Bruins end four-game losing streak against USC

UCLA's Joshua Smith, right, celebrates after dunking the ball, with teammates Tyler Honeycutt, left, and Reeves Nelson, center, against Southern California during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)


Bruins end four-game losing streak against USC

By RYAN MENEZES
The Daily Bruin in Men's Basketball, Sports
Published February 3, 2011 Updated: 2:25 PM


MEN’S BASKETBALL
UCLA 64
USC 50


Lazeric Jones drained his first shot attempt of the game over Maurice Jones and shook his head, as if to say, “we’ve got this one.”

Late in the second half, the Joneses were at it again. Maurice, the USC starting guard, streaked down the court ready to turn a one-on-nothing fastbreak into a lay-up, but his UCLA counterpart, Zeek, met him at the rim to sway his shot away.

The Bruins’ junior point guard smiled as the 10,419 at Pauley Pavilion roared its approval. The blue and gold faithful who packed the house weren’t ready to see UCLA lose another one to the cardinal and gold, and Zeek and the Bruins didn’t disappoint in a 64-50 win over the Trojans Wednesday night.

The win improved the Bruins’ record to 15-7, 7-3 in the Pac-10, and brought them to within half a game of first in the conference.

It was the first win in five tries against the crosstown rival Trojans (12-11, 4-6), and the meaning of the win wasn’t lost on the young Bruins, who celebrated on the floor after ending a streak that spanned three seasons.

“Our crowd was fantastic tonight,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said. “I was really, really excited by the amount of electricity in the building and how great our students were.”

The Bruins started hot – making their first five field goals – and they closed the half shooting 58 percent.

“We knew they would play with a sense of urgency after having beaten them four in a row,” USC coach Kevin O’Neill said.

But a number of late defensive lapses resulted in a 9-2 Trojan run and cut the Bruins’ lead to just one at the half.

“All the guys in the locker room were just like, ‘we’ve got to keep our heads in the game,’” said junior guard Malcolm Lee, who scored 13 points.

Trojan forward Alex Stepheson’s dunk after the break put USC up 37-36 – its first lead since 6-5 early – with the two teams trading baskets after the half.

The dynamic frontcourt duo of Stepheson and Nikola Vucevic once again gave the Bruins’ frontline trouble. They combined to score the Trojans’ first eight points of the second half – all in the paint.

But UCLA pulled away shortly thereafter on the heels of its defense, which for a second had looked like it was fading away, just as it had in USC’s win at the Galen Center on Jan. 9.

A USC layup gave UCLA just a one-point edge at 46-45, but the Trojans would score only five points in the remaining 11:43.

The Bruins had been double-teaming Vucevic the entire game, but Howland told sophomore forward Reeves Nelson and freshman center Joshua Smith to keep it to just man-on-man defense during USC’s drought late in the second. Down the stretch, they held Vucevic scoreless and made sure the battle of the bigs didn’t tip the Trojans’ way again.

“With Vucevic you just have to be physical with him,” said Smith, who had a team-leading 15 points and six rebounds, and managed to stay out of foul trouble in a matchup that had given him trouble the first time around.

The fuel of the defense was the passionate Pauley crowd – the largest of the year – which bemoaned every questionable call and cheered every hustle play as the Bruins pulled away.

By the time sophomore forward Tyler Honeycutt put in a two-handed slam over a shove from USC forward Marcus Simmons to extend the UCLA lead to 12, the crowd was as loud as it had been all night – possibly all season – and the nail was in the coffin.

UCLA celebrated much like USC had at the Galen Center – loudly, enthusiastically, and before the final whistle had even blown.

“We were just excited,” Smith said. “Anytime you play your rivals at home and you win, you’re just like ‘We did it.’”

_______________


Bruins guard Malcolm Lee protects the ball, but not his head, from the swipe of Trojans guard Jio Fontan in the first half Wednesday night at Pauley Pavilion. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times / February 2, 2011)


UCLA snaps four-game losing streak to USC in college basketball
By Vincent Bonsignore Staff Writer
The Los Angeles Daily News
Posted: 02/02/2011 10:45:20 PM PST
Updated: 02/02/2011 11:33:13 PM PST


The first week of February is a peculiar one for college basketball teams. The season is at the midway point, conference races are building in intrigue and the allure of March Madness is beginning to mount.

But even with all that, football is front and center, the decisions on where the best 17- and 18-year old high school prospects will play in college pushing aside even the most enticing basketball story.

From that platform - national signing day, no less - UCLA hosted cross-town rival USC in a basketball game Wednesday at Pauley Pavilion.

While the Bruins took a severe beating from the Trojans on the football recruiting trail, they can at least to take some solace with a 64-50 victory, snapping a four-game losing streak against USC.

UCLA moved to 15-7 on the season and 7-3 in the Pacific-10 Conference, a half-game behind Washington and Arizona for first place.

Joshua Smith had 15 points, Malcolm Lee added 13 points and Lazeric Jones had nine for UCLA, which also got eight points from Reeves Nelson.

Jones suffered an injured left hand falling hard to the ground after a dunk attempt. An initial exam showed no break, but he will be re-evaluated today.

Nikola Vucevic led USC with 18 points and Alex Stepheson added 14. The Trojans fell to 12-11 and 4-6 in the Pac-10.

The Bruins pulled away late in the second half, building a 57-47 lead with 4:15 remaining on two free throws by Lee, then holding off the Trojans down the
stretch.

Tyler Honeycutt put it away when he dunked over two Trojans, got fouled and made the free throw to make it 62-50.

"That was a great win for us," UCLA coach Ben Howland said. "Our defense tonight hurt us at times but at the end of the day we held them to 39 percent shooting."

The Bruins had much more to be concerned with than upholding school honor - and maybe band-aiding some of the football program's problems.

