UCLA basketball coach Ben Howland gave an unusual comment in his press conference Thursday following UCLA’s 81-66 win over Cal.
“I don’t have a lot to complain about tonight,” he said.
Everything clicked for the Bruins (16-4, 6-2 Pac-10), as they raced past an overmatched Bears (16-5, 5-3) squad in front of 11,556 fans at Pauley Pavilion.
UCLA executed its defense brilliantly, rebounded well, burned Cal with its transition offense and played more aggressively in the halfcourt. Senior point guard Darren Collison led the Bruins with 18 points. Junior forward Theo Robertson scored 19 for the Bears.
The Bruins’ flawless performance couldn’t have come at a better time.
UCLA, which had fallen in two of its previous three games, moved back into a first place tie in the Pac-10, as Washington and Arizona State both fell.
“Right now there’s no room for error,” Collison said. “Coach said that every game right now is a playoff game, an NCAA Tournament game, and that’s how we’re looking at it … We’re trying to do something special.”
Of all the improvements the Bruins showed Thursday, Howland said the defensive intensity was most important. UCLA held the Bears’ top two scorers ““ junior guards Jerome Randle and Patrick Christopher ““ to just 11 and seven points, respectively.
In the first half the Bears’ offense seemed almost helpless, and UCLA led 31-23 at the break. As a team, Cal had just six assists, and Randle and Christopher combined for just three assists, while committing seven turnovers.
Those turnovers were especially significant. UCLA forced Cal into 16 in the first half and 21 total, and that catalyzed a faster Bruin offense and created mutiple layup opportunities.
“It started on the defensive end,” senior guard Josh Shipp said. “We got a lot of turnovers, and when you do that you get a lot of easy points.”
In the second half, transition buckets sparked a 20-2 UCLA run that essentially sealed a victory.
Cal had hit two quick baskets at the start of the second half to pull within three points of UCLA. But the Bruins locked down defensively and broke the game open. By the 12-minute media timeout, UCLA led 52-30, and it cruised to victory from there.
Howland also said he was pleased with his team’s rebounding performance. After Arizona State, Washington State and Washington all beat the Bruins on the boards, UCLA finally out-rebounded Cal, 34-23.
“We know we can’t be a good team if we get out-rebounded,” Shipp said.
Freshman guard Jrue Holiday also gave Howland a reason to smile. The freshman finished with 13 points, five rebounds and four assists. And Holiday kept his promise to try drive more aggressively and draw fouls more often. He reached the free-throw line five times and made all of his attempts.
“You can see how special he is,” Howland said of Holiday. “We’re just about half-way done with the regular season … and he keeps getting better and better.”
Collison said UCLA coaches emphasized three facets of the game this week in practice: transition offense, penetrating to create free throws and defensive intensity.
Clearly, the Bruins got the message.
Yet it was still a surprise to Collison when a reporter told him about Howland’s lack-of-complaint comment.
“That’s hard to believe,” Collison said. “Usually he has something to talk about.”