ANAHEIM “”mdash; When the Bruins took the court in the Honda Center on Saturday, they found themselves in a situation they very well could see again in March.
They were in a so-called neutral site, but one not far from home. They were playing in front of a crowd whose majority was a contingent of UCLA fans. And they were playing against a veteran, disciplined team from a mid-major conference that had a game plan that called for a lot of 3-point shooting, and not a shred of respect for UCLA’s high national ranking.
In other words, UCLA’s Wooden Classic game against Davidson looked quite a bit like a game during the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
But if both teams do make it to the big dance, coach Ben Howland has no interest in giving the Wildcats another shot at his Bruins.
“They’re a very tough, hard-nosed team,” Howland said. “I really believe Davidson will win their conference, win their conference tournament, and I would not want to be the team that has to play them in the NCAA Tournament this year. Whoever has to play them, good luck.”
Davidson had the look of a tournament Cinderella, and started the game by shutting down the Bruins defensively and letting fly from outside the 3-point line. Davidson’s perimeter game gave UCLA fits for much of the first half, and fully half of Davidson’s 54 shots in the game came from 3-point range.
“This is a team that’s unorthodox to play, in that they shoot a ton of threes,” Howland said. “It’s very much like a Princeton-esque (style) where they’re penetrating to kick back out. Everybody’s a good shooter.”
The Bruins could find themselves back in the Honda Center in March. If they are a high seed, they will likely play there in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
RANKING THE COMPETITION: When Davidson senior guard Jason Richards praised UCLA after the game, his words carried some authority. The Wildcats have played one of the nation’s toughest nonconference schedules, including close losses to No. 1 North Carolina and No. 6 Duke. According to Richards, the Bruins compare favorably with the Tar Heels and the Blue Devils.
“They’re all great defensive teams,” Richards said. “UCLA gets good chances to push it, but they’re very well organized in the half court. Carolina likes to get up and down, and Duke’s just everywhere. It’s not really different styles, but different teams, different players, different athletes. They’re all very good teams, and they all play very good defense.”
INJURY UPDATE: Junior guard Darren Collison started for the second straight game since returning from a grade-one MCL sprain that sidelined him for close to a month, finishing with 10 points in 36 minutes. Junior guard Mike Roll played 11 minutes in his second appearance since missing a similar amount of time due to a ruptured plantar fascia.
“(Collison and Roll) were both playing so well prior to their month off,” Howland said. “When you take a month off and you’re playing a high-level game, it’s difficult. (Roll’s) getting back, and we really need him to, because I don’t like looking at the sheet and seeing 37, 36, 36 minutes played by (other players).”