Second consecutive Pac-10 title in sight for Bruins as they look
to pound Washington Huskies tonight
By Ross Bersot
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
With a win tonight against Washington, the UCLA men’s basketball
team will clinch its second consecutive outright Pacific 10 title.
But more important for the Bruins in the 7:30 p.m. matchup at
Pauley Pavilion is retaining the momentum they gained in the last
eight minutes of their 77-71 come-from-behind victory at Oregon
last Saturday.
UCLA’s seeding in the NCAA tournament – to be announced Sunday –
depends on how they fare against the Washington schools. If the No.
16 Bruins continue to play with the same intensity as they did
against the Ducks, and close out the regular season with a pair of
wins vs. the Washington schools, then they could receive as high as
a three-seed in one of the four 16-team regionals. Anything less
than a sweep would probably relegate them to a four- or
five-seed.
"We just want to take care of business this week and get ready
to play in the tournament," UCLA head coach Jim Harrick said. "It’s
nice to be in the position we’re in."
After dropping a 67-65 heartbreaker to Arizona at home last
Saturday, the Huskies find themselves in a precarious position at
the edge of contention for an NCAA bid.
"We put ourselves in a good position in that we’re in there to
where we’re gonna have a chance to play and keep playing beyond
Sunday," Washington head coach Bob Bender said. "Now we’ve gotta go
make it happen by winning basketball games this last weekend.
"Obviously when you get into post-season play you don’t control
everything, and so the only thing you can present your case with is
wins. And wins that happen late in the season tend to get people’s
attention."
Needing a sweep in the Southland, Washington (15-10, 8-8) will
count on 7-foot center Todd MacCulloch.
"Well, Todd keeps getting better and better," Bender said. "He’s
certainly been a much more productive player for us. We’ve seen
that progress throughout the year, and now we’re starting to
realize it statistically."
A redshirt freshman, MacCulloch torched Arizona State for 22
points and 20 rebounds in 26 minutes last Thursday – the Huskies’
first 20-20 performance in nearly 25 years. MacCulloch was a
perfect 10-for-10 from the field against the Sun Devils, and is
shooting 69.3 percent in Pac-10 competition.
"This young kid MacCulloch, the redshirt freshman, is really
comin’," Harrick said. "He’s got great hands, catches (the ball),
keeps it high. He’s hard to guard on the block whether you front
him or play behind him."
Sophomore forward Mark Sanford leads Washington with 16.6 points
per game, and the three-guard tandem of James Booker, Bryant Boston
and Jason Hamilton rounds out the lineup. Hamilton, a senior, and
Booker, a junior, both rank among the conference top 10 in
steals.
UCLA opened the conference with the Washington schools, and on
Jan. 6 defeated the Huskies in Seattle, 78-70. According to Bender,
"all (his team) wants to do is have a chance to play past this
Saturday," when it faces Southern California at the Sports Arena in
its final regular-season game.
If this chance is to be in the NCAA tournament, Washington will
have to do something it has not done in Bender’s three-year tenure,
beat UCLA. A Bruin squad trying to build a strong head of steam for
its tournament drive will not make the Huskies’ task any
easier.
"I still think UCLA is coming into this weekend with a
tremendous amount of motivation to get on a roll, knowing how
important that is as they get into the tournament," Bender
said.Comments to webmaster@db.asucla.ucla.edu