They find themselves in the thick of the Pac-10 race and very much in the process of building a case for themselves for the NCAA Tournament.

On top of that, there was that little thing about them losing four straight times to USC, including a 63-52 setback three weeks ago and last year's 67-46 demolishing at Pauley Pavilion, USC's biggest win over UCLA in sixdecades.

"We knew they were going to play with a sense of urgency having beaten them four times in a row," USC coach Kevin O'Neill said. "We didn't get enough stops in the first half to put us in a position to win, and we had a little stretch there at the end where we just couldn't get a basket to go down, missed a bunch of free throws. We just don't have enough as it stands right now."

For a team accustomed to owning Los Angeles on an annual basis, the four consecutive losses were a bitter reminder the Bruins have been losing their grip locally. And a trend they were intent on reversing.

"We knew they had a little run and winning streak on us," Lee said. "And we knew this was going to be a big game, not just for the rivalry but because we're still trying to get in the run for the Pac-10 title. So we knew this was a big game and we came out to work hard."

Initially that seemed exactly what UCLA would do, opening up a nine-point lead midway through the first half behind Lee's 11 points and the nine points from freshman Smith, who had his way inside with two dunks and 3 of 5 shooting.

But the Trojans battled back to within 36-35 at the end of the half, getting 12 points from Vucevic and 10 from Stepheson, both of whom attacked UCLA inside the paint.

Vucevic continued to be a problem in the second half, put Nelson took over on him defensively and held him scoreless over the final six minutes.

"I was so pleased with Reeves' defense because he was one-on-one and he wanted that challenge," Howland said. "He accepted us and did a great job for us."

________________


UCLA forward Reeves Nelson elevates for a dunk over USC guard Marcus Simmons in the first half Wednesday night at Pauley Pavilion. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times / February 2, 2010)


Bruins end skid against Trojans
Published: Feb. 2, 2011
Updated: 11:11 p.m.
By SCOTT M. REID
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER


LOS ANGELES – Reeves Nelson couldn't contain himself.

Maybe it was sting of four consecutive losses to USC.

Or maybe it was the Trojans' curtain call through the final minute of most recent USC victory.

For whatever reason, in the closing moments of UCLA's 64-50 victory against its crosstown rival, decorum was no match for a swell of joy and relief.

And so Bruins forward Nelson and freshman center Smith went "Pete Carroll" through the final seconds of Wednesday night's triumph amid a deafening profane chant at Pauley Pavilion, high-fiving and fist-pumping, putting an exclamation mark on an emphatic victory.

"Players were happy," UCLA coach Ben Howland said.

Was it payback?

"I don't think so," Howland said. "We're not known for revenge or payback."

UCLA outscored USC, 20-9, down the stretch to improve to 15-7 overall, 7-3 in the Pac-10 with former Bruins coach Steve Lavin and giant killer St. John's headed to Pauley for a Saturday morning game.

Smith finished with a team-high 15 points and six rebounds off the bench on a night that had to particularly sweet for the freshman.

Smith fouled out of a 63-52 Trojans victory Jan. 9 with just eight points and three rebounds, none of them on the offensive glass. Rattled on the court, Smith had a meltdown off it, making an obscene gesture toward a group of Trojans fans making inappropriate comments about his parents. Smith then ripped the game's referees.

Smith comments brought a public reprimand by Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott and the promise of suspension if he made additional comments.

Wednesday night Smith set the tone with left-handed slam dunk for his first field goal with 14:43 left in the first half. A minute later he slammed home a right-handed rim rattler.

"Josh was a force tonight," Howland said.

Bruins guard Malcolm Lee scored 11 of his 13 points in a first half in which UCLA led by as much as nine before taking a 36-35 lead into halftime. Lee also helped UCLA hold Trojans guard Maurice Jones to two points.

Nelson added 11 rebounds, eight points. UCLA forward Tyler Honeycutt contributed eight points, nine boards, five assists, two blocked shots and a steal.

"We just came out in the second half and did a good job of executing our game plan," Honeycutt said.

Nikola Vucevic scored a game-high 18 points and seven rebounds to lead a Trojan team (12-11, 4-6) that has now lost five of its last seven games. Alex Stepheson added 14 points and eight rebounds.

But the pair was no match for Smith and the Bruins inside. UCLA outrebounded the Trojans, 39-25 — 24 to 11 in the second half.

When Nelson sank a 16-foot jumper from the right baseline UCLA was off on its game-ending run. Jerime Anderson's 23-foot 3-point jumper from the right side of the arc made it 53-45.

"Jerime really made some timely baskets for us tonight," Howland said.

____________

Bruins center Joshua Smith gets loose for a dunk against USC in the first half Wednesday night at Pauley Pavilion. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times / February 2, 2010)


UCLA gets excited about beating USC

The Bruins end a four-game losing streak in the series with Trojans, 64-50.

By Ben Bolch
The Los Angeles Times
11:10 PM PST, February 2, 2011


It's back on.

A cross-town rivalry that had veered away from the city's basketball blueblood was nudged back in the other direction Wednesday night, UCLA closing the book on what USC had hoped to make a historic chapter in the series.

Thanks to an unusually inspired effort by the Bruins, you still have to go all the way back to 1943 to find a Trojans team that won at least five consecutive games against UCLA.

Freshman center Joshua Smith bounced back in a big way from the team's first meeting and the Bruins' guards badly outplayed their counterparts, helping UCLA pull away for a 64-50 victory that ended the Trojans' four-game winning streak in the series.

Smith punctuated his 15-point, six-rebound effort by wildly flapping his arms and then high-fiving teammates Reeves Nelson and Tyler Honeycutt in the final 30 seconds.

Smith was on the opposite end of a similar celebration last month at the Galen Center and voiced his displeasure with the scene afterward.

