Whenever the UCLA men’s basketball team prepared to face the Arizona schools for the past 20 years, it was the University of Arizona that stood out as the marquee matchup.
Under the tutelage of Lute Olson, the Wildcats transformed from one of the Pac-10’s cellar-dwellers in the early ’80s into one of the elite programs in the country, winning the Pac-10 regular season title 11 times and becoming national champions in 1997.
In October, Olson announced he was retiring after missing all of last season, closing out a 24-year career in Tucson. Between Olson’s absence from the sideline and the rise of Arizona State to No. 16 in the most recent Associated Press poll, the matchup between the Bruins and the Wildcats seems to have lost a bit of its luster.
Yet UCLA coach Ben Howland was quick to refute the notion that priorities have shifted.
He denied that Saturday’s matchup against Arizona State represents the biggest game for the No. 9 Bruins (13-2, 3-0 Pac-10), emphasizing that tonight’s game against the Wildcats (11-5, 2-2) is just as crucial.
“Our most important game is Arizona, and that’s what our total focus is on, trying to get the win on Thursday,” he said.
If the Bruins wish to extend their current nine-game winning streak, they will need to account for two players, junior forwards Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill. Budinger, a Southern California native, is averaging 17.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, while Hill is leading the team with an average of 17.8 points per game and a Pac-10 best 12.0 rebounds per game.
“Those guys are surefire first-round picks,” Howland said. “So we’ve got our hands full. This is a game that they’ve been pointing to all season. Arizona is really coming in here focused. They really want to take it to us.”
The Wildcats have been looking forward to tonight’s game for a while. A month ago, an Arizona guard quoted in the Tucson Citizen said there has been a feeling among the Wildcats that they can beat the Bruins in Pauley Pavilion.
According to UCLA guard Michael Roll, copies of that article were posted in the Bruins’ locker room.
“It was a couple weeks ago, and at the time it wasn’t a concern because we had other games to focus on,” Roll said.
“Now they’re coming in, and it’s kind of like a chip on our shoulder, people think that they could do that so easy. We’re just going to prepare like any other game and just treat it as that.”
Howland said that one thing the Bruins will focus on this week is playing against zone defenses, as Arizona largely plays zone.
Additionally the Wildcats like to apply pressure defensively, a strategy that was effective in their win over then-No. 4 Gonzaga.
However, the Bruins are confident in their ability to handle any pressure they face.
“We’re not worried,” forward Josh Shipp said. “We have good ball-handlers, smart players ““ they’re going to be solid. We don’t make too many mistakes; we just got to stay under control.”
Despite the history between these two programs, which have battled fiercely for Pac-10 supremacy for years, many have viewed Saturday’s game against Arizona State as the prominent matchup of the weekend.
And while in terms of records that may be the case, the Bruins adamantly stated this week that the game against Arizona on Thursday was foremost in their minds.
“They’re a good team,” Shipp said. “We’ve seen that the last few years. It’s going to be a good game. Every time we play them, it’s close. They always fight, never quit. They have great players. They’re athletic. If we’re not solid and we don’t come to play, we will lose that game.”
With reports from Sam Allen, Bruin Sports senior staff.