Intense ball pressure reduces Cal’s top scoring threats

BERKELEY “”mdash; If California’s DeVon Hardin and Ryan Anderson looked frustrated during the first half Saturday, it was for a good reason.

The big, physical Hardin and the versatile, perimeter-shooting Anderson are key to Cal’s offense, combining for an average of 31.9 points per game this season. In the first half on Saturday however, No. 5 UCLA’s tough inside defense essentially turned both of them into nonfactors.

Anderson was 0-6 from the floor with only two points from free throws. Hardin was 0-2 and got his only point in the first half on a free throw with 11.2 seconds remaining.

“Those are great players, and our gameplan was based mostly all around them…” center Kevin Love said. “They’ve got great size. But we just based our whole intensity on defense around them and we executed. … We did a great job ““ switching on them, doubling in the post.”

Coach Ben Howland’s team, known for playing stifling defense, was able to control Cal’s inside threats with effective doubling in the post and strong defensive performances from multiple big men. Anderson ended the day with just 12 points and Hardin eight, both below-average performances.

“That’s our guys,” Howland said. “The Terminator (Alfred Aboya) was great defensively. And I thought our doubles were really good in the first half. Luc (Richard Mbah a Moute) did a great job defensively, made a bunch of plays, and it was good pressure.”

Love also played a big role inside for UCLA’s defense. Since Love came in at the beginning of the year, he has been much more of an offensive force than a defensive one, with Howland sometimes subbing him out on defensive sets at the end of close games. Yet on Saturday even Love was able to assert himself more on the defensive end.

“I’m surprised,” Aboya said. “He grew a lot. I’m talking about defense. He wasn’t really at the beginning of the year a defensive player; as the competition goes on he’s stepping up, and he made big plays for us at the defensive end.”

The Bruins’ defensive pressure all over the floor proved very tough for the Bears to combat. Coach Ben Braun’s offense began to lose its composure, being held to just eight first-half buckets.

“Not to discredit anything that Cal did ““ they’re a good team ““ (but) you could see they were getting frustrated because of our defense,” guard Darren Collison said. “Coach said they had only eight baskets in the first half, which is phenomenal. That’s what we’re trying to do: give nothing and make them work for everything.”

UCLA also gave nothing on the glass, outrebounding Cal 43-30 and often getting multiple looks with strong offensive rebounding. The Bruins’ inside presence with rebounding came in very handy in a game where they did not shoot all that well.

One game after raining 3s against Stanford at Maples Pavilion, UCLA went just 3-17 from beyond the 3-point line but was able to capitalize on the extra chances.

Cal, also coming off a big game beyond the arc against USC, was held in check, going just 5-16 from 3.

“I’m just told to do my job,” Collison said. “(Russell Westbrook) is told to do his job. Josh (Shipp) the same. Everybody else is just told to do their job. At the same time, we’re extending our ball pressure so they can’t get easy passes, and that takes away the 3-point field goals for them.”

With the Bruins leaving the Bay Area 2-0 in conference, they remember the much tougher road trip they had a year ago, losing to Stanford and beating Cal. A lot of the credit for the strong start this year goes to the team’s strong post presence, something that was missing a season ago.

“I mean, it was (harder),” Collison said. “If I remember it was. Cal, we didn’t pull away until late in the second half, and Stanford, we lost, so yeah. With a post presence it just slows up everything and makes everything much easier.”

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