"We were excited," Smith said of the scene Wednesday. "Any time you play your rivals at home and you win, we were just [like], 'Hey, we did it.'"

USC big men Nikola Vucevic and Alex Stepheson combined for 32 points and 15 rebounds and it still wasn't enough for the Trojans, who got scant production from guards Jio Fontan and Maurice Jones. Fontan missed all five of his shots, going scoreless for the second time in three games, and Jones had only two points on one-for-four shooting.

By comparison, Malcolm Lee had 13 points, 11 in the first half, and Lazeric Jones nine for the Bruins (15-7 overall, 7-3 Pacific 10 Conference), who outrebounded the Trojans (12-11, 4-6), 39-25. Much of that discrepancy came from the second half, when UCLA had 24 rebounds to USC's 11.

Jones provided a late spark when he trailed USC's Donte Smith on a breakaway, only to catch him and block his shot.

"It was a huge play because he didn't quit, he didn't give up," UCLA Coach Ben Howland said.

Honeycutt missed a three-pointer on UCLA's ensuing possession, but Lee grabbed the rebound and was fouled. Lee made both free throws to give the Bruins a 57-47 lead with 4:15 remaining and energize the season-high crowd of 10,419.

Vucevic (18 points) missed several opportunities from close range in the final minutes after UCLA had stopped double-teaming the USC big man and used Nelson to guard him one on one. The frustration seemed to peak for the Trojans during one late possession in which Smith blocked a shot by Stepheson and then Honeycutt intercepted a pass by Vucevic.

"We had a little stretch there at the end when we couldn't get a basket to go down, missed a bunch of free throws," USC Coach Kevin O'Neill said. "We just don't have enough as it stands right now."

USC trailed by only one midway through the second half after Maurice Jones blew past Tyler Lamb for a layup.

But then the Bruins got rolling, Jerime Anderson making a baseline jumper and Lamb taking an over-the-shoulder pass from Honeycutt for an easy layup. When Anderson buried a fadeaway three-pointer, UCLA had a 53-45 lead and the Trojans were teetering.

It was the start of a potentially emotional but rewarding week for UCLA. On Saturday, the Bruins will play host to St. John's and former UCLA coach Steve Lavin.

UCLA hopes it has Jones after the junior guard fell on his left hand while trying to dunk over a pair of USC players. Howland said Jones probably would have X-rays on the hand.

___________


UCLA point guard Lazeric Jones begins to celebrate in the final seconds of the Bruins' 64-50 victory over USC at Pauley Pavilion on Wednesday night. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times / February 2, 2010)


UCLA turns up the defense to wear down USC

The Bruins hold the Trojans to just 15 second-half points and outrebound them by 14 in the final 20 minutes of 64-50 UCLA victory.

By Baxter Holmes
The Los Angelinos Times
February 4, 2011


A UCLA fan longing for the good old days in Westwood saw a glimpse of them Wednesday night at Pauley Pavilion.

The seconds were ticking off the Bruins' 64-50 win against their crosstown rival USC, and the fan, standing in the bleachers behind the Bruins' basket, knew the way UCLA did it looked awfully familiar.

"That's how the Final Four teams played defense," he said.

UCLA (15-7, 7-3 in Pacific 10 Conference play) turned its one-point halftime lead into a double-digit win with a suffocating defense.

The Bruins held USC (12-11, 4-6) to just 15 second-half points, as the Trojans missed 16 of 23 shots after halftime.

And three of those misses came on fastbreak attempts, such as when UCLA junior guard Lazeric Jones chased down USC senior guard Donte Smith and emphatically swatted his layup attempt with 4 minutes 25 seconds left in the second half, bringing the mostly Bruin blue crowd of 10,419 to its feet.

"Our defense hurt us at times, but the bottom line is that they shot 39%," UCLA Coach Ben Howland said.

As USC missed 31 of 51 shots, including eight of nine from three-point range, the other defensive area that contributed heavily to the bottom line of UCLA's win was rebounding.

Consider:

UCLA went into the locker room at halftime with a one-point lead and a one-rebound advantage.

The Bruins finished with a 14-point victory as they outrebounded the Trojans in the final 20 minutes by 14.

Coincidence? Hardly.

"They scored on those rebounds, too," said USC guard Jio Fontan, who missed all five of his shots from the field and both from the free-throw line.

"That's what killed us."

Aside from holding Fontan scoreless, to which credit is owed the player who guarded him, UCLA sophomore guard Tyler Honeycutt, the Bruins also held USC's other two starting guards, freshman Maurice Jones and senior Marcus Simmons, to seven total points on a combined three-for-seven shooting from the field.

But Howland said the key change came in the final six minutes, when UCLA stopped double-teaming USC junior guard Nikola Vucevic on defense and instead let Reeves Nelson guard him one on one.

And the UCLA sophomore forward won that competition, as Vucevic, who had scored 18 points by then, didn't score the rest of the game.

"Reeves was huge, playing one-on-one against him," Howland said. "He also had 11 rebounds for us and was a force in the paint."

Defense had been USC's calling card. The Trojans entered the game with the Pac-10's second-ranked scoring defense (63.3 points allowed per game).

But USC Coach Kevin O'Neill said his team, which has just a seven-man rotation, was worn down by the depth and talent of UCLA, a fact evident in the Bruins' 26-11 advantage in bench points.

"They have really good talent, let's face it," O'Neill said. "They have talented offensive players. They're a difficult guard for anybody, let alone us with seven guys.

"They're a good team and they're getting better."

For Bruin fans, who have seen their team win six of seven games since falling to USC on Jan. 9, that's some long-awaited good news.

