Tuesday, December 1, 2009

UCLA loses to CSULB 79-68, dead last at the 76 Classic

and Coach Ben Howland contemplates going zone on defense, a scheme he has sworn never to use. I guess something has to change.

"We got beat twice soundly and had a chance to win one," UCLA coach Ben Howland said. "We've got to change some things defensively, maybe play softer [man-to-man defense], because athletically we can't stay in front of teams right now."
-Ben Howland - Nov 30, 2009 - ESPN

Bruins zone out in loss

The 49ers send them to last-place finish in tournament. Howland suggests he may give up strict man-to-man.

By David Wharton
The Los Angeles Times
November 30, 2009

There was no hiding the truth, not by early in the second half.

Not with UCLA grasping at air on defense.

Not with the Bruins surrendering one easy basket after another on fastbreaks and uncontested dunks.

Pure athleticism -- or lack thereof -- made the difference in their surprisingly lopsided 79-68 loss to Long Beach State at the 76 Classic on Sunday afternoon.

The 49ers, a blur in bright yellow uniforms, could sense the disparity.

"They were slow," forward T.J. Robinson said. "We knew we could beat them down the court."

And with UCLA suffering a third loss in four days at the Anaheim Convention Center, Coach Ben Howland uttered words that some people around Westwood never thought they would hear.

"We may have to play some zone," said the coach who built his program on scrappy, man-to-man defense. "We're definitely going to have to play softer and pack it in because we're getting beat."

It was a historic day for other reasons.

Long Beach State earned its first victory over UCLA in a dozen tries dating to 1970. The Bruins, who previously fell to Cal State Fullerton, had never lost to two Big West Conference teams in the same season.

"We know that UCLA is in a rebuilding year," Long Beach State Coach Dan Monson said. "But we also know it's UCLA."

For the first minutes of Sunday's game, reputation sufficed as UCLA built a seven-point lead over a jittery Long Beach State.

But the 49ers (4-3) began spreading the floor and listening to Monson, who waved his arms from the sideline, exhorting them to "Go!" every time they grabbed a rebound.

Robinson, on his way to a game-high 25 points, sparked a run by attacking the basket, helping his team to a one-point lead at halftime.

Then came the decisive minutes of the second half as guard Casper Ware scored nine straight points -- he finished with 11 -- and the gap widened.

"We really had a hard time with Casper Ware," Howland said. "He really beat us off the bounce."

In a season headed south, UCLA has slipped to 2-4 with unexpected losses becoming the norm. Players once ranked among the nation's top recruits are getting out-played and the statistics tell a woeful tale.

Guard Michael Roll led his team with 23 points and freshman Reeves Nelson gave another encouraging performance, making all five of his shots, but they had little company.

Nikola Dragovic struggled, making two of 10, and center Drew Gordon got into early foul trouble and was parked on the bench for long stretches.

The Bruins attempted 20 three-point shots, making only three, and were outrebounded, 39-30. With all the resulting lay-ups, Long Beach State shot 54% and held a decisive edge in the paint.

Now UCLA has a week to prepare for top-ranked Kansas on Sunday. That may not be long enough for players left dazed by a last-place finish in this holiday tournament.

"We just need to go out there and practice our hardest," Roll said. "And listen to what Coach has to say."

Even if it means playing zone defense.
_____________

Six things to take away from the 76 Classic

Andy Katz
blogging for espn.com
Monday, November 30, 2009

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- West Virginia won the 76 Classic, in what may go down as the toughest tournament this season when the bids are handed out in March.

So the Mountaineers are good. But we knew that already. What other conclusions can be drawn after a holiday weekend in Anaheim?

1. UCLA is in trouble:
The Bruins lost to Portland by 27 points and then fell to Butler on a last-second drive by Gordon Hayward that resulted in free throws with less than a second left. On the final day, they fall flat in the second half in a 11-point loss to Long Beach State.

That means the Bruins (2-4) have lost to four schools outside the so-called "power six" conferences, including twice to the Big West for the first time ever in the same season. Neither Cal State Fullerton nor Long Beach State, both long in the SoCal shadow of the Bruins, had ever beaten UCLA.

"We got beat twice soundly and had a chance to win one," UCLA coach Ben Howland said. "We've got to change some things defensively, maybe play softer [man-to-man defense], because athletically we can't stay in front of teams right now."

Howland said the Bruins' transition defense was "really poor," and maybe that's a result of players' playing too many minutes. He said he has to get his freshmen more time, too, and that means players like Reeves Nelson and Brendan Lane, who did provide some spark.

For the first time ever, UCLA has lost to two Big West teams in the same season.

There was some good news, such as Jerime Anderson's hitting a big shot when he tied the Butler game with a deep 3-pointer. But Malcolm Lee and Nikola Dragovic missed wide-open shots against Long Beach State.

"If we're going to beat good teams, then we have to make those," Howland said.

Freshman forward Tyler Honeycutt said he should be able to return to the Bruins for the Dec. 6 game against top-ranked Kansas after sitting out the first six games with a stress reaction in his right tibia. We'll see whether that's the case, since he still hasn't practiced at full speed. Honeycutt will help, but he's not a savior offensively.

The problems with the Bruins are: missing too many good looks; lack of consistency at the free-throw line; lack of a proven go-to post player; and erratic effort, which often results in inconsistent defense.

All is not lost, though. There are opportunities. If the Bruins were to pull off an upset of KU or take down Mississippi State in Anaheim or win at Notre Dame, maybe the discussion would turn. But the facts are still against the Bruins after the team went 0-3 for the first time ever in an eight-team tournament.

"We've got to get back to the Ben Howland philosophy," senior guard Michael Roll said. "We've got to get better."

For the other 5 things to take away from this year's 76 Classic (but, seriously, who really cares?!?), go to Andy Katz's blog at espn.com.

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