NEW YORK “”mdash; The sting of a fifth consecutive defeat
apparently subsided quickly.
No more than a half-hour after Saturday’s crippling 71-55
loss to St. John’s, several UCLA players had already
seemingly forgotten about the outcome as they shared jokes and
snapped photos of one another inside the hallowed hallways of
Madison Square Garden.
That’s certainly not the picture of despair UCLA fans
might have envisioned after watching the Bruins fall victim to a
Red Storm squad that had lost seven straight games.
Now, as UCLA heads home to warmer weather, it must face the cold
truth that its once-promising season is on the verge of
unraveling.
“We’re in a really bad position right now,”
said senior T.J. Cummings. “We’ve lost five games in a
row. We just have to start from scratch.”
Re-learning the basics is not a luxury most teams can afford at
this stage of the season, but the Bruins (9-8) may not have a
choice. They’re not rebounding or defending, and they
aren’t sure why. Some attribute it to a lack of effort,
others to an inability to execute, but UCLA coach Ben Howland
believes that a personnel shake-up may be the only cure.
Howland plans to alter his lineup beginning Thursday against
Washington State, meaning that at least one starter, perhaps Dijon
Thompson ““ who sat out the start of the second half Saturday
““ may be headed to the bench.
“It’s really hard for me to understand why we played
so poorly,” Howland said. “This was a great opportunity
for the kids playing at Madison Square Garden in front of a
national television audience. We’re going to go back to the
drawing board.”
Four straight conference losses were already tough to swallow
for the Bruins, but a loss to St. John’s (5-13) was simply
inexcusable. Winless in Big East conference play, the Red Storm
have already lost to the likes of Fairfield and Hofstra at home and
are stumbling through their worst season in more than 80 years.
But UCLA’s lackadaisical first-half performance allowed
St. John’s to find its legs and ultimately bury the Bruins.
The Red Storm shredded the 2-3 zone defense that Howland unveiled
to combat their dribble penetration ““ knocking down eight
first-half three-pointers and taking a 41-24 lead into the locker
room.
Elijah Ingram tallied 18 of his game-high 21 points in the first
half and shot 5-for-10 from behind the arc.
“Even in the zone they were able to penetrate and kick
effectively,” Howland said.
Whenever the St. John’s guards did miss from three-point
range, they frequently got another look at the basket. Outsized at
every position on the floor, the Red Storm nonetheless held a 27-13
advantage on the glass by halftime and out-rebounded UCLA by 19 for
the game. The Red Storm blocked four shots and repeatedly ripped
loose balls out of the hands of the Bruin players on both ends of
the floor.
UCLA switched to its trademark man-to-man defense in the second
half, but never got closer than 11 points. Each time it appeared
the Bruins might make it close, St. John’s pounded the ball
inside to forwards Lamont Hamilton and Kyle Cuffe, stifling what
little momentum UCLA managed to gather.
“As a team we just outhustled them,” Ingram said.
“They weren’t as physical as we were, and we took
advantage of that.”
Hearing that must be particularly vexing for Howland, who
returned to the East Coast for the first time since leaving
Pittsburgh to come to UCLA after last season. Howland has prided
himself on instilling a tough, physical brand of basketball
wherever he goes, but his current crop of players is certainly
having some difficulty adjusting to that style on the court.
If the Bruins continue to play this poorly, they can forget
about the NCAA tournament or even a return trip to Madison Square
Garden for the semifinals of the NIT.
“It’s frustrating,” Thompson said. “We
started out 5-0 (in conference play) and we had high hopes. Now
we’ve lost five in a row, and it’s like: “˜What
are we doing?'”
From their shoulder shrugs, it looks like none of the Bruins are
too sure right now, but with the second half of conference play
beginning Thursday, they know they need to figure it out soon.
And fast.