UCLA Hosts Stanford on CBS on Saturday Morning

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UCLA Hosts Stanford on CBS on Saturday Morning

The Bruins lead the all-time series with Stanford 133-90 including winning the last five in Pauley Pavilion.

The Official UCLA Men's Basketball website
Jan. 21, 2011


LOS ANGELES -

GAMEDAY CENTRAL
DATE: Jan. 22, 2011
SITE: Pauley Pavilion (12,819)
TIP-OFF: 11:05 a.m. (PT)
TV: CBS
TALENT: Kevin Harlan (play-by-play) and Dan Bonner (analyst)
RADIO (UCLA Sports Network from IMG College): AM 570 KLAC
SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO: 125
SIRIUS XM SATELLITE RADIO: 193
TALENT: Chris Roberts (play-by-play) and Don MacLean (analyst)
SERIES: UCLA leads 133-90


IN THE POLLS
UCLA (12-6, 4-2) is unranked in the AP Top 25 and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll (Jan. 10). The Stanford Cardinal (10-7, 3-3) are unranked in both polls, and like the Bruins, did not receive any votes in either poll.


SERIES VS. STANFORD
This is the 224th meeting between UCLA and Stanford with the Bruins leading the series 133-90 (.596). UCLA leads the all-time matchups in Pauley Pavilion 35-10 (.778), winning the last five games at home. Last year, the Bruins split the season series with the Cardinal with each team winning on its home floor. UCLA posted a 77-73 victory over Stanford (Feb. 4) at home while Stanford won 70-59 on Jan. 9 in Maples Pavilion. In last year's game in Los Angeles, Reeves Nelson led the Bruins with 18 points while Malcolm Lee (eight points) hit a pair of free throws with 24 seconds left to secure the victory. Michael Roll had 16 points and five assists while Nikola Dragovic added 15 points, six rebounds and three steals for UCLA. Tyler Honeycutt had a monster game, registering 12 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, three blocks and two steals. Landry Fields had 35 points and 10 boards for Stanford. Jeremy Green was the only other Cardinal to reach double figures with 18 points. UCLA Head Coach Ben Howland is 9-6 against Stanford and 5-2 against the Cardinal in Pauley Pavilion.


BRUINS' INJURY REPORT
Freshman center Joshua Smith hit his head on the floor after attempting to take a charge in the first half against California (Jan. 20). He returned briefly in the first half but then sat for the remainder of the contest after recording four points and five rebounds in just six minutes in the win over the Golden Bears. He has neck soreness and stiffness and will be a game-time decision against Stanford (Jan. 22).

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Freshman center Joshua Smith has boo-boo

UCLA BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK: Smith may sit this one out
By Jon Gold, Staff Writer
The Los Angeles Daily News
Posted: 01/21/2011 10:13:55 PM PST
Updated: 01/21/2011 11:55:21 PM PST


UCLA head coach Ben Howland said freshman center Joshua Smith would be a game-time decision for the Bruins' matchup at 11 a.m. today at Pauley Pavilion.

Smith hit his head on the court after a first-half fall during UCLA's 86-84 win over Cal on Thursday night, returned briefly in the first half, but was then benched for the second half for precautionary reasons after complaining of a headache and neck stiffness.

Howland said Smith suffered a mild concussion - Smith passed a verbal concussion test but had a "glitch" in the physical test - and would be re-evaluated this morning.

"You can't make up for what Josh had given us," Howland said. "He was on his way to a great performance again (Thursday). He was going to do some big things for us, and if he can't go, it'll be a big blow."

Howland said he was pleased with the performance of redshirt freshman Anthony Stover, who started at center in place of Smith because of foul concerns, and sophomore power forward Brendan Lane. Stover had four rebounds, a block and a steal in 15 minutes, and Lane added seven points and three rebounds before fouling out in 14 minutes.

Howland said Smith would come off the bench for the rest of the season.

"I made it after thinking about it (Thursday) in the late morning," Howland said. "We wanted to get off to a good start defensively. Anthony hasn't had as many minutes as Brendan, but I thought he did a good job in his 15 minutes."

Howland said Smith had no problems with the change - "It's no problem," Howland said, "None." - and that the change was made solely because of Smith's penchant for foul trouble. Smith's recent comments about Pac-10 officiating after the Bruins' loss to USC on Jan. 9 drew a public reprimand from the league and might have put an even bigger target on his back.

