UCLA is down but not out

To say that the UCLA men’s basketball team finds itself in an unusual and disappointing situation with four games remaining in the regular season may be an understatement.

The Bruins, after advancing to the Final Four three years in a row, are ranked No. 22 in the latest AP Poll.

The team has dropped three of their last four games, falling into a tie for third place in the Pac-10 conference with a record of 9-5.

Add the fall in seed in recent NCAA Tournament bracket projections, and the Bruins seem to be facing a do-or-die situation.

Despite the sinking-ship aura that has surrounded the program over the last two weeks, freshman guard Jrue Holiday is confident and even has some words for future Bruin opponents.

“We’re coming with vengeance every team we play from here on out,” Holiday said.

Holiday and the Bruins will look to get back on the winning track and build a sense of momentum heading into the stretch this weekend in the Bay Area. The Bruins (20-7, 9-5 Pac-10) face Stanford (15-10, 4-10) tonight at Maples Pavilion, and California (20-7, 9-5) on Saturday.

The last time the Bruins and the Cardinal met, UCLA had one of its most complete games of the season. On Jan. 31 at Pauley Pavilion, the Bruins controlled the game from start to finish, cruising to a 97-63 win, amassing their highest point total in a Pac-10 game during the Ben Howland-era.

In that game, the Bruins rode a strong defensive performance, scoring 25 points off 19 Stanford turnovers.

Yet nearly a month later, that Bruin team ““ a confident, turnover-forcing efficient scoring machine ““ looks like a distant memory.

In the Bruins’ last four games, those forced turnovers have been noticeably absent.

Due to the lack of forced turnovers, the Bruins have allowed opposing teams to shoot at a high percentage from the field. Currently, the Bruins rank No. 8 in the conference in defensive field goal percentage (47.7 percent).

“It’s odd to be No. 1 in steals and No. 8 in field goal percentage defense,” Howland said. “That’s not usually something that coincides.”

The absence of the normally stout Bruin defense proved to be one of the main culprits in the Bruins’ 82-81 loss to Washington State last Saturday. In that game, the Bruins allowed the Cougars to shoot 68 percent in the first half and 58.8 percent on the game.

“That is supposed to be our bread and butter,” Holiday said. “Defense really wins games. You stop people on defense, you have easier shots in transition or a better chance to score. That’s really what we need to focus on.”

Tonight against Stanford, the Bruins will need to focus on stopping Stanford’s leading scorer, senior guard Anthony Goods. Goods, averaging 15.7 points per game, led the Cardinal with 15 points in the last meeting against the Bruins.

Two other players who could pose matchup problems for the Bruins are Stanford’s junior forward Landry Fields and senior forward Lawrence Hill. Howland said that Fields presents problems at small forward due to his size and length, as well as at power forward due to his speed and ability to shoot from outside.

Hill presents similar problems as he can play at either the power forward and center positions.

“They have good players,” Howland said. “This game is very, very worrisome as we go into Thursday. We’re going to have to play great to have success. I know that for certain.”

Situated in a tie for third place with California, the Bruins have an opportunity to create a little bit of space between them before they face the Golden Bears on Saturday.

And while it would take late-season collapses by Washington and Arizona State for UCLA to capture their fourth consecutive Pac-10 regular season title, senior center Alfred Aboya said not to count the Bruins out of it.

“We’re still in the race,” Aboya said. “It’s true that a lot of stuff has to happen in order for that, but we still believe.”

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