In two weeks UCLA’s reign atop Pac-10 basketball may end.
The No. 22 Bruins (20-7, 9-5 Pac-10) have won the past three league crowns, but they sit in a third-place tie today, with only four games remaining in their season.
Because of the Bruins’ disappointing loss to unranked Washington State Saturday at Pauley Pavilion, they now must hope that first-place Washington (20-7, 11-4 Pac-10) and second-place Arizona State (21-5, 10-4 Pac-10) stumble down the stretch.
“Anybody can win on any given night,” senior point guard Darren Collison said. “We just have to keep our hopes alive and continue to fight.”
The scenario which would allow UCLA to capture a fourth league title is improbable. Washington plays only three more league games, and they are all at home, where the No. 21 Huskies are 14-2 this season. Arizona State, which rose to No. 11 in the latest AP poll, also plays its final two games at home.
Even if those teams falter, the Bruins would need to sweep their final four games. They travel north to face Cal and Stanford this weekend, and they will host the Oregon schools to close the season.
And a strong finish seems unlikely because UCLA has lost three of its last four games. Coach Ben Howland said he failed to prepare the team for its last game against Washington State. Players said they’ve been too inconsistent this season.
“Every game is important to us,” Collison said. “There’s no excuse why our intensity isn’t there, it’s just a lack of focus.”
Collison added that he still believes the Bruins can win the league.
Howland said the Bruins will emphasize defense in their final four games. The Bruins allowed 82 points to Washington State ““ a shocking total considering the Cougars’ typically deliberate offense and low scoring average. Defensive improvement is most important to Howland at this point in the season.
“We have so much on the line,” Howland said. “We’re trying to win our fourth league championship.”
HOWLAND ON HOLIDAY: Howland elaborated on his benching of freshman guard Jrue Holiday in the second half of the loss to Washington State.
Holiday allowed Cougars’ freshman guard Klay Thompson to score 13 points in the opening minutes of the game, as Washington State built an eight-point lead.
“Defensively, he was breaking down on some of his responsibilities, which were to trail the shooter, and not go underneath the screens,” Howland said.
Howland also mentioned that he plans to play freshman Malcolm Lee more, because Lee is the team’s best wing defender. But Holiday is still a crucial part of the team.
“Jrue will be fine,” Howland said. “He will bounce back. Being a freshman and being thrown in some of these situations is tough. As talented as he is, it’s a real lesson that you have to show up and be ready to go in every game we play.”
SLIDING SEEDS: Several bracket projections published Monday assigned UCLA a low seed, following the Bruins’ surprising loss to Washington State.
Fox Sport’s Frank Burlison projects the Bruins as a No. 5 seed in the East regional.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi projects the Bruins as a No. 7 seed in the South regional.
Sports Illustrated’s Andy Glockner also slates UCLA as a No. 7 seed, but his projection places them in the Midwest regional.
UCLA fell to No. 36 in the latest Ratings Percentage Index, the ranking system the NCAA Selection Committee uses to seed teams for the March tournament.
That ranking places UCLA behind three conference foes ““ No. 19 Washington, No. 22 Arizona State and No. 32 Cal.
While the RPI does not bode well for the Bruins, who have earned a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in each of the past three seasons, senior guard Josh Shipp said the team remains positive.
“We just have to keep fighting and hopefully we can do something special in the tournament,” he said.
The NCAA will announce the tournament field, and the Bruins’ seed, on Sunday, March 15.