"I don't want him getting one in the first three minutes," Howland said of Smith's foul trouble. "Early in the game, officials are always setting the tone of the game. Because you're the biggest guy, it can be a problem."


Lee on the defensive

Junior guard Malcolm Lee drew kudos from Howland for his play on Cal star freshman Allen Crabbe, who entered the game averaging 20 points over his previous four contests.

Lee held Crabbe to just four points before fouling out with 3 minutes, 20 seconds left to play.

With Lee on the bench, though, Crabbe scored 13 points the rest of the way to finish with 17 and seven rebounds in 34 minutes.

"Malcolm is our best defender, so yeah, we can't make up for what he gives us defensively," Howland said. "It's obvious what a presence he gives us guarding the other team's best player night in, night out."


Moving on

Howland said he was not going to alter the practice schedule during Friday's preparation for Stanford to include additional time to address a consistent problem for the Bruins - holding on to leads.

UCLA let Cal come from 15 behind with nine minutes left to tie it with just over 10 seconds on the clock before Reeves Nelson's tip-in of a Tyler Honeycutt miss with two seconds left.

Howland said it was just a matter of fundamentals and that it's a "mental thing" and is just happy to have leads to protect.

"I hope we have leads to worry about losing," Howland said. "That's a good problem. I hope we continue to have to worry about that, that's a good thing. (But) we were too nonchalant with the ball."

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UCLA center Joshua Smith will be a game-time decision Saturday

The freshman suffered a possible concussion against California, but he kept his sense of humor. Bears took advantage of his absence.

January 21, 2011|By Ben Bolch
The Los Angeles Times


Joshua Smith's balance was a bit wayward Thursday night, but he never lost his sense of humor.

In the final minutes of UCLA's 86-84 victory over California at Pauley Pavilion, the Bruins' freshman center teased teammates Malcolm Lee and Brendan Lane after they fouled out.

"I was like, 'Now you know how I feel,' " the foul-prone big man said.

Smith had been relegated to the bench after sustaining a possible concussion 5:39 into the game when he fell and bumped his head on the floor.

He met with a doctor Friday and his status for UCLA's game against Stanford on Saturday morning will be a game-time decision, Coach Ben Howland said.

"We'll have to wait and see how he feels," Howland said.

Asked how he felt late Thursday night, Smith said he had "a little sore spot on my neck and a small headache."

Smith returned to the game against Cal two minutes after he fell, telling trainers and coaches he felt fine. Howland took Smith out with 8:57 left in the first half to give him a rest, and upon further questioning Smith disclosed that his head hurt.

"I didn't really start feeling symptoms until I sat back down for a while," Smith said.

At halftime, a doctor assessed Smith's balance. It "wasn't all the way where it should be," Smith said, so the decision was made for him to sit out the rest of the game.

The Bruins held on without Smith, who had four points and five rebounds in six minutes, but their interior defense clearly suffered. Golden Bears big men Harper Kamp, Mark Sanders-Frison and Richard Solomon combined for 43 points and made 15 of 24 shots, mostly on layups and dunks.

UCLA freshman center Anthony Stover, who had supplanted Smith in the starting lineup to help keep Smith out of foul trouble, had four rebounds, two turnovers, a block and a steal in 15 minutes.

Howland said Smith would come off the bench for the rest of the season regardless of whether he was cleared to play against Stanford.

"I don't want Josh getting a foul in the first three minutes of the game," Howland said. "It's not good for him psychologically and it's not good for us."


Letting it go

Howland said he did not review the final minutes of the Cal game other than Reeves Nelson's winning tip-in with two seconds left.

Didn't he want to watch how his team squandered a 12-point lead in the final 3½ minutes so that he could help his players correct their mistakes?

"We can't work on it [Friday]," Howland said. "We've got preparations for Stanford. … I saw it live and in person, so I have a pretty good feel for it."

Howland said the Bruins were "too nonchalant" with the ball and that most of the mistakes were mental.

"One of them was a turnover we threw away in the backcourt against the press where we were one on one and trying to whip it around," he said. "Just getting sped up and just not falling back on solid fundamentals."

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Thanks to yapil75 for posting this on Bruin Zone.

UCLA basketball report: Smith questionable

January, 21, 2011 Jan 215:41PM PT
UCLA Blog at ESPNLA
By Peter Yoon


UCLA is facing the possibility of playing Stanford on Saturday without center Joshua Smith.