___________


Bruin fans celebrate after UCLA’s 64-50 victory against USC. The Bruins will face former UCLA coach Steve Lavin and St. John’s on Saturday at Pauley Pavilion. Maya Sugarman The Daily Bruin


UCLA basketball: Howland criticizes X-rated chant

February 3rd, 2011, 3:38 pm posted by SCOTT M. REID, UCLA Blog OCREGISTER.COM


Pauley Pavilion rocked throughout UCLA’s 64-50 victory against USC Wednesday night, especially in the second half, with a profane anti-USC chant that seemed to come from all sections of the storied arena.

“(Expletive) SC!”

“(Expletive) SC!”

“(Expletive) SC!”

UCLA coach Ben Howland on Friday was quick to call the chant inappropriate, saying the university would address the issue before the teams’ game in Westwood next season.
“That was obviously something we don’t condone, ” Howland said. “I was very excited about how the crowd (was), especially the students.

“This is a class program. That’s not right. We don’t want that.”

UCLA players have said that Pauley is not as loud this season as other venues in the Pac-10, most notably Arizona’s McKale Center and Oregon’s Matt Court, the brand new Matthew Knight Arena. Howland has been visiting to UCLA fraternities and sororities trying to drum up more support amongst UCLA students.

The cross-town rivalry has long had its nasty moments. Most recently UCLA freshman center Joshua Smith made an obscene gesture to USC fans after the Trojans’ victory at the Galen Center Jan. 9 in response to inappropriate comments the fans made about his parents.

But longtime observers said they could not recall a profane chant as loud and as widespread as Wednesday’s at a game between the rival schools. The chant began before the game started and gained volume and frequency throughout the night.


Quotables: Malcolm Lee, Joshua Smith, Tyler Honeycutt
By Jon Gold on February 4, 2011 5:37 PM
The Los Angeles Daily News




Click on boxscore to enlarge (from Yahoo Sports)

USC-UCLA BASKETBALL NOTES

USC-UCLA BASKETBALL NOTES: Smith wasn't punished
By Jon Gold and Scott Wolf, Staff Writers
The San Bernardino Sun
Posted: 02/02/2011 11:44:56 AM PST


LOS ANGELES - UCLA head coach Ben Howland defended his late-game rotation against Arizona State during Monday's news conference by reiterating he didn't bench center Joshua Smith for a lack of hustle. He was trying to match up with the Sun Devils' smaller lineup.

After blowing a 15-point lead in regulation, the Bruins needed overtime to defeat the pesky Sun Devils on Saturday. Smith was sidelined for much of the end of regulation and the entire overtime.

Smith was caught arguing with referees with less than seven minutes left and Arizona State was afforded a 5-on-4 break, which culminated in a Jamelle McMillan 3-pointer that cut the UCLA lead to 49-44.

"I wouldn't term it benching him; I didn't punish Josh," Howland said. "That one play when I took him out, yeah, I was disappointed. He thought he got fouled. Whether or not he was doesn't matter, they don't blow the whistle, you have to run back. But as the game progressed, even going into overtime, you want to play the guys who've been in there who know the flow of the game.

"If we brought Josh in, that puts Reeves either on (Trent) Lockett, their driver, or on (Rihards) Kuksiks, which is a terrible matchup."


The defense rests

USC coach Kevin O'Neill delivered some blistering remarks to the Trojans during a late-night practice about a lack of intensity.

O'Neill told the Trojans they are 10-1 when holding opponents to less than 40 percent shooting.

Arizona made 61 percent of its shots against the Trojans last Saturday.

"We need to pick it up defensively," O'Neill said. "The difference between this year and last year is our perimeter defense."

Senior forward Alex Stepheson agreed with O'Neill.

"Our intensity needs to get better and it will," he said. "We'll be OK."


Split personality?

UCLA might have a 6-3 record, but a closer look at the statistics shows the Bruins perhaps are a lucky 6-3.

UCLA's scoring differential in Pac-10 contests is just positive 0.3 as the team has averaged 69.4 points and allowed 69.1. The numbers are not so surprising, however, considering the Bruins have three 11-point losses in conference - to Washington, USC and Arizona - and a 10-point win over Stanford on Jan. 22.

"We've been fortunate to win some close games, no question," Howland conceded. "I was so relieved we won (Saturday's) game and I started thinking about it. (We had) big leads at Oregon State, at Arizona State, the game against Cal where that happened.

"Bottom line is we came out on top in all three and I'm very thankful for that."


History lesson

USC players will attempt to beat UCLA for the fifth consecutive time tonight. That would be the longest streak for the Trojans since they defeated UCLA 42 consecutive times between 1932-43.

"I didn't know the last time it happened," Stepheson said.

______________


The Fabulous Forum
The who, what, where, when,
why — and why not — of L.A. sports

USC basketball: Nikola Vucevic expects UCLA fans to chide him for his playing 'like women' comment

By Baxter Holmes
The Los Angeles Times
February 2, 2011 | 8:50 am


After practice Tuesday night, USC junior forward Nikola Vucevic stood outside the Trojans' locker room and answered questions from reporters in person for the first time since he last did that in Arizona on Saturday.

If you remember, he got in a bit of hot water for the comments he made then, after USC's 82-73 loss to Arizona in Tucson.

If you don't remember, no worries.

This is the Internet, where everything lasts forever, so to refresh your memory, here's what he said:

"I felt like we played like women," Vucevic said. "We didn't play hard at all. Every single one of us just played like women."

Vucevic, who leads USC in scoring (16.0 points a game), the Pacific 10 Conference in rebounding (10.0) this season and also has a league-high 12 double-doubles, apologized the next day for his comments, saying he didn't mean to offend anyone, and that his comments were just lost in translation (great movie, by the way).

“It was kind of a mistranslation. I didn’t try to offend anyone," he reiterated again Tuesday night. "I was just trying to say we didn’t play that hard. When you say that at home in Montenegro it means you didn’t play hard, but it doesn’t offend women. But here’s different, and I didn’t know that and I apologize for it."

