Friday, January 24, 1997
M. HOOPS:
Team hopes to avenge last year’s loss to Cardinals on SaturdayBy
Emmanuelle Ejercito
Daily Bruin Staff
The UCLA men’s basketball team will travel to Louisville, Ky.,
Saturday to take another aim at a ranked team as well as to avenge
the loss handed to them by the No. 6 Cardinals last year.
Because Louisville (15-2 overall, 3-1 conference) is in
Conference USA, the outcome of the game will not have a bearing on
the Pac-10 standings. However, the game gives the Bruins (11-4,
6-1) an opportunity to play against a Top 25 team and improve their
record against ranked teams to 2-2. Before the victory against
then-No. 6 Arizona (currently No. 11) last week, UCLA had suffered
bad losses against No. 1 Kansas and No. 17 Stanford. With the 96-87
win over USC Thursday night, a victory over Louisville will make a
definite case for the Bruins to break back into the Top 25.
"It seems like (UCLA) is just getting it together with the new
coach and everything that has happened," Louisville head coach and
UCLA alumnus Denny Crum said. "I would have rather played them six
months ago."
Louisville will be led by point guard DeJuan Wheat. The 6-foot
senior averages 19.1 points and 4.9 assists a game. Wheat had a
career game last season against the Bruins, snatching five steals
and dishing out nine assists.
"It will be a great opportunity for our guys to be in the NCAA
Tournament kind of environment," said UCLA head coach Steve Lavin.
"Your team is forced to play somebody with a different style than
they are used to playing because they are not in our
conference."
In last year’s contest, the Bruins lost a first-half 14-point
lead and was forced to claw their way back from a 13-point deficit
in the second half. UCLA built a one-point lead with three seconds
remaining only to have Brian Kiser sink a three-pointer to lift the
Cardinals to a 78-76 victory.
"UCLA is a talented team," Louisville senior guard B.J. Flynn
said. "Probably more talented than we are, and they probably have
revenge on their minds."