LOS ANGELES – It was one play in particular in last weekend's loss to Oregon that UCLA coach Ben Howland clearly couldn't get out of his mind — a play that seemed to summarize all of the Bruins' woes in one regrettable possession.
Early in the first half of Saturday's game, the Ducks fired off 3-pointer after 3-pointer on one possession, missing each of them, but seamlessly retrieving offensive rebound after offensive rebound, as a few UCLA starters turned and ran to cherry pick on offense.
Oregon didn't score during the sequence, but the offensive boards were enough of a statement. The Bruins (15-4, 5-1 Pac-12) were thoroughly outworked in a loss that ended a 10-game winning streak.
So in preparation for Thursday's marquee matchup on the road against Arizona, Howland showed his team the play several times in its film session this week, even changing camera angles.
"It was bad," freshman Shabazz Muhammad said.
The possession was a microcosm of UCLA's issues on the glass, so Howland devoted nearly half of the team's practices so far this week to rebounding drills. They went back to the basics, focusing especially on boxing out.
"We're losing on the glass right now by about three a game in our first six conference games," Howland said. "We're going to have to do better to have success. ... We've had slippage, and watching the film was very disappointing because we could do so many things better than we did."
On Tuesday's Pac-12 teleconference, Howland explained that Oregon had to take only 20 shots in the second half of the Bruins' loss as the Ducks were able to slow the game to a near-glacial pace, relying on their big men to pull down key rebounds and drag out the game clock even further.
So in order to run its high-speed offense effectively, UCLA has to get better at hitting the boards. That's especially true for the Bruins' big men, who aren't necessarily prototypical glass eaters.
Improvement specifically from forward Travis Wear might be the key piece in solving that puzzle, as the junior five-man has seen his rebound numbers drop on the offensive glass this season. Some of that might have to do with his increased success as a face-up perimeter shooter. But with rebounding at a premium right now for the Bruins, Wear will need to be more effective.
"He wants to score, so that's a great way to get more points," Howland said. "Get to the glass."
UNBALANCED SCHEDULE
Without another matchup against UCLA or Arizona, Oregon is in the driver's seat in terms of winning the Pac-12 regular-season title, according to Howland.
But is that uneven scheduling fair to the rest of the Pac-12?
"It is what it is," Oregon coach Dana Altman said on the Pac-12 teleconference. "When we went to 12 schools, it's a little hard to play 22 conference games. ... This year, we may benefit from it. I don't know. But we've been in the same schedule now for two years, and fortunately for us, we've swept the Arizona schools both years and the L.A. schools both years."
Howland seems to see it the same way, as he was quick to point out the Bruins are lucky they don't have to play Oregon at home.
"We were the only BCS league in the country to play a true round robin prior to last year. It puts more emphasis on the conference tournament come March because not everyone plays the same people. ... It's going to still be an interesting race."
ANDERSON OUT
Freshman forward Kyle Anderson missed Tuesday's practice because of a stomach illness.
He was nearly joined by fellow freshman Jordan Adams, who had to leave during the middle of practice because of a similar sickness — possibly food poisoning. He returned to finish practice.
Howland said he hopes both will return to practice today but their statuses are up in the air.
Contact the writer: rkartje@ocregister.com
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