Vucevic largely learned English when he came to Simi Valley Stoneridge Prep in October 2007, but he often admits that he struggles with common English jargon and translating common Serbian phrases into English.

But apologies aside, Vucevic' comments still drew some unwanted attention (see here, here, here, here) and while it has slowed down, it hasn't stopped, as indicated by how USC senior guard Donte Smith ribbed Vucevic on Tuesday night when Smith walked into USC's locker room.

"We played like women!" Smith said playfully in Vucevic's direction as Vucevic was answering a reporter's question.

Vucevic laughed, but was obviously embarrassed. His teammates have been on him quite a bit about that comment ever since he made it.

"They just laugh about it and ask me why I said that," Vucevic said. "I say, 'I don't know. I don't think.' "

Does he expect to hear about it from UCLA fans during Wednesday night's rivalry rematch at Pauley Pavilion?

"I think I will, but I like this," he said. "I like when the other fans boo me. It makes me play harder."

______________


UCLA men’s basketball aims to keep USC’s win streak at four

By RYAN ESHOFF
The Daily Bruin
Published February 1, 2011 in Men's Basketball, Sports
Updated: 11:44 PM

USC
Today, 8 p.m.
Pauley Pavilion
FSN Prime

UCLA opens the second half of the Pac-10 season with a rematch against USC after losing by 11 points at the Galen Center.


The secret is out. Ben Howland loves “Animal House.”

“What a great movie,” the UCLA basketball coach said at his Monday press conference. “One of the best.”

Maybe Howland enjoys toga parties. Maybe he never misses a good food fight. The likeliest scenario, though, is that he’s inspired by Bluto’s legendary speech at the end of the film.

“Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?” John Belushi’s character famously cried. “Hell no!”
Expect a similar – if not more eloquent and historically accurate – oratory from Howland in advance of tonight’s showdown with crosstown rival USC. Not only have the Trojans (12-10, 4-5 Pac-10) beaten the Bruins (14-7, 6-3) once already this season, they have won the last four contests between the two teams dating back to the 2008-2009 season.

“When anybody beats you four times in a row, especially your main rival, I think you want to beat them more than usual,” sophomore forward Reeves Nelson said. “We’re all going to be really focused on the game.”

USC put a controversial exclamation point on its 63-52 home win over UCLA on Jan. 9 when many Trojans began celebrating, shaking hands and high-fiving with nearly a minute still left in the game.

UCLA players didn’t take too kindly to the gesture. With emotions running high, freshman center Joshua Smith even admitted to making an obscene gesture to a USC fan who allegedly insulted Smith’s family.

Is there any doubt that the rivalry is alive and well?

“It’s more of a pride factor,” sophomore forward Tyler Honeycutt said. “We want to get the win most importantly, but there’s also bragging rights that come from that.”

The two teams have taken divergent paths since that Trojan victory at the Galen Center. UCLA has rattled off wins in five of the six games since, while USC has won just two of its past six games. The Bruins’ recent run of success has them within just one game of conference co-leaders Arizona and Washington.

Still, coming off a mediocre showing in a loss to Arizona and a major second-half letdown in an overtime win over Arizona State, UCLA has its fair share of kinks to work out, chief among them being able to put together 40 minutes of consistent effort. The Bruins completely blew big leads against Cal and Arizona State, and had to roar back after starting off in a major deficit against Stanford.

“We’re still letting teams back into games when we shouldn’t be, but we’re turning the corner,” Honeycutt said.

In its first matchup with USC, UCLA actually led by a couple of points at halftime before Trojan forwards Nikola Vucevic and Alex Stepheson completely took over the game in the second half. Vucevic led all scorers with 20 points, while Stepheson had 13 of his own and pulled down 16 rebounds.

“We’ve got that first game to go on in terms of preparation, but it’s equally difficult,” Howland said. “They played well against us.”

Even with all the chatter centered around the front court, it may have been the UCLA guards that were the story that day. Juniors Lazeric Jones and Malcolm Lee combined for just seven points on one-of-12 shooting, with one mere assist apiece.

This time around, however, Jones is coming off a game in which he shot seven-of-nine from the floor en route to a game-high 18 points against the Sun Devils. Lee is playing some of the best all-around basketball of his career and will be asked to defend USC’s best perimeter scorer, junior Jio Fontan.

Chances are the Bruins won’t be too concerned with where they get their production, as long as it’s enough to snap the losing skid in the rivalry.

Only Lee and fellow junior guard Jerime Anderson have ever witnessed a victory over USC.

For Howland and company, four losses to the Trojans is too many.

“We don’t want to make it five,” he said. “It’s a must-win because we really need it bad for this year’s team.”

With reports from Eli Smukler, Bruin Sports senior staff.

Bruins Open Second Half of Pac-10 Slate with USC

Bruins Open Second Half of Pac-10 Slate with USC

The Bruins lead the all-time series with USC 128-104 and are 37-10 in all-time matchups in Pauley Pavilion.


from the Official UCLA Men's Basketball website
Feb. 2, 2011


LOS ANGELES -


GAMEDAY CENTRAL
DATE: Feb. 2, 2011
SITE: Pauley Pavilion (12,819)
TIP-OFF: 8:07 p.m. (PT)
TV: FSN and Prime Ticket
TALENT: Steve Physioc (play-by-play), Marques Johnson (analyst) and Rebecca Haarlow (sideline)
RADIO (UCLA Sports Network from IMG College): AM 570 KLAC
SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO: 113
SIRIUS XM SATELLITE RADIO: n/a
TALENT: Chris Roberts (play-by-play) and Don MacLean (analyst)
SERIES: UCLA leads 128-104


IN THE POLLS
UCLA is unranked in the AP Top 25 and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll (Jan. 31) and didn't receive any votes in either poll. The USC Trojans (12-10, 4-5) are unranked in both polls, and didn't receive any votes in either poll.


