Just after UCLA completed its regular season with a romp of Oregon, coach Ben Howland was asked if he planned to watch Washington play its final game that afternoon. Howland quickly replied that he would not.
Washington won the game and clinched the Pac-10 title on Saturday, dethroning Howland’s team from its three-year reign atop the league.
But Howland’s message was still clear. The Bruins are only concentrating on the bigger prizes and the next challenges they face.
UCLA (24-7, 13-5 Pac-10) received the No. 2 seed in the Pac-10 Tournament and will meet either Oregon or Washington State on Thursday night at Staples Center.
“It’s a whole new season,” Howland said.
He added that his team needs to play well this weekend to ensure a favorable seed in the NCAA Tournament. Most bracket projections currently slate the Bruins as a No. 4 or No. 5 seed in the tournament, but at this point, geography also becomes a concern for the Bruins.
There are no first-round sites in California this year. The closest potential destinations for the Bruins are Portland, Ore., and Boise, Idaho. The team also hopes to land in the West Regional so it can play in Glendale, Ariz., if it reaches the Sweet 16.
“The bottom line is we need to perform well next week so we have a chance to get a good seed,” Howland said.
The Bruins draw in the Pac-10 tournament is somewhat favorable. The two teams UCLA has struggled the most against ““ Washington (24-7, 14-4) and Arizona State (22-8, 11-7) ““ will likely face in the semifinal. If UCLA wins its first two games, it might face the winner of a Washington-Arizona State matchup in the championship game.
And UCLA players say they are confident.
“It’s tournament time,” said senior Josh Shipp, who scored a career-high 28 points on Saturday. “It’s time to bring your A-game.”
Players and coaches say this is one of the most wide-open Pac-10 Tournament fields they have seen in recent years. There’s no clear hierarchy in the league; Washington, UCLA, Arizona State and Cal are all considered contenders.
The Huskies and Bruins finished with identical overall records and split the two games in which they faced off. Washington won the regular season championship because of its brilliant play at home in Seattle, winning 17 of 18 games there. The Bruins fell a game short, and could point to two costly home losses ““Arizona State and Washington State ““ as the difference.
But Howland will not harp on that.
“You can never go back,” he said. “You have to move forward.”
COLLISON X-RAYS NEGATIVE: X-rays on senior point guard Darren Collison’s tailbone came back negative on Saturday evening.
Collison collided with Oregon freshman Matthew Humphrey with 12:51 remaining in Saturday’s game. He left the game after hitting a free throw and did not return. He still finished with 19 points but played only 26 minutes.
UCLA trainers believed Collison only suffered a bruise but ordered the x-rays as a precautionary measure.
His teammates were confident Collison would not miss any of the Bruins’ upcoming games.
“I don’t think anything is going to hold him back from sitting out this tournament,” Shipp said.
Collison told senior forward Alfred Aboya he would be fine.
“He knows we’re going to need him,” Aboya said.
Collison did not participate in the postgame press conference.
FRESHMEN PLEASE HOWLAND: Most of the attention went to UCLA’s seniors on Saturday, who were playing their final games at Pauley Pavilion. But two of the Bruins’ freshmen played very well.
Point guard Jerime Anderson replaced Collison and had his best game of the season. Anderson played calmly and committed only one turnover in his 14 minutes. He finished with four points and five assists.
“Jerime showed today that he can be a facilitator and run our offense,” Aboya said.
Anderson found Aboya with a brilliant pass late in the second half, leading to an easy layup. Howland called it a “great point guard play.”
“You can see he has the ability to be a special player down the road,” Howland said. Drew Gordon also played significant minutes, scoring six points and collecting five rebounds. Gordon has struggled with foul trouble in several recent games, but he committed no fouls on Saturday.
“He was really focused,” Howland said. “I was really pleased with his play.”