If you ask Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, he didn’t do much
more against Oregon than he has in any other game this season. But
even before the game started, his teammates noticed the difference.
“I could definitely see it in his eyes,” junior guard
Arron Afflalo said. “The way he displayed it in warm-ups
““ all the little things that let you know somebody’s
ready to play.” Mbah a Moute had one of his finest games of
the year against Oregon, scoring 15 points on 6-6 shooting while
adding 12 rebounds, four blocks and four steals. Prior to
Thursday’s game, Mbah a Moute had gone five consecutive games
without scoring more than six points in a game. In the loss to
Stanford on Sunday, Mbah a Moute got into foul trouble and finished
the game with just four points and two rebounds. Against the Ducks,
Mbah a Moute didn’t pick up early fouls and was paced by
coach Ben Howland, who gave him more rest than he normally would
considering he was not in foul trouble. “One thing that was
better tonight was playing Luc a few less minutes,” Howland
said. “People may not realize, but the difference between
playing 31 and 36 minutes is huge. “I thought Luc’s
minutes tonight were just unbelievably terrific.” Mbah a
Moute didn’t feel like he was doing things much differently
than normal against Oregon and that it was simply a matter of
opportunities presenting themselves at the right time.
“I’ve always been involved in the game,” Mbah a
Moute said. “It was just one of those games where I had a
better scoring game than the other games.” Mbah a Moute has
answered questions about his inconsistent productivity all season
long and has always insisted that so long as the team is winning,
he doesn’t care about his numbers. After coming up with his
best game of conference play in UCLA’s biggest game to date,
he remained consistent with his words. “I haven’t heard
anybody say I’ve been having a bad year ““ I try not to
hear those things,” Mbah a Moute said. “It’s not
about me, its about UCLA. As long as the team’s having a good
year, I’m fine with it.”
REST, REST, REST: After the game, Howland said
he would limit the Bruins to walk-throughs today and relax the
practice load for the rest of the week. Howland cited the
Bruins’ tough practices last Thursday and Friday as culprits
in the their loss to Stanford on Sunday and wants to make sure the
players are fresh for the Oregon State game on Saturday.
“That loss has a lot to do with me,” Howland said.
“Our legs in the second half were shot because I practiced
them way too long. “We will have our legs come Saturday,
2:30.”
DRIBBLERS: Thursday’s game was the
Bruins’ first win over a top-10 team at home since Kansas in
2002. … Sophomore point guard Darren Collison was announced
Thursday among 17 finalists for the Bob Cousy Award, which goes to
the nation’s top point guard. … After Collison assisted a
Josh Shipp dunk in the second half, Howland said he would have
liked to have looked back at legendary coach John Wooden because he
knew Collison’s fundamental jump stop would make him
proud.