Smith left Thursday night’s victory over California because of a mild concussion and had not yet been cleared to play by Friday afternoon. Coach Ben Howland said Smith, averaging 9.8 points and 6.8 rebounds, would be re-evaluated before the game and a decision on his availability would be made at game time.

“The symptoms are mild, but no decision will be made until tomorrow morning,” Howland said. “They do all these tests. There is a whole protocol which is extensive. It’s just depends how he feels tomorrow.”

The game against Stanford is at 11 a.m. at Pauley Pavilion and will be televised nationally by CBS.

If Smith is unable to play, Anthony Stover and Brendan Lane will get most of the minutes at center.

Stanford has plenty of size with 6-foot-8 Josh Owens, 6-9 Dwight Powell and 6-9 Jack Trotter all getting significant minutes, so not having the 6-10, 305-pound Smith would certainly hurt the Bruins.

Smith had 25 points and 18 rebounds in two games last week in Oregon and was on his way to another strong game Thursday against Cal with four points and five rebounds in six minutes before he left.

Lane and Stover combined for seven points and seven rebounds against the Golden Bears.

“If he can’t play tomorrow, that’s obviously a big blow for us because he’s a big part of what we’ve been doing,” Howland said. “Those guys have to step up in his absence if, in fact, he can’t play.”


SMITH NOT STARTING, BUT HE'S FINISHING

Even if Smith is able to go, he won’t start, Howland said. Smith had foul problems for most of this season, but he’s been coming off the bench the last three games and it seems to have helped.

After fouling out in consecutive games against Washington and USC, Smith played a key role in the waning moments of victories at Oregon State and Oregon. Howland said Smith would be coming off the bench he rest of the year.

“It’s not that he’s not a starter, it’s a thing for foul reasons,” Howland said. “I don’t want Josh getting a foul the first three minutes of the game. It’s not good for him psychologically and it’s not good for us. It’s better. Early in the game the officials are always setting the tone of the game and because you’re the biggest guy out there sometimes that works against you.”


LEE WILL BE SEEING GREEN

Stanford guard Jeremy Green, the Cardinal's leading scorer at 14.9 points a game, is a player Howland called "maybe the best shooter in our conference."

“Green is really a guy that gets us nervous because he can go off at any time and knock down multiple jumpers in a row," Howland said.

Look for UCLA's defensive stopper Malcolm Lee to get well-acquainted with Green. Lee has established himself as one of the Pac-10's premier defenders. He held California's Allen Crabbe to four points before fouling out. After Lee left, Crabbe scored 13 points in the final 3:20.

"We can’t make up for what he gives us defensively," Howland said. "It’s obvious what a presence he gives us guarding the other team’s best player night in and night out."

But even if Lee can shut down Crabbe, Stanford will be hungry.

The Cardinal are coming off a 65-42 loss at USC on Thursday, their lowest point total since 2006. The Cardinal shot only 22.6%, their lowest shooting percentage since the shot clock was introduced in 1985.

“They’ll obviously be in a bounce back and ready to take us on tooth and nail,” Howland said. “We know that.”

Stanford (10-7, 3-3 in Pac-10) has been up and down this season, with the downs coming mostly away from home. The Cardinal are 2-6 away from Maples Pavilion, including 1-4 in true road games. But Stanford is the only Pac-10 team to defeat Washington this season, handing the Huskies a 58-56 loss Jan. 13 at Stanford.


NO REGRETS ABOUT EARLY TIMEOUTS

In Thursday’s 86-84 victory over Cal, UCLA used its final timeout with 2:48 to play while holding a 73-65 lead. The Golden Bears made an improbable comeback and the Bruins had no means of stopping the momentum and regrouping.

Howland, known for liberal use of early timeouts, nearly had that propensity backfire Thursday. The Bruins led, 79-73 with 50 seconds to play when they committed a five-second violation trying to inbound the ball. A timeout would have helped, but Cal took possession and immediately cut the lead to 79-75.

On UCLA’s next possession, Jerime Anderson went diving to the floor for a loose ball and couldn’t call a timeout so he rushed a pass to Tyler Honeycutt, who promptly turned the ball over with a bad pass. Cal then scored again to make the score 79-77.

Howland, who used two timeouts in the first half and another at the 17:41 mark of the second half, said he didn’t regret spending all of his timeouts earlier in the game, implying that he didn’t think he’d need them with the game seemingly in hand.

“I regret not being able to hold on to the lead and take good care of the basketball down the stretch,” he said. “We had a nine point lead with 2:30 to go and we were not able to hang on to it.”