SERIES VS. USC
This is the 233rd meeting between UCLA and the USC Trojans with the Bruins leading the series 128-104. UCLA is 61-21 (.744) against USC at home since 1947. UCLA leads the all-time matchups in Pauley Pavilion 37-10 (.787). Last year, Dwight Lewis hit five 3-pointers while scoring 24 points, and USC rolled to its biggest victory ever at Pauley Pavilion, posting a 67-46 victory. Nikola Vucevic had 19 points and six rebounds for the Trojans, who had their biggest win over UCLA anywhere since the 1940s. Malcolm Lee and Michael Roll lead the Bruin with 12 points each. Earlier this season, Nikola Vucevic scored 20 points to lead Southern California's inside game and the Trojans defeated UCLA 63-52 for their fourth straight win over UCLA. Alex Stepheson had 13 points and 16 rebounds while Jio Fontan added 10 points despite being in foul trouble for USC. Reeves Nelson scored 14 points and Jerime Anderson added 11 for UCLA. Joshua Smith scored eight points, playing much of the second half with four fouls. Tyler Honeycutt had 10 points and nine rebounds for the Bruins. Head Coach Ben Howland is 9-8 all-time against USC.


BRUINS' INJURY REPORT
Sophomore forward Reeves Nelson sprained his left ankle late in the game in the win over Stanford (Jan. 22). He sprained the same ankle again in the final minutes of the overtime win at Arizona State (Jan. 29). He practiced on Monday, Jan. 31 and should be ready to go this week when the Bruins host USC on Feb. 2 and St. John's on Feb. 5.

Scoop Dreams: UCLA men’s basketball team in need of a stable leader

Junior guard Lazeric Jones looks to provide the Bruins with leadership as they head into the second half of Pac-10 play. Jones was named a captain this season.

Scoop Dreams: UCLA men’s basketball team in need of a stable leader

By ELI SMUKLER
The Daily Bruin in Men's Basketball, Sports
Published February 1, 2011 Updated: 12:15 AM



Do you ever find yourself saying, “I’m getting too old for this?”

If not, you haven’t been watching the UCLA men’s basketball team.

It’s enough to gray your hairs and make you vote Republican.

On Saturday, UCLA somehow turned a 15-point lead over Arizona State (1-7 in the Pac-10) into a one-point, brow-wiping, overtime victory.

And this ain’t a first-time offense.

Against Oregon State, UCLA wrecked a 17-point second-half advantage before scraping by in the game’s final minutes. With California visiting a week earlier, the Bruins couldn’t even hold onto a nine-point lead with 2:29 remaining, yet they won that one too.

Watching this team, I feel like a parent who has given the keys to the Toyota to my freshly licensed 16-year-old, except the Toyota is my sanity. Coach Ben Howland might agree.

“I was just so relieved we won the game,” he admitted on Monday.

So, what’s the deal here? Is it really that this team is just too young to play consistently?

The Bruins don’t have a senior on the squad this year, which is often suggested as an explanation for why they can hold a lead about as well as they can hold a puddle.

That sounds like ageist rhetoric if I ever heard it. In the end, the cohesion of any sports team is as much about personality as it is tenure.

Heck, I’m a senior. Take my word for it.
But this team does need a leader.

You know who I miss most right now? Michael Roll. By the end of his five years in the program, the now-graduated shooting guard could be a stone-faced assassin when he got hot.

He had a steady hand and a steady voice this team could really use, especially when it gets down to crunch time and things start to unravel as it has recently.

Instead, this Bruin team is emotional, which can be both good and bad.

When sophomore forward Reeves Nelson gets fired up, you might as well clear the lane because nothing is stopping him from getting to the rim. That’s why he leads the team in scoring and rebounding. That’s why he is a crowd favorite. That’s why he’s necessary.

But when he gets down, boy, it’s like the whole world has turned blue and the price of smiles just went through the roof.

UCLA needs a guy that the players can glance at between plays to assess how they should be feeling, a mood ring if you will.

Sophomore forward Tyler Honeycutt could be that guy. Off the court and in the huddle, he has enough poise and bravado to command the attention of his teammates. Plus, he very well could be the Bruins’ best player.

If Honeycutt – who, in all fairness, was battling the flu during the team’s last game – steps up to that role despite being just a second-year college player, then the Bruins are one step closer to being a top-tier team.

Then there’s Lazeric Jones.

From a faraway place called Chicago, juco transfer Jones was named captain of this team the very same year he joined it. Just the situation itself was a lot of pressure to put on a guy.

He may not be the best guard in the league, but Jones has handled that burden well.

Maybe all the Bruins’ mystery boils down to Zeek. When he’s on his game, so are they, but when’s he’s not, the team has faltered. The stats seem to say so.

Since Pac-10 play started, Jones is averaging 15.7 points in each of the Bruins’ six wins. In their three losses, he has five points total.

In interviews with the media, Jones is articulate and introspective. After the all-too-close win in Tempe, Ariz., Jones talked about how his team kept composure going into the extra period.

“Out of regulation we just said that it was a new game,” Jones said. “We let everything that happened go and played hard.”

Before overtime started, UCLA had gone four-for-28 from beyond the arc in the previous 80 minutes of basketball it had played, a dismal 0.143 percentage.

Jones shook it off though, and hit a 3-pointer on the first possession of the overtime. His team followed his lead and knocked down two more.

After a zero-for-seven shooting night in Tucson two nights previous, Jones was determined to improve not just his game, but his image.

“I feel like I kind of let my team down during the Arizona game,” he said. “Right now I’m just on the path to try to regain their respect and step up and be the leader that my coaches want me to be.”

