NEW YORK “”mdash; For most of the game Thursday at Madison Square Garden, UCLA held the ball 20 feet away from the basket. Michigan’s 1-3-1 defensive zone forced UCLA to run its offense almost exclusively from the perimeter.
“That 1-3-1 zone,” said UCLA freshman guard Jrue Holiday. “It really does bother you.”
No. 4 UCLA (2-1) scored just 23 points in the second half and fell 55-52 to the Wolverines (3-0), who also caused 17 Bruin turnovers in the 2K Sports Classic semifinal.
“We did not do a good job attacking that zone,” said UCLA coach Ben Howland.
UCLA solved Michigan’s unusual defense last season in Ann Arbor, when it beat the Wolverines, 69-54. But the Bruins lack the post presence they had last season and this time they struggled to find many holes or open looks.
“We were simply impatient,” said senior point guard Darren Collison. “You have to pick and choose when to drive and when not to drive.”
The Bruins tried to simulate Michigan’s defense in four practices leading up to game, but forward James Keefe said that UCLA could not simulate the defense nearly as well as Michigan ran it.
“They know how to play it and they have the right players,” said Keefe, who scored five points in 23 minutes. “They’re all long and they anticipate well. They know where to trap and when to back off.”
The Bruins exacerbated their offensive problems with poor shot selection. As a team, UCLA shot only 41 percent from the field, while Michigan shot 61 percent.
“There are definitely some shots that we’d like to have back,” Howland said.
Holiday was the only player who did a good job of penetrating the Wolverines’ zone and finding his teammates, Howland added.
UCLA did not use either of its freshman big men, partly because the 1-3-1 zone eliminates a lot of opportunities in the low post. Freshman Drew Gordon played only five minutes, and J’mison Morgan did not play at all.
Even though UCLA’s three leading scorers ““ Collison, Holiday and Nikola Dragovic ““ scored mostly from the perimeter, Holiday said that he does not believe the offense will become too one-dimensional. He also said that he knows he needs to be more aggressive.
“I think the only person who hesitates to shoot is me,” Holiday said. “All the coaches say it. I have wide-open shots, and it’s like I don’t even look to score.”
DUKE ROLLS: The other favorite to win the 2K Sports Classic dominated in the first semifinal Thursday.
Gerald Henderson led No. 6 Duke with 20 points as the Blue Devils cruised past Southern Illinois, 83-58.
Duke overcame a slow first-half start to rally past the Salukis, outscoring them 54-35 in the second half. The Blue Devils will face Michigan in the championship game today at 4 p.m. UCLA’s loss puts the Bruins in a difficult situation; the team must play the early, consolation game today at 2 p.m.
“We’ve got to bounce back,” Howland said. “We’ve got to play a very good Southern Illinois team … on very little sleep and rest.”
FREE-THROW WOES: The Bruins missed crucial free throws down the stretch and Howland said that was especially disappointing.
Senior Josh Shipp missed one with less than a minute left and UCLA down two points. In the game’s final minutes Alfred Aboya also missed a free throw and guard Michael Roll missed two.
“Every free throw is magnified in a game where (the pace) is slow,” Howland said. “But it’s early, and I understand that we’re a young team, we’re a new team.”
SHIPP SINKS: Nothing went right for senior guard Shipp. Shipp, who had played well in UCLA’s first two games, made just two of his nine field-goal attempts and finished with only five points. But Shipp’s six turnovers were even more costly to UCLA. Two of those turnovers came on offensive fouls in the second half, as Michigan rallied and ultimately defeated UCLA.
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