If there’s one thing that has become apparent in UCLA’s last couple of games, it’s that everyone seems to be brimming with confidence offensively.
Early in the Pac-10 season, there would be times when sophomore point Darren Collison or junior guard Arron Afflalo would have to carry the scoring load on their backs in the second half.
But with the recent emergence of sophomore forward Josh Shipp and the Bruins’ newfound ability to score inside with regularity, the offensive attack has become multi-dimensional.
Afflalo and Collison had 20 percent of UCLA’s points combined on Thursday night, but UCLA didn’t suffer at all offensively. Instead, the Bruins shot 33-54 (61.1 percent) from the field and had their highest scoring output in 14 games.
UCLA scored a season-high 54 points in the paint against Cal, with junior center Lorenzo Mata leading the way with 14 points.
“It’s become pretty apparent that our primary scoring has been coming from our perimeter,” Afflalo said. “Teams are taking that away now and I think we’re getting that confidence to throw the ball inside. The (post players) are producing in practice and producing in games and it’s just making our team complete.”
While Mata, who has been shooting 17-21 from the floor in his last seven games, has been scoring virtually every time he gets the ball with position, other players are stepping up as well.
Against Cal, sophomore forwards Alfred Aboya and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute scored nine and eight points respectively, and even sophomore center Ryan Wright threw down two dunks in five minutes.
UCLA’s eight 3-point attempts against Cal were by far the lowest amount they’ve attempted in a game this season.
“We’ve always had (the ability to score), we just haven’t emphasized it enough,” Mata said about the post players’ scoring emergence. “It’s definitely going to help our team out a lot. People are going to start trying to double-team us and it’s going to get us open shots for Josh, Arron and Darren.”
STANFORD NEXT: UCLA will get a perfect opportunity to show how far it’s come against Stanford on Saturday.
The Bruins are still angry over the loss to the Cardinal in Palo Alto after jumping out to a 17-point lead in the first half.
“That was a game we definitely should’ve won,” Collison said. “Anytime you lose the first game in the first half of the season, you want to try to get back at the team. We had our chance against Oregon and we were successful at it and we want to do the same thing against Stanford.”
The Cardinal (17-9, 9-6 Pac-10) are coming off a close loss to USC, who avenged an earlier loss of its own to the Cardinal.
Stanford still needs to win games in order to secure an NCAA tournament berth. The Cardinal are in good shape to make the field of 64 right now, but with games against UCLA, a rejuvenated Arizona State team and Arizona, the Cardinal still have plenty of work to do.
UCLA’s win against Cal ran its home record to 15-0 on the season. A win against Stanford would secure the Bruins an undefeated home season and put them in prime position to win the Pac-10 outright with Washington State losing to Oregon on Thursday. UCLA now holds a two-game edge over the Cougars, whom they will face next week.
“We definitely want to avenge our loss (in Palo Alto),” Mata said. “That’s a loss that shouldn’t have happened. We’re anxious to go out there.”