This January feels different for the UCLA basketball team.
After what players called the most tiring road trip of the season ““ a trek to Pullman and Seattle, Wash. ““ the team has sunk to fourth place in the Pac-10. Monday, the Bruins dropped to No. 17 in the latest Associated Press top 25 and they are No. 40 in the Rating Percentage Index, which the NCAA uses to seed teams in March.
And, while the Bruins looked like a potential top seed and title contender in the past two Januarys, they now seem beatable as they prepare for games against Stanford and California this weekend at Pauley Pavilion.
“We’ve never been here before,” UCLA point guard Darren Collison said. “We’ve never been in this position. This is definitely a challenge to see if we can do some things differently.”
Several factors are hurting UCLA (15-4, 5-2 Pac-10) in the RPI rankings. First, the Bruins have played five teams ranked in the top 50 of the RPI and beaten only one of them, Miami (OH). And second, of the 343 teams ranked, UCLA has the No. 81 strength of schedule rating.
UCLA also sits behind three Pac-10 teams in the conference standings. The Bruins have already lost to first place Washington (15-4, 6-1) and second place Arizona State (16-3, 5-2). Third-place Cal (16-4, 5-2) comes to Westwood Thursday night.
Although UCLA seems to have a talent edge on Cal, Arizona State and Washington both pose significant matchup problems for the Bruins. All three teams are ranked ahead of UCLA in the RPI, meaning that, if the tournament selections were made this week, all three would likely receive a better seeding.
But there’s still plenty of time for UCLA to improve. This weekend will be especially important as the team tries to regroup.
Coach Ben Howland has said he expects a tight race, and he mentioned last year specifically, when the Bruins did not clinch the conference title until the second-to-last weekend of the regular season.
Wins this week against Cal and Stanford (13-4, 3-4) would help. The following week will also be important, when UCLA plays USC on Feb. 4 and Notre Dame Feb. 7.
The Bruins even planned ahead for that marquee matchup against Notre Dame. A team spokesman said that UCLA scheduled the USC game for a Wednesday night, instead of Thursday, so that the team will have an extra day to prepare for the Fighting Irish.
It won’t get much easier after that game; the Bruins still have difficult road trips to Arizona and the Bay Area, plus a rematch with the Huskies.
It’s a remarkably different situation for a UCLA team that has won the regular season Pac-10 title in each of the past three years, and for a program that, under coach Howland, has shown the makings of a dynasty.
Freshman Drew Gordon said after the Bruins’ loss at Washington that the team needs to forget about that reputation and play with more heart.
“I think we get too comfortable (late in games),” he said. “We’re going on reputation.”
Howland wore an exasperated look after the last loss. He praised Washington repeatedly, but at times seemed frustrated at mistakes his players made in the defeat. He also seemed extremely aware of UCLA’s position in the Pac-10 standings.
“I’m always thinking about it,” he said.