TUCSON, Ariz. “”mdash; UCLA coach Ben Howland called him the probable Pac-10 Player of the Week.
UCLA point guard Darren Collison referred to him as a leader.
Arizona teammate Chase Budinger described him simply as a clutch player.
Whatever the adjective, all Arizona point guard Nic Wise proved to be in the Bruins’ 84-72 loss on Saturday at the McKale Center was a thorn in the side for UCLA.
Wise finished the game with a team-high 26 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field. Throughout the game, Wise displayed an ability to drive past Bruin defenders, finish at the basket, get to the foul line (where he was 7-of-9), and even bring former Arizona stars Jerryd Bayless and Jason Terry to their feet.
“It’s a pleasure to watch Nic play,” Arizona interim head coach Russ Pennell said. “He is fearless, aggressive, and whenever we’re going to be going up against a good point guard, he is always stepping up.”
It was a complete turnaround from the game Wise had in the teams’ first meeting, where he was held to just five points on 1-of-8 shooting from the field in a 83-60 loss to UCLA at Pauley Pavilion.
Last week was productive for Wise, who torched the USC Trojans for 27 points in a 83-76 victory on Thursday night.
For Wise, the reason behind his high-level of play is simple.
“It’s just confidence,” Wise said. “This style of play that we have been playing as of late really suits my style. It gives the point guard a lot of freedom. It’s a lot like coach (Lute) Olson’s offense.”
UCLA ROAD TRIP MAKES FOR BAD HISTORY: It had been a long time ““ five years in fact ““ since the Bruins were swept in a Pac-10 road trip. But it happened last weekend as they fell to Arizona State 74-67 on Thursday and 84-72 to Arizona on Saturday.
It was the first time since coach Ben Howland’s first season in Westwood during the 2003-2004 season, when the Bruins dropped the regular season finale trip to the Oregon schools.
After Saturday’s game, both Bruin coaches and players emphasized the need to overcome the defeat if they wish to have any success when first-place Washington visits Pauley Pavilion on Thursday.
“Everybody has to understand that you’ve got to bounce back,” Collison said. “This is basketball; you’re going to lose tough games in basketball. If anybody knows how to play the game of basketball, you’re going to lose tough games. It’s not how you lose; it’s how you bounce back from a loss.”
Senior guard Josh Shipp commented on the lost opportunity to seize first place in the Pac-10 after the teams’s two disheartening losses in the desert.
“We were in the driver’s seat,” Shipp said. “If we could have gotten these two wins, we would have been in a great position. But we’re down there fighting now, so this is a big week for us. It is a gut check, and we need these wins.”
Freshman guard Jrue Holiday was a bit more blunt with his take.
“It’s going to be a bad plane ride; it’s going to be a bad bus ride. It’s pretty much going to be bad until our next game.”
BRUINS OFF THE LINE: One of the more peculiar statistics of the game was that the Bruins failed to attempt a free throw in the first half. On the game, they attempted seven, making five, compared to Arizona’s 30 attempts and 23 makes.
“We definitely wanted to be more aggressive and get to the line,” Shipp said. “We tried. We tried to force a few things. That’s probably our fault.”