When UCLA locked horns with the Ducks last time in Eugene, the Bruins were without Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Lorenzo Mata-Real. They were playing in arguably the harshest atmosphere in the conference and still simmering from a loss against USC.
Despite the odds, the Bruins were able to snatch an 80-75 victory out of the bills of defeat in what Ben Howland termed one of the best wins he had ever been a part of.
Saturday was supposed to be easier.
The Bruins had everyone, except Michael Roll, available for the game and were coming off a 35-point beat-down of Oregon State. The Ducks had lost seven of their previous 10 and had slipped into the “long shot” category for making the Tournament.
Everything about Saturday oozed a quiet confidence that this game was over before it started.
There were only a couple hundred students at Pauley an hour before tip-off and the place was still filling up as the game started.
There was an attitude inside Pauley that was like everybody felt obliged to show up for a couple hours, pick up the win and head on home. There was no pre-game buzz fit for a big showdown and none of the tension that usually precedes a UCLA-Oregon matchup.
Then the tip-off came and, after turning the ball over a few times, the Bruins suddenly were down early.
Hadn’t Oregon gotten the memo? This game was supposed to have been decided already. Playing for 40 minutes was just for show.
But the Ducks didn’t let UCLA back in the game. They didn’t even try.
They came out as the aggressor, pushing the tempo and attacking the rim like it had offended them. Every time the Bruins looked like they might get back in the game, Tajuan Porter would make some kind of twisting fade-away in the lane or sink a 3-ball from about as far away as the Wooden Center.
Nobody seemed too scared ““ it was too early for that ““ just confused. This game was supposed to have been scripted and Oregon’s improvisation was ruining everything.
On the other hand, the Bruins weren’t exactly looking like they were going to protest too much if Oregon really wanted to win. They gave them the ball, missed open layups, clanged put-backs off the backboard and were shooting worse at the foul line than Memphis.
Then something clicked with about 12 minutes to go in the game. Maybe it was just a matter of time before the Bruins kicked it into gear. Maybe it was Russell Westbrook posterizing loudmouth LeKendric Longmire (SportsCenter’s top play of the day) that ignited it. Or maybe it was the simple realization that this is Pac-10 basketball. There’s no such thing as an easy win in this conference ““ unless you’re playing Oregon State.
For the rest of the game, the Bruins looked like the dominant team. Their defense began to generate turnovers as they shut down a very athletic Oregon squad. Even when the Bruins didn’t have the matchups they wanted, somebody stepped up to make a play.
At one point, the 6-foot-8-inch Mbah a Moute was guarding the 5-foot-6-inch-with-his-shoes-on Porter. Moute cut off his attempt to drive into the lane and forced Porter to back it out, where he promptly turned the ball over.
That was how it was supposed to have been for the Bruins on Saturday ““ “Nice try, little guy, but not this time.”
E-mail Feder at jfeder@media.ucla.edu if you think Westbrook could take Dwight Howard in a dunk contest.