Fans might call it New York versus Los Angeles, or East Coast
versus West Coast.
But in tomorrow’s matchup against St. John’s (7-4,
1-1 Big East), the Bruins’ most ardent opponents just might
be themselves.
“We have to clean up our deficiencies,” said UCLA
head coach Steve Lavin.
Bouncing back might be easier said than done in the wake of
Wednesday night’s crushing loss to USC after which many of
the Bruins openly questioned the heart and passion of the team.
“But we can’t sulk and pout about it,” said
senior Jason Kapono, who is looking to rebound from an ice-cold
4-for-15 shooting performance against the Trojans.
If UCLA (4-6, 2-1 Pac-10) still has any hopes of qualifying for
the NCAA tournament, the team will need to improve on its 2-5
nonconference record.
And playing a cold St. John’s team just might be the key.
After jumping out of the gates 5-0, the Red Storm are 2-4 in their
last six games. They have also lost their last two games on the
road
“It’s similar to last year,” Lavin said.
“We lost to USC on a Wednesday and then beat No. 1 Kansas on
Saturday.”
But against Kansas last year, the Bruins’ three top
scorers were Matt Barnes, Billy Knight, and Dan Gadzuric, all of
whom have graduated.
And St. John’s’ top player, guard Marcus Hatten, is
one of the hottest players in college basketball. He has averaged
25.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per contest in last three games, and
his efforts last week in wins against Niagara and Seton Hall earned
him the Big East Player of the Week Award.
If UCLA wants to come away with a victory, it will need to shut
down the 6-foot-1 Hatten, one of the highest scoring guards on the
East Coast.
One of the players who could be saddled with the responsibility
of shadowing Hatten is forward Dijon Thompson. Despite
Hatten’s recent success, UCLA’s athletic swing man
doesn’t think containing him will be too difficult of a
problem.
“We’ll come back and get a win on Saturday,”
he said.
The Bruins only have two nonconference games left,
tomorrow’s game and a matchup at Georgetown in February.
Their only non-conference wins thus far this season have been
against Long Beach State and Portland, not exactly an impressive
resume to bring before the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee in
March.
Therefore, wins against their final two nonconference opponents,
St. John’s and Georgetown, are crucial to getting a
tournament bid unless the Bruins sparkle in Pac-10 play throughout
the rest of the season.
“We have to get some wins, but especially in the
Pac-10,” senior guard Ray Young said.
St. John’s is 4-2 all-time against UCLA, and won the last
meeting, 72-64, at Pauley Pavilion in 1987, the last year the
Bruins missed the NCAA Tournament. If the Bruins want to make
themselves into postseason contenders, they cannot let history
repeat itself.