It’s that kind of attitude, at any age, that wins games.


With reports from Sam Strong, Bruin Sports senior staff.

Smukler co-hosts Overtime with Daily Bruin Sports, which airs every Monday at 6:30 p.m. on uclaradio.com. E-mail Smukler at esmukler@media.ucla.edu.

These Bruins' relationships are put to the test

These Bruins' relationships are put to the test

Bruins center Anthony Stover and forwards David and Travis Wear date USC students, which could make for an interesting time Wednesday when the teams meet.

UCLA FYI
January 31, 2011|By Ben Bolch
The Los Angelinos Times


There actually could be love lost when crosstown rivals UCLA and USC meet Wednesday night at Pauley Pavilion.

UCLA center Anthony Stover and forwards Travis and David Wear all date USC students, making for some interesting exchanges before and after games.


"She was at the SC game wearing her big SC shirt," Stover said Monday of his girlfriend, who is preparing for medical school. "She made sure I saw it right after we lost, so I'm making sure we get this win so we have something to say back to her."

David Wear, who is a redshirt along with his twin brother this season after transferring from North Carolina, dates Christina Marinacci, a sophomore forward for the USC women's basketball team. Can dating someone from your rival school get a little uncomfortable?

"It's not very awkward," said Stover, who expects his girlfriend to sit with his parents Wednesday. "It's a little competitive. We talk a little smack back and forth, but it's just all out of fun."


Thin red frontline

UCLA is about to play USC, so Joshua Smith is in a foul mood.

As in, the Bruins big man hopes to draw lots of them on Nikola Vucevic and Alex Stepheson to keep the Trojans' starting frontline duo on the bench as long as possible.

"They're really, really thin with their backup post players and I know for a fact if we get one of [the starters] in foul trouble, they're going to have to put somebody else in and they're not as effective," Smith said. "So that's my goal."

The more UCLA sees of Garrett Jackson and Curtis Washington, Smith figures, the better.

Jackson, USC's primary backup big man at an undersized 6 feet 6, is averaging four points in 11 minutes per game, and Washington has played 11 minutes this season.

Compare that with Vucevic (16.6 points and 10.0 rebounds per game) and Stepheson (9.6 points and 8.9 rebounds) and it's easy to see why Smith wants to keep the Trojans starters off the court.


Defensive musings

After Vucevic shredded UCLA for 20 points on nine-for-16 shooting during USC's 63-52 victory last month, Bruins Coach Ben Howland noted that nearly all of the forward's baskets in the half-court offense came while being defended by Brendan Lane.

"He outweighs him by 40 pounds," Howland said of the 6-10, 240-pound Vucevic. "He's a hard matchup for anybody, but for Brendan it was especially difficult. He was able to just knock him back and get to wherever he wanted to go."

As a result, Howland said he would try to avoid that matchup Wednesday. But the coach said he wouldn't consider using a zone defense against the Trojans even though they have struggled against one all season.

"Never say never," Howland said, "but I'm not planning on playing any zone."


Etc.

Forward Reeves Nelson said his sprained left ankle was bothering him Monday, two days after he exacerbated the injury by stepping on Trent Lockett's foot while trying to block out the Arizona State guard at the free-throw line in the final minute of regulation. Nelson initially injured the ankle against Stanford on Jan. 22. … Howland was scheduled to visit a fraternity and two sororities Monday evening, the second time during the last two homestands he has done so. "It's not so much drumming up fans," Howland said. "I just want them to know how important they are and how much we appreciate their support."

UCLA men’s basketball hopes to unravel USC front court in its second matchup against the Trojans

Reeves Nelson has been a crucial part of the Bruins’ front court this season.

UCLA men’s basketball hopes to unravel USC front court in its second matchup against the Trojans

By BRANTLEY WATSON
The Daily Bruin in Men's Basketball, Sports
Published February 1, 2011 Updated: 12:15 AM


During a team’s season, there are always defining moments.

A win at Kansas would have been just that for the UCLA men’s basketball team, but the Bruins came up one point short. Then, the Bruins lost to Montana at Pauley Pavilion in their next game, a loss that seems to have overshadowed a win over Brigham Young, which was the Cougars’ only loss until a few days ago.

But come Wednesday, the Bruins will once again have a chance to define their season when they host crosstown rival USC, who they lost to on Jan. 9.

And if UCLA took anything from that matchup, it was that Wednesday’s game will again be defined by what happens inside the key.

In that game, USC’s starting front court of Alex Stepheson and Nikola Vucevic out-scored the Bruin’s starting bigs Reeves Nelson and Joshua Smith, 33-22, and out-rebounded Nelson and Smith, 20-11 – two telling statistics that ultimately decided the game.

Nelson and coach Ben Howland are well aware of what must change if the Bruins hope to win the inside battle in the second go-around with the Trojans.

“We’re just going to have to focus on them because they kind of drive their team,” Nelson said.

“We’ve got that first game to go on in terms of preparation, but it’s equally difficult,” Howland added. “They are a team that’s very dangerous and they are a hard matchup for us.”

Smith, however, took a slightly different approach as far as what he plans to do in order to neutralize the USC big men, a plan that highlights the Bruins’ aggressiveness on the offensive end.

“They have a pretty good front court with Vucevic and Stepheson, but outside of that they’re really, really thin with their backup post players,” Smith said. “I know for a fact that if we get one of them in foul trouble they’re going to have to put somebody else in. They’re not as effective as they are with both of them in, so that’s probably one of my goals.”

Ironically enough, it is usually Smith hearing the whistle blow, and the referee pointing in his direction.

In the last head-to-head meeting between the two L.A. schools, Smith played much of the second half with four fouls, and has battled foul trouble for most of the season.

