Friday, February 5, 1999
Bruins to avenge loss to Beavers
PREVIEW: Team believes being at home helpful in Oregon State
rematch
By AJ Cadman
Daily Bruin Staff
Oregon State students call Gill Coliseum in Corvallis the "House
of Payne." But Sunday, the UCLA men’s basketball team invites the
Beavers onto its home court to avenge the painful loss that was
dished out by head coach Eddie Payne’s team four weeks ago.
The Beavers’ (11-7, 5-4 Pac-10) perfect record on the friendly
confines of their home floor has been one of the key factors
resulting in Oregon State’s surprising fourth-place standing in the
Pac-10 Conference this season. Yet, they will not have this
advantage as the Beavers face a focused Bruin squad at 1:30 p.m.
this Sunday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion.
"Eddie Payne has done a great job in getting in getting (the
team) to buy the team concept – to accept the game plan,"said UCLA
head coach Steve Lavin. "He has identified players’ roles (on the
team) and the players have accepted them."
UCLA (15-5, 6-3 Pac-10) enters this weekend’s contest off a
crushing loss last Sunday at Edmundson Pavilion to the Washington
Huskies, 93-83. The Sunday matinee against the Beavers, a preseason
pick to finish last in the Pac-10, is a rematch of the first
conference road game for the young Bruin squad. Back in early
January, UCLA faced an upstart Beaver squad shooting only 28.4
percent from the field.
Although its 1-7 road record has kept it from joining the
conference elite, Oregon State is second in the Pac-10 in scoring
defense, allowing only 59 points per game. The team leads the
conference in field goal defense, allowing opponents to shoot just
37 percent.
"(Oregon State) plays defense for the entire possession," says
Lavin about the Beavers’ playing style. "They shorten possessions
and shorten the game. They limit the offensive possessions that
their opponent gets."
Oregon State’s go-to guy is sophomore guard Deaundra Tanner. He
is eighth and seventh in the conference in scoring and assists
respectively. The matchup between Tanner and the Bruins’ Baron
Davis should play a major factor on Sunday.
UCLA puts its 9-1 home record on the line against the Beavers.
The Bruins counter with a suffocating defense of their own, which
has proven almost unbeatable when UCLA goes to a full-court press.
The Bruins are third in the Pac-10 in allowing opponents to shoot
41.1 percent from the field. They hold the No. 2 slot in blocks and
turnover margin, while holding the top spot in steals with almost
11 per game.
"This is going to be an incredible stretch of high level games,"
said Lavin about the latter half of the Pac-10 season. "I hope we
get our second wind at the end of our conference schedule."
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