On Saturday, when then-No. 2 UCLA took on West Virginia in Morgantown, W.Va., the Bruins kept themselves in the game for the majority of the first half, but began to fall apart with halftime approaching and dug themselves a hole too deep to climb out of.
“We really had a hard time scoring the last seven minutes of the first half,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said.
The Bruins’ woes carried over into the first several minutes after halftime, as the Mountaineers took a 19-point lead and UCLA was unable to score a field goal for more than nine straight minutes.
“Our inability to make a couple layups early in the second half really fueled their (run),” Howland said. “We had a couple layups where you either want to get fouled, get it blocked, or make the shot, not (miss) it from three feet.”
The Bruins aren’t ones to make excuses, but the loss of starting point guard Darren Collison due to a shoulder injury, could very well be the most significant reason for the stagnant offense and inability to go on a run at an earlier point.
Collison has played a crucial role in several UCLA second-half comebacks throughout the season, hitting pivotal 3-pointers against USC on the road and finding open teammates in other close battles.
“When you rely on something throughout the course of the season and it’s taken away, no matter who it is, and they’re not there to provide it, it’s tough,” junior Arron Afflalo said. “He’s a fiery leader in those moments. There are certain moments in games like this where you need somebody to make some type of big play.”
UPDATED RANKINGS: The Bruins dropped three spots to No. 5 in The Associated Press poll and five spots to No. 7 in the ESPN/USA Today poll after their loss to the Moutaineers.
Ohio State, Wisconsin and North Carolina jumped ahead of UCLA in the AP Top 25, as the Buckeyes attained their highest ranking since 1991.
In the Pac-10, there are still five ranked teams, with only Stanford dropping from the top 25 after suffering losses to both Washington and Washington State on the road.
The No. 10 Cougars are now just a half-game behind the Bruins in a race for their first ever Pac-10 title.
For the first time since the release of the 1996-1997 preseason poll, the Duke Blue Devils are nowhere to be found in the AP Top 25 poll.
The Blue Devils’ streak ended at 200 consecutive weeks, just 21 weeks shy of the Bruin record which lasted from the 1966-67 preseason poll to Jan. 8, 1980. Much of Duke’s demise in the rankings is due to four straight losses, the first time such a streak has occurred in 11 years.
THOMPSON, FARMAR ANNOUNCED:Former Bruins Dijon Thompson and Jordan Farmar were recently announced as participants in this weekend’s NBA All-Star festivities.
Thompson, who signed two 10-day contracts earlier this season with the Atlanta Hawks, will represent the Western Division in the NBA Development League All-Star game as a member of the NBDL’s Albuquerque T-Birds. Farmar, who is averaging 5.4 points and 2.1 assists per game for the Los Angeles Lakers, is on the team in the NBA Rookie Challenge.