Following an impressive sweep of the Bay Area schools this past weekend, the Bruins (25-3, 14-2 Pac-10) moved up to No. 2 in the latest AP and Coaches polls released Monday.
The Bruins, who clinched a share of the Pac-10 title with their victory over Stanford, received 10 first-place votes in the AP Poll and had a chance to move up to No. 1 if Ohio State had lost to Wisconsin on Sunday.
Instead, the Buckeyes prevailed, and they are now the No. 1 team in both polls. It is the first time since the end of the 1961-1962 season that Ohio State is ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll.
Ohio State, in fact, is the fifth team to reach the top of the AP Poll this season, joining Florida, UCLA, North Carolina and Wisconsin. It is the most teams to reach No. 1 since there were six in 2003-2004.
Besides the Bruins, there are three other Pac-10 teams in this week’s poll. Washington State is No. 13 while the Oregon Ducks moved up to No. 17 after sweeping the Washington schools this past weekend.
USC, meanwhile, moved up to No. 23 in the AP Poll after being unranked last week.
HOME WINNING STREAK: The Bruins have now won 20 consecutive home games dating back to last season, including finishing 16-0 at home this season.
Although it was the first time the Bruins have finished undefeated at home since the 1974-1975 season, the Bruins are technically credited with an undefeated season during the 1994-1995 season. The Bruins’ only home loss that year was to Cal, and the Golden Bears later had to forfeit that game.
“It’s exciting to go through an entire year and hold your home court,” coach Ben Howland said. “Teams give us their best effort every time out.”
Saturday marked the 10th time the Bruins have finished undefeated at home in the 41 years UCLA has played at Pauley Pavilion.
Of those previous nine undefeated teams, all coached by John Wooden, eight went to the Final Four and seven won the national championship.
This year’s Bruins hope they can have the same success of those nine Bruin teams.
“(Coach Wooden) established a tradition here, and we’re just doing our best to maintain it,” junior guard Arron Afflalo said. “We have done well this year, but we have a long way to go before we reach the success of those teams.”
WOODEN’S INFLUENCE: On the day the 1967 national championship team was celebrated, there was still one constant that was