At the beginning of the season, tonight’s game against
Washington State looked like a gift from the Pac-10 schedule
makers.
It was supposed to be a low pressure, unimportant game to give
UCLA a chance to pad their wins while tuning up for the Pac-10 and
NCAA tournaments.
However, 12 conference losses later, the Bruins find themselves
in desperate need of any win they can get.
Granted, their hopes of even making the Pac-10 tournament lie
mostly on the outcome of Saturday’s game against
Washington.
But if UCLA (7-18 overall, 4-12 Pac-10) does go to the
conference tournament, a win tonight will go a long way to helping
the team build momentum and confidence.
“This is like championship week moved up,” UCLA head
coach Steve Lavin said. “If you play well against the
Washington schools, that gives you a chance to play well in the
conference tournament, and if you play well there then you have a
chance to play well in the NCAA tournament.”
When these two teams last met in Pullman, it looked as if UCLA
might be finally coming together as a team.
They had just pulled off a victory against Washington, and then,
a game later, forward Jason Kapono exploded for 44 points against
the Cougars to move UCLA to 2-0 in the Pac-10.
Fast-forward to today, at which point both teams have much
different identities.
UCLA has struggled for each of its four conference wins, whereas
Washington State (7-18, 2-14) has won two straight after starting
out losing its first 14 in the Pac-10.
“I guess they are considered a hot team right now,”
Kapono said. “A lot of Pac-10 teams have had problems this
year with the Cougars.”
Washington State took Stanford to overtime this season before
losing, and they were tied with Arizona late in the second
half.
But, much like their opponent tonight, they have generally come
up with a key turnover or missed shot in order to fumble the game
away.
As for the Bruins, they are still trying to remain upbeat
despite the disappointing nature of the season.
“Maybe we’ll be the first 9-20 team to go to the
NCAA tournament,” Kapono said.
Maybe, but probably not.