One by one, they recited the company line, a stale, humdrum,
one-at-a-time mantra that the Bruins have adopted since the
calendar turned to March.
First, UCLA coach Ben Howland stepped up to the podium on
Saturday night after the Bruins defeated Oregon, 73-61, and
reiterated that the team must keep winning to assure an NCAA
Tournament berth.
Then, senior Dijon Thompson and freshman Jordan Farmar vowed
only to focus on getting a victory in their next game. Finally,
freshmen Arron Afflalo and Josh Shipp steadfastly insisted that the
only way they will feel confident about the postseason is if the
Bruins win next week’s Pac-10 Tournament.
“A lot of people have said 18 wins is the magic number,
but again, I say 19, knowing that we have to win one more
game,” said Afflalo, stifling a sheepish grin. “And if
we win Thursday, I’ll be saying 20.”
Whether or not the Bruins (18-9, 11-7 Pac-10) extend their
four-game winning streak next week, history is on their side.
By defeating the Ducks, UCLA tied Stanford for third place in
the conference. Every team that has finished third or higher in the
Pac-10 has made the NCAA Tournament over the past 16 years, as have
60 of the past 61 Pac-10 teams that won at least 11 conference
games.
“I feel good about where we are,” Howland said,
“but I’m not taking anything for granted.”
UCLA, seeded fourth in the conference tournament as a result of
its two losses to Stanford, will face fifth-place Oregon State in
the quarterfinals of the Pac-10 Tournament at Staples Center on
Thursday night. The Beavers, winless on the road in conference
play, split the season series with the Bruins, winning in Corvallis
on New Year’s Eve, but falling 69-61 last Thursday night at
Pauley Pavilion.
Oregon’s loss, coupled with California’s overtime
victory against Washington State, means the Ducks (14-13, 6-12)
have been eliminated from Pac-10 Tournament contention. They will
hope to receive an NIT bid on March 13, the same day that the
Bruins will learn their NCAA Tournament fate.
“We hope we’re in, but we won’t be able to ice
it unless we keep winning,” Thompson said. “We just
have to take care of business in the Pac-10 Tournament.”
Thompson, who was playing in his final game at Pauley Pavilion,
had his eighth double-double of the season, but scored only 10
points on 3-for-10 shooting. Farmar, too, had a quiet day
offensively, tallying 10 points and looking to distribute the ball
instead of attack the basket himself.
But with their two leading scorers held in check, the Bruins got
key contributions from other players. Junior Michael Fey helped
UCLA build a 10-point halftime lead, posting 13 of his 15 points
before the break. And Shipp picked up the slack in the second half,
finding a seam in the defense, pulling down a key rebound, or
coming up with an important defensive stop whenever the Ducks
threatened to make a game of it. Shipp finished with a game-high 20
points, but four other Bruins also tallied double-figures.
“It was a team effort again,” Farmar said.
“We’re really sharing the ball, we’re defending,
and we’re rebounding. If someone gets beat, there’s
always another guy to pick up the slack.”
The Bruins, who led by as many as 15 points in the second half,
never allowed Oregon to get closer than eight. It was UCLA’s
fifth win in its last six games, but it still couldn’t
persuade the Bruins to admit that they have done enough to earn
their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2002.
“The only for sure way is to win the Pac-10
Tournament,” Shipp said. “That’s the goal right
now ““ to not leave it up to anyone else.”