Just who is UCLA?
It seems a fair question to ask of a team that has won seven of its last 10 and before that, lost five straight.
To ask of a team that is at times potent, sound and realized.
And then at others underachieving, undermanned and outclassed.
Is this the team that scored 39 against No. 11 Utah or the one that beat it by 10?
The answer is probably all of the above but as UCLA gears up for a pivotal Pac-12 showdown with Oregon on Saturday, one thing is certain of Steve Alford’s club.
“We’ve been playing at a higher level,” said the second-year coach. “We played really well against Utah, we backed that up with a really good game against Colorado and then we went on the road and that’s by far the best we’ve played on the road this year.”
UCLA (15-10, 7-5 Pac-12) is in luck as it’ll be playing Oregon (18-7, 8-4) in Pauley Pavilion where the Bruins have just a single blemish this season – an 87-74 loss to No. 3 Gonzaga.
The last time the Bruins saw the Ducks they more or less resembled lucky contest winners at a private shootaround with Oregon than an opposing defense.
At one point the Ducks hit 14 of 16 shots during a stretch that covered both halves en route to an 82-64 win in the two teams’ first meeting.
However, there are reasons for optimism. In its last three games in Westwood, UCLA held each opponent to less than 60 points and just limited Oregon State to 38.5 percent shooting in its 75-59 victory Wednesday.
“We’re just playing harder, tough. Just trying to get a lot of good stops,” said junior forward/center Tony Parker. “When we guard like that, it’s hard to beat us.”
It’s been hard to beat UCLA with Parker in the lineup – which he wasn’t in the previous meeting with Oregon. The Bruins have won seven of the last eight games Parker has played in, a stretch in which he averaged 12.6 points and 7.6 rebounds.
Furthermore, The Bruins are 3-0 against conference teams that bested them in the first meeting, as UCLA defeated Utah, Colorado and Oregon State each by double-digits.
No doubt the Bruins would settle for a win by any margin against the Ducks with little room for error in a bunched up conference race.
Just one game separates four teams for third place in the conference with six games left on the Bruins’ slate before the conference tournament.
So while the Bruins would need a miracle to capture the Pac-12 regular season title – UCLA is currently two and a half games back of conference leaders Arizona and Utah – it is right in the mix for one of the four first-round byes in the conference tournament – a fact Bryce Alford is keenly aware of.
“Personally it is something I like to do, just kind of see what’s going on in our league because it is important, it’s important to us,” said the sophomore guard when asked if he checks the Pac-12 standings. “Just like (Oregon State), we need to come and beat a team that was right ahead of us so now we’re tied up with them. We have to do the same thing on Saturday.”
If Steve Alford’s bunch plays the way it has for the better part of the last month, it has a shot, which is more than anyone could’ve asked for given the way the Bruins looked as the calendar switched to 2015.
But now it seems UCLA has finally turned the corner, with just about every player hitting his stride in his respective role.
It’s been a long time coming for a team that has seen virtually every player go through a cold spell somehow bleaker than the last. Now, instead of answering questions about possible changes or what UCLA could do differently, the Bruins just want more of the same as it looks to stay unbeaten at home in conference play.
“We’re in a stretch here where we’ve been playing some pretty good basketball and we’re going to have to have that down the stretch,” Steve Alford said. “There are a lot of teams still bunched up fighting for this thing so it’s going to be a great finish and it sets up for a great matchup Saturday at noon.”