It’s easy to be pessimistic about UCLA basketball right now.
The Bruins are losers of two straight contests, their NCAA tournament hopes are hanging by a thread and their junior center/forward just put together two of his worst games of the season.
But don’t head for the exits just yet.
Despite recent events, there’s reason to be optimistic about UCLA as it heads into its final three games of the season, the first of which takes place Wednesday night with Washington in town.
UCLA (16-12, 8-7 Pac-12) just put together – with all sincerity – one of the better 10-point losses in holding No. 7 Arizona to 57 points and 34 percent shooting on the Wildcats’ home floor Saturday.
While the Bruins struggled for large parts of the contest – save the 7-0 and 17-0 runs to start the first and second half, respectively – UCLA’s defense delivered perhaps its most impressive performance effort of the season, dominating a potent Arizona offense for the better part of 40 minutes.
“That’s what we want to see: the fight, the heart, the passion. I think that’s what has been lacking in some games,” said senior guard Norman Powell. “Just the enjoyment of getting to play defense together and get stops in transition and just enjoy playing basketball and I think the Arizona game really brought that out of us.”
That should continue against Washington (15-11, 4-10) which lost seven straight before it took down in-state rival Washington State 87-84 three days ago. The Bruins should keep the Huskies well below that mark when the two meet in Pauley Pavilion, as UCLA has yielded an average of 58.8 points to the last five teams to visit the arena.
The Bruins credited the uptick in defense in part to the team’s increasing comfort in executing the 3-2 zone defense. Prior to conference play, UCLA allowed more than 70 points in nine contests, while Stanford is the only Pac-12 opponent to do so, and that took two overtime periods.
Kevon Looney and his 7-foot-3-inch wingspan are a big reason why. Assistant coach Ed Schilling said that the freshman forward played very little zone defense in high school and thus took some time to get used to spacing the floor at the top of the key, rather than chasing an opposing player around the court.
The Milwaukee native has also settled in on the offensive end as of late. Looney began the season shooting a dismal 3-for-21 from beyond the arc, but has hit 14 of his 23 3-point attempts against Pac-12 squads.
“Earlier in the season I just wasn’t making those shots. I think I had the same opportunities but I wasn’t shooting or taking advantage of (them),” Looney said. “I’m feeling more confident in my jump shot and guys have been finding me.”
Meanwhile, UCLA hopes Looney’s frontcourt mate, junior forward/center Tony Parker, can rediscover his game after disappearing for the Arizona trip. Parker fouled out in both contests and finished each game with just two points and a lone rebound.
The Bruins will undoubtedly need Parker on Wednesday, as the already depth-challenged roster may be without coach Steve Alford, who underwent hernia surgery Monday and hopes to be on the sideline against the Huskies.
“When Tony is a presence inside it makes things so much easier for everyone else,” Schilling said. “Tony is a huge key for us.”
To say a win Wednesday night is key for UCLA’s tournament hopes – Pac-12 or otherwise – is an understatement larger than the hole a struggling Parker leaves in the Bruins’ lineup.
But for a UCLA squad that has battled its fair share of adversity this year, solving the Parker problem requires a tried and true solution.
“That’s something the team has always had through the ups and downs and the struggles of the season between different players,” Powell said. “We’ve always had each other’s back. He’s just going to look forward to coming to the Washington game (Wednesday) and play his best basketball.”