Now that UCLA is on a three-game losing streak, Ben Howland is
having trouble sleeping at night.
“If you’re really sacrificing, if you really care,
if you’re really working your hardest, when you lose, it
should be something that bothers you and therefore motivates you to
not allow that to happen again,” Howland said Tuesday.
“You’ve got to have some fight. The thing that is
important to me is how much you are hurt and bothered when you
lose.”
If the Bruins (9-6, 5-3 Pac-10) don’t wake up after
lackluster road games in the Bay Area last week, Howland might have
to start counting his gray hairs rather than sheep.
Crosstown rival USC comes to Pauley Pavilion tonight also
boasting a three-game losing streak, yet the Trojans (8-9, 3-5) are
playing better basketball as of late.
UCLA will have to play well in order to conclude the first half
of their Pac-10 schedule on a good note.
“We have to think positively about ourselves,” Bruin
forward Trevor Ariza said. “We have to keep our intensity
up.”
UCLA will be energized by the return of junior guard Brian
Morrison, who has been sidelined for the past nine games due to a
strained left hamstring.
Morrison returned to practice Monday for the first time in five
weeks, and he is expected to receive limited minutes tonight.
“He impacts us big (offensively and defensively),”
Howland said. “He’s our best pure shooter and
transition defender without question.”
Making his second start of the season at center will be
sophomore Ryan Hollins.
Hollins had been expected to start Saturday against California,
but Howland made a game-time decision to start Michael Fey. Howland
admitted Tuesday that it was a mistake to do so. UCLA has been
dominated in rebounds for the past three games.
USC played well against Arizona, Stanford and Cal ““ the
three Pac-10 teams that have defeated UCLA.
The Trojans will also present the Bruins with matchup problems.
USC has the athleticism to press and trap, things that have caused
UCLA problems in the past.
Behind 40 points from guard Desmon Farmer, the Trojans upset
Arizona 99-90 on Jan. 15. They lost to Cal by a point, 63-62, and
led Stanford at halftime before falling 77-67 on Saturday.
“Their 3-5 record doesn’t indicate how good they
are,” UCLA point guard Cedric Bozeman said. “If they
get out and run, they can beat anybody.”
Revenge is also on the Bruins’ minds, who were swept in
the season series in 2002-2003 for the first time since 1992.
“It was hard to walk off the floor, but this is a new
year,” Bozeman said.