UCLA’s 79-72 loss to Oregon State was pathetic.
The Bruins were thoroughly outplayed. At one point, they were
losing by 22 in the first half to a Beaver team that did not win a
single conference road game.
Not only did UCLA get outhustled and outmuscled, the Bruins were
simply not the better basketball team.
“We were a step slow,” freshman Jordan Farmar said.
“They played with more intensity, more passion.”
Indeed.
Does all that matter though?
Nope.
The Bruins are going to the NCAA Tournament, regardless.
That’s the bottom ““ and only truly important ““
line.
On Sunday, the all-mighty and very handsome members of the NCAA
Tournament Selection Committee will send UCLA as a No. 8 or No. 9
seed somewhere far away to play in the first round for the right to
play a No. 1 seed in the second round.
Before the Oregon State loss, UCLA had hopes of earning a No. 7
seed with a good Pac-10 Tournament showing, which would have meant
an easier road to the Sweet 16.
Don’t worry, they’ll still get there.
Any Bruin fan optimistic enough to dream of UCLA advancing to
the NCAA Tournament’s second weekend will not be deterred by
a slightly lower seed.
Nor will they be deterred by Thursday’s play.
Should they be worried, though?
I don’t necessarily think so.
Everyone had been harping on how well UCLA has been playing
during its four-game win streak.
It’s possible that UCLA became a little complacent. To win
lately, the Bruins have relied on their jump shots falling and the
fact they were the superior team ““ as was the case against
the Oregon schools last weekend.
Maybe this loss is a blessing in disguise in that it makes the
Bruins re-evaluate themselves before the NCAA Tournament.
“We are going to watch tape of this game as a team,”
UCLA coach Ben Howland said. “We definitely don’t want
to let this game leave a taste in our mouth.”
One thing that has become apparent is that UCLA lives and dies
with the jump shot. Thursday, the Bruins made just seven of an
outrageous 27 attempts from behind the arc.
It has taken three frustrating years to get to this point and I
still can’t believe I’m saying this, but they need to
get the ball to Michael Fey. When the shots aren’t falling
from deep, he can be a consistent offensive option down low. He
inexplicably took just three shots Thursday.
When UCLA isn’t shooting well, the Bruins’
confidence falls along with their defensive intensity, which may
explain Thursday’s repeated violation of one of the basic
tenets of basketball ““ don’t leave goofy-looking
European guys open.
These letdown games have been peppered over the year ““
against Stanford twice and Cal once.
On the other hand, when the Bruins are on ““ as in the
Washington and Notre Dame wins ““ they can look so very
teasingly good.
In the end, though, all this analyzing and nitpicking still
doesn’t alter the facts.
You can’t argue with this formula. It has gotten UCLA
further than most predicted.
It’s not the stuff of national champions.
But UCLA is going to the NCAA Tournament, and at this moment,
nothing else matters.
Peters is a basketball columnist for the 2004-2005 season.
E-mail him at bpeters@media.ucla.edu.