hitting shots," said the UCLA sophomore forward who tied senior forward Nikola Dragovic with a team-leading 15 points Saturday. "That forced us to get out of the zone early, but still, they had the momentum basically throughout the whole first half."
Save for a short spurt early in the second half on back-to-back 3-pointers by Dragovic, the momentum carried in Arizona State's favor throughout the second half, too.
After Sun Devils senior guard Jerren Shipp - the younger brother of former Bruins swingman Josh Shipp - had a 3-point play to give Arizona State its biggest lead at 14 points a little more than a minute into the second half, the Bruins went on a 9-0 run to close within five.
But Jamelle McMillan's 3-pointer and a Boateng layup promptly built the lead back to 10 and deflated UCLA.
"You could definitely feel the momentum switch back over," Lee said. "As a player, you could definitely feel the momentum swing. The crowd just started getting into it; when we started coming back, the crowd started getting quiet. They just adjusted, and that was it."
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