For the fifth straight year, UCLA went winless in Seattle.
As it stands, no current Bruin has beaten Washington on their home court, a testament to both the stability of the Huskies’ program and the harsh atmosphere of the Bank of America Arena.
“It’s a tough environment,” coach Ben Howland said. “You got to give them credit.”
“Over those five losses, they’ve had a number of good teams and players. It’s a great environment. They get really excited to play us.”
The Huskies fed off their home-court crowd all afternoon on Saturday, taking advantage of a raucous student section that stands directly behind both team’s benches.
“Like 75 minutes before the game, they started talking trash to us,” freshman guard Jrue Holiday said. “We’re sitting down in the stands and we’re shaking. That’s crazy. The adrenaline starts to rush in your body and you get pumped up.”
For Josh Shipp, the only Bruin who has been in the program for five years now, never beating Washington on the road is painful.
“It’s very frustrating,” Shipp said. “We feel like we’re a good team and can win everywhere but for some reason, we haven’t won here. It’s just a tough venue to play in.”
Although the sellout crowd of 10,000 showed why it’s one of the harshest places to play in the conference, as Holiday pointed out, it was nothing they hadn’t seen before.
“Oregon’s like this, Texas is like this. I don’t know why (we can’t win here),” Holiday said.
In the Huskies’ five straight wins over the Bruins in Seattle, no game has been closer than 10 points. The last time UCLA won, a freshman named Trevor Ariza put up 21 points helping the Bruins towards a two-point victory in overtime.
“We like to protect our home court and I think that’s what we do well,” Huskies’ senior point guard Justin Dentmon said.
The Bruins on the court weren’t the only ones the crowd was after. Before the game started, the student section was affronted by a young kid wearing UCLA clothes with a Washington State sign. They chanted “You’re adopted” at him.
ABOYA’S TECHNICAL: Seven minutes into the second half with the Bruins up by two, senior forward Alfred Aboya got hit with a technical foul after walking over to UW guard Venoy Overton who was on the ground. Aboya told Howland that he was just trying to help Overton up but the ref thought Aboya was taunting the Husky. Justin Dentmon hit both ensuing free throws and Washington got the ball back.
“I just know Alfred well enough to know that that was misread by the official who called the “˜T’ on him,” Howland said. “He’s not the kind of kid who would taunt anybody. That’s just not in his nature.”
Though Howland did not see the incident, he would’ve been surprised if the ref had the call right.
“Alfred was just trying to help the guy up,” said Holiday, who saw what happened. “I don’t know what the ref saw but Alfred’s not the type. If somebody hits him in the face, he’ll go and shake his hand. That’s just how he is. He’s just a courteous guy.”
HOLIDAY V. HOLIDAY: For a couple possessions on Saturday, Jrue Holiday guarded his brother Justin, a sophomore forward for the Huskies. It was the first time they’ve played against each other at the collegiate level but it wasn’t just Justin that Jrue knew.
“It was cool,” Jrue Holiday said. “It was not only my brother, but I pretty much know the whole team. Everybody that was on the court, they’re all like family to me.”
Holiday talked about how he’s played against most of the Husky team before and is especially good friends with Matthew Bryan-Amaning, Justin Dentmon and Darnell Gant, who went to nearby Crenshaw High in Los Angeles.
BOBO SEES ACTION: Freshman center J’mison Morgan had his best conference game of the season, playing five minutes and recording four points.
With the Bruin big men in foul trouble early, Howland sent Morgan in twice in the first half, then again when freshman Drew Gordon picked up his fourth foul three minutes after the break. Morgan provided the Bruins with another big body to battle senior Jon Brockman in the paint but his inexperience was apparent.
“In the second half, we put him in right away and Brockman just buried him right underneath the basket and they got a quick foul,” Howland said. “That’s just inexperience and not understanding what’s coming at you.”
SHIPP HITS CAREER HIGH: Josh Shipp recorded a new career high against the Huskies with 25 points on 8-of-14 shooting. He knocked down six-of-nine three point attempts, including a couple that looked to be from NBA distance. He also led the team with two blocked shots.
DRIBBLERS: About 15 to 20 students in the Washington section held up posters of junior forward Nikola Dragovic sitting in a hot tub… The crowd knew and chanted at referee Dave Libbey, who apparently does not have a great reputation in Seattle. One student had a sign that read “Welcome to the Libbey Show.”