Just one week ago, the Bruins were reeling.
They had lost two of the past three, blown sizable leads in each game, and had fallen out of first place in the Pac-10.
Were Bruin fans witnessing the beginning of UCLA’s slide down the conference pecking order?
For at least one more week, the Bruins issued a resounding “no.”
By thumping Cal and Stanford by a combined 49 points, UCLA made a statement ““ they were not going to roll over.
“Losing is adversity,” coach Ben Howland said. “And how you respond to adversity is part of the game.”
With USC and Notre Dame coming to Pauley this week, last weekend’s two victories were an important pair of performances.
The Bruins will now have the opportunity to climb back up in the national rankings and solidify their place at the top of the Pac-10.
“We had a great weekend in terms of concentration and effort and energy and hopefully that’s a good lesson we got,” senior center Alfred Aboya said. “Now as a team, we understand what it takes to be successful.”
The Bruins demonstrated what they’re capable of in their past two games, prompting USC coach Tim Floyd to say it was UCLA’s best two-game stretch he’s seen since he’s been at USC.
“In the past, in one game we’d play really well then the next game we’d just start slow,” Aboya said. “Like he (Floyd) said, it’s the best back-to-back games I’ve ever been involved in.”
Posting those dominant performances has the Bruins’ confidence high just in time for the Trojans.
“We definitely have our swagger, and it’s just building from here,” freshman guard Jrue Holiday said. “We’re definitely going to have to be real confident going into the ‘SC game.”
While players attributed defensive stops to their turnaround, Howland put his finger on his players’ character.
“We have great kids that are really good people,” Howland said. “They have so much expectation heaped on their shoulders. They handle it so well and bounce back.”
Holiday acknowledged that, since the Bruins’ loss at Washington, practices have been more physical and more intense. That mentality translated into the games this past weekend, and it’s something they hope to continue.
“That’s just the way that we play,” Holiday said. “We’re definitely coming out to go at the opponents’ throat and never let up. No mercy.”
GORDON LEARNING THE POST: Against Washington two weeks ago, freshman forward Drew Gordon struggled at times on the low post, misplaying the double team on a couple possessions against experienced senior center Jon Brockman. As opposed to setting up on the low side, Gordon’s positioning left the Bruins vulnerable along the baseline.
“We have to double team on the post, and I was playing it wrong,” Gordon said. “(Howland) can only tell me so many times until it actually happens. I learned my lesson the hard way, and hopefully it doesn’t happen again.” … Gordon missed practice on Monday due to a headache but was planning on practicing on Tuesday. “(Tuesday’s) really important for him because he didn’t get a chance to be involved in yesterday’s preparation for ‘SC,” Howland said. Gordon did get in Pauley on Tuesday morning and “shot the ball really well,” Howland said.
ANKLE BOTHERS BOBO: Freshman center J’mison Morgan sprained his right ankle at the end of practice on Monday, but he had it iced immediately and taped on Tuesday. He should be available tonight against USC.
DRIBBLERS: Since starting conference play at 1-2, USC has won five of their past six games, with their only blemish being a five-point loss at Washington. They also have four players averaging double-digit points per game including Dwight Lewis (15.2 ppg), Taj Gibson (14.9), DeMar DeRozan (12.4), and Daniel Hackett (11.7). Senior Darren Collison (14.6) and Josh Shipp (12.2) are the only Bruins averaging double digits.