And if Wednesday’s game is anything like the first meeting in which 34 fouls were called throughout the course of the game, Smith will have to be extra careful not to put the game in the hands of the referees once again.

“The refs aren’t in my head at all,” Smith said. “I try my best. I haven’t really said anything to the refs really in the last couple of weeks.”

Despite sitting in third in the Pac-10 standings and having barely split their weekend games in Arizona, Smith claims that the Bruins have something that other teams in the conference are lacking.

“We have a pretty good front court and back court,” Smith said. “Half of the teams in the Pac-10 either have one or the other and I feel that we have both. We just have to be the aggressors and make other teams play toward us.”

With reports from Eli Smukler, Bruin Sports senior staff.

Recruiting blunders are taking their toll on UCLA

Recruiting blunders are taking their toll on UCLA

Bruins Coach Ben Howland says the program, which is now struggling, made mistakes by misidentifying or simply letting good prospects go to other schools.

By Ben Bolch
The Los Angeles Times
5:58 PM PST, February 1, 2011



The kids were all right. Nothing spectacular, Ben Howland and his coaching staff figured.

Derrick Williams of La Mirada and Kawhi Leonard of Riverside King were good high school basketball players but didn't warrant an offer from UCLA.

So Howland passed, even though he prides himself on stocking the UCLA roster with area players and had won big in recent seasons thanks in part to under-the-radar recruits.

Whoops!

After signing with USC, Williams left for Arizona in the wake of the Trojans' NCAA entanglement and has become the most dynamic forward in the Pacific 10 Conference. Leonard went to San Diego State and is projected as a possible NBA lottery pick.

"We did a poor job not evaluating them as well as we should have," Howland said recently.

The duo is among a series of recruiting miscalculations that have triggered the Bruins' precipitous drop since their run of three consecutive Final Four appearances. Indeed, less than three years after that span of success, the Bruins will be trying Wednesday night to end at four games a losing streak against their football-focused crosstown rival.

Perceptions about UCLA's program have recently changed in some circles, where Westwood is viewed as a less-desirable destination than it had been earlier in Howland's tenure.

"From my observation, UCLA is not held in as high esteem as it was three years ago," said Bob Gibbons, a North Carolina-based national recruiting expert. "For some reason, players are leaving the area and going east."

Part of the migration might be attributable to disenchantment with certain aspects of Howland's coaching. Stan Love, whose son Kevin led UCLA to its last Final Four appearance in 2008, acknowledged speaking with the family of Portland (Ore.) Jesuit High standout forward Kyle Wiltjer, but declined to disclose what he told them.

Wiltjer, who was pursued by the Bruins, signed with Kentucky.

"I like Ben. It's UCLA," Stan Love said, speaking generally about his thoughts on the program. "But you do have to play modern basketball. We could have won the championship if he would have taken the reins off a little bit. Sometimes, you have to outscore the other team; you can't just 'D up' all the time."

Kevin Love, now a standout center for the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves, was diplomatic when asked whether Howland suppressed his players' offensive talents.

"Could [Howland] have let a little bit of freedom go on the offensive end?" Love said. "Yes and no. But as far as defensively, he's prepared everybody at the highest level."

Howland went to great lengths before this season to trumpet a faster-paced, more free-flowing offense, something Kevin Love and his father said they believed was designed in part to help the coach lure top recruits. Howland denied there was a recruiting component to his change in philosophy.

The Bruins appeared poised to maintain their lofty national standing after Kevin Love's departure when they secured what was widely tabbed as the country's top-ranked recruiting class in 2008. Three years later, that class's legacy has largely been one of disappointment.

Jrue Holiday bolted for the NBA after one so-so season. Drew Gordon and J'mison Morgan were bad fits who transferred. Jerime Anderson underperformed, prompting Howland to dip into the junior college ranks to find a starting point guard.

Only Malcolm Lee, the Bruins' starting shooting guard and best perimeter defender, has lived up to expectations.

The early departure of Holiday left UCLA particularly short-handed because the Bruins have been unable to acquire the type of playmaking point guard that fueled their Final Four runs.

The Bruins have also had trouble replacing some of the gritty, hardworking players that Howland brought in earlier in his coaching tenure, grinders such as Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Alfred Aboya.

"Those guys were special," Howland said, "and we need to find more guys like them."

Howland's last two recruiting classes have been solid but unspectacular. Some might say that's reflected in the way the inconsistent Bruins have performed this season.

"You've got to get one or two blue-chippers every year if you're going to maintain your program at the level Ben Howland had when he had Final Four teams," Gibbons said, "and therein lies the problem: He has not been able to do it."

The competition for such players is fierce, of course, even from across town.

USC prevailed when forward Alex Stepheson transferred from North Carolina.

The former North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake standout said he picked the Trojans over the Bruins in part because he "wanted to help create a great program for USC and be a part of it, as opposed to just blending in at UCLA."

Howland makes no secret of his preference for area players such as Stepheson because he said they typically come from tight-knit, academically oriented families that fit the UCLA mold. On the current roster, nine of the 11 scholarship players hail from California, including seven from Southern California.

But there have been area players who got away besides Williams and Leonard. California's Allen Crabbe, a leading candidate for Pac-10 freshman of the year, could have been a Bruin.

"He was being recruited by UCLA and really wanted to go there, but they kind of backed off because he didn't develop like they thought he would," said Crabbe's father, also named Allen.

Howland said Crabbe wanted to make his commitment before his junior year at Los Angeles Price High, but the Bruins weren't ready to pull the trigger — which he now calls "a huge blunder."

How can UCLA pull out of its recruiting funk?

"This is a phase they're going through," Gibbons said of the Bruins, "and I think it will rectify itself beginning with getting top players in the Class of 2012."

Assuming, of course, UCLA can accurately identify who they might be.