The Bruins return to the once impregnable fortress of Pauley Pavilion today, hoping to defend their home court after sweeping Cal and Stanford on the road to open the Pac-10 season.
Last year, the Bruins swept every Pac-10 home series and finished with a perfect home record for the entire season.
No. 5 UCLA (14-1, 2-0 Pac-10) has already lost a home game this year, a 63-61 nail-biter against Texas. In a conference that is possibly the strongest in the nation and where road sweeps could be few and far between, taking care of business at home will be an added source of emphasis for the Bruins this year.
Against Washington (9-5, 0-1), the Bruins will face a team expected by many to finish near the bottom of the Pac-10 standings, but coach Ben Howland is not downplaying the Huskies.
“Every game is big,” Howland said. “My biggest game of the year is on Thursday night against Washington. Anybody can beat anybody in this league on a given night.”
Washington lost a close home game to rival and No. 4-ranked Washington State on Saturday and will likely be itching to start off the Pac-10 schedule better than it did last year.
The Huskies were expected to be a contender in the conference last season before losing six of their first seven conference games, creating an insurmountable gap between them and a conference championship.
Although Washington lost freshman center Spencer Hawes to the NBA draft last year, Howland still considers the Huskies and their big man, Jon Brockman, a formidable opponent.
“Washington is a problem,” Howland said. “First of all, Brockman is as good a competitor as there is in the conference. And he is so tough physically. He had 17 boards against Washington State. He is just a beast.”
Matching up against Brockman will be UCLA’s freshman center, Kevin Love.
Love had a great weekend in the Bay Area, coming out on top against legitimate NBA prospects DeVon Hardin of Cal and Brook Lopez of Stanford.
Love not only had good offensive and rebounding games, he also played well on defense, which has been an area targeted for improvement.
“He had a great weekend at (the defensive) end of the floor,” Howland said.
Also posing a problem for the Bruins will be Huskies sharpshooter Ryan Appleby, who has a quick release on his 3-pointers and should provide an interesting challenge for defensive stopper Russell Westbrook.
“Appleby now is experienced shooter who can really get hot,” Howland said. “When they beat us here two years ago, he made some key shots in that game. He’s a guy that you have to have constant awareness of where he is at all times. He is more dangerous coming off the screens more than anything.”
But perhaps the Bruins’ greatest enemy could be themselves.
Washington, unlike in previous years, is not the marquee game of the weekend.
On Saturday, the Bruins will take on Washington State in a clash of two top-five teams.
If UCLA looks past Washington and reverts to the lackadaisical first-half play that plagued them at times during the nonconference schedule, it could spell trouble.
For Howland, however, focusing on Washington is the No. 1 goal. “We knew (Washington State) would be really good again this year and they have a really good team and a great program and veteran guys,” Howland said. “(But) Washington is 100 percent (our) focus.”
Last year the Bruins beat Washington 96-74 at home in a game that was not as close as the final score indicated, but then lost at Washington in the last regular season Pac-10 game, 61-51.
That final game may have been the Bruins looking past Washington to the NCAA Tournament or it may have been that Washington finally figured out how to play against UCLA successfully.
Whatever was the case, the Bruins will have to make sure they are focused on the Huskies today.
TELEVISION: Today’s game will be televised on FSN Prime Ticket. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:35 p.m.