LAS VEGAS — The 283 mile drive from UCLA’s campus to the MGM Grand doesn’t generally require a full tank of fuel, but after playing three games in as many nights at the Pac-12 tournament, UCLA was running on empty.
The top-seeded Bruins fell to second seeded Oregon in the championship game on Saturday, 78-69.
“We didn’t have enough gas,” said freshman forward Shabazz Muhammad. “Guys were really tired out there. It was really tough.”
Toting an already thin roster of just eight scholarship players, the Bruins lost their second leading scorer – freshman guard Jordan Adams – to a broken foot on the last play of their win over Arizona in Friday’s semifinal.
UCLA had to overcome double-digit deficits in each of its first two games and almost pulled off a similar feat in the final, but after several small runs, they only got as close as two points in the second half.
“We were down eight, we get it back to two, they make another run,” said redshirt senior guard Larry Drew II, who finished with 14 points. “We’re down eight or nine again. I’m so proud of my guys because they never gave up. We never stopped fighting but we couldn’t get over that hump today. Call it legs. Call it fatigue. I don’t know what it was.”
Adams was parked behind the team’s bench in a wheelchair, unable to lead No. 21 UCLA back from the dead as he did on Friday by scoring 24 points. The Bruins (25-9, 13-5 Pac-12) had less than 24 hours to prepare to play without him.
Sophomore guard Norman Powell was inserted in to the starting lineup, while freshman guard Kyle Anderson was reassigned to guard Oregon’s smaller guards. He usually draws one of the opposing team’s big men.
“We had to try to learn all these new sets and different places to go in a day,” said redshirt junior forward David Wear. “It was difficult. We definitely missed him.”
Still, Oregon (26-8, 12-6) was left cutting down the nets at MGM Grand Garden Arena while UCLA packed for a bus ride back to Los Angeles, where they will wait to see where the NCAA Tournament selection committee places them as a likely at-large selection.
Coach Ben Howland and his players agreed that Adams’ injury shouldn’t be viewed as a penalty in the selection process.
“I don’t think that’s fair,” Muhammad said. “One of our good players got injured but that doesn’t mean we’re worse of a team. That’s something that I don’t understand. Why would they bump us off a seed just for a player being hurt?”
The NCAA tournament selection show will air Sunday at 3 p.m. on CBS.
Howland’s postgame comment that we lost because his team was “fatigued” is pathetic. Oregon played just as many games in just as few days, and they didn’t seem fatigued. In fact, we played fewer games than most teams, because we got a bye in the first round. And if we were too tired to match the other teams we were up against, Howland should have had our players better conditioned. After all, it’s not as if the schedule came as a sudden surprise to him. After losses this year to Cal Poly, San Diego State, USC, and Washington State (oh, and the one point overtime comeback against UC Irvine), mid-seasons transfers, etc., I think the explanation lies with the coach, not the players’ allegedly inability to deal with the same schedule that everyone else faces.
there is something not right in the coaching and leadership dept.. agreed.with the exception of Drew II, Powell, Muhammad , and Parker. the rest of the team looked flat and out of shape. At point Walton narrated a slow mo reply showing Oregon players already in shooing position non the O board, and all the UCLA players still running to back back on D. slower to the ball.. somethings gotta give if they think they have a chance against teams like Florida or Gtown. No 5 would be a good start.. his attitude stunk last night.
there is something not right in the coaching and leadership dept.. agreed.with the exception of Drew II, Powell, Muhammad , and Parker. the rest of the team looked flat and out of shape. At one point Walton narrated a slo -mo reply showing Oregon players already in shooting position on the O board, and all the UCLA players running behind to get in position on D. slower to the ball.. somethings gotta give, if they think they have even a chance against teams like Florida or Gtown. would be a shame if they dont make it at least to the Final Four.. with all that talent. No 5 would be a good start.. his attitude stunk last night.
start No 12, not 24. how does a player that shoots 4 for 12 get another start? coaching. why is Anderson getting so many minuets? coaching.. Anderson, you were dead weight last night. on top of that you had the nerve to be shouting and correcting your teammates on the court., your performance and energy level SUCKED, dude. wtf? you came to UCLA with “all that ” from you HS days.. so far I’m unimpressed.. you have been inconsistent and lazy on the court. PLAY like the dominant player you can be and you will get some respect from the UCLA tradition. You need to take a leadership role man.. this pathetic half a** act is ridiculous…I will be watching