UCLA men’s basketball hopes to end losing streak with tonight’s game against New Mexico State

UCLA men’s basketball coach Ben Howland took some of the blame for the team’s woeful 2-6 start during his weekly teleconference with reporters Monday night.

“I did a poor job of scheduling,” he said.

Mix the early departures of Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love and Jrue Holiday, a stunning, opening-night loss to visiting Cal State Fullerton and the unexpected exit of starting center Drew Gordon and you’ve got a recipe for instant disillusionment.

Howland, though, acknowledged that the team’s current five-game losing streak – the program’s second longest skid in his seven-year tenure – has kept the young players from building confidence.

“It beats you down after a while,” Howland said. “We just have to be mentally tough.”

The Bruins will get a crack at it to night.

Coming off an 18-point loss to Mississippi State in the annual John R. Wooden Classic at the Honda Center on Saturday, UCLA (2-6) has a chance at redemption with a game against New Mexico State at Pauley Pavilion.

Howland expects the Aggies (3-5) to play the vaunted 2-3 zone defense, meaning the Bruins’ perimeter shooting will be important yet again. UCLA missed 16 of its 20 3-point attempts on Saturday. Senior guard Michael Roll had three of the four makes from beyond the arc.

Senior forward Nikola Dragovic, meanwhile, missed all nine of his shots. So on Sunday, he hit the gym in hopes of refining his stroke. Howland has pegged Dragovic as one of the team’s best shooters and suggested that he maintain his sight on the rim rather than the ball during his motion. Dragovic’s shooting average is down more than 20 percent from last season.

Teammates have not lost confidence in Dragovic, UCLA’s lone returning starter from a year ago.

“I’ll pass (Dragovic) the ball and expect him to make the next shot,” sophomore point guard Jerime Anderson said.

Despite his lack of production, Dragovic has averaged 29 minutes per game – something Howland said will decline if things don’t improve.

“But I don’t expect that to happen,” Howland added.

Howland also cited the progress of freshman forwards Tyler Honeycutt, Brendan Lane and Reeves Nelson, as well as the continued production from senior guard Michael Roll, as signs of the team’s potential. Honeycutt, nursing a shin injury, played a career-high 21 minutes. Nelson started despite having suffered a corneal abrasion to the right eye during the team’s 12-point loss to top-ranked Kansas more than a week ago. Each grabbed eight rebounds on Saturday to lead the team.

“We have good kids on this team,” Howland said. “They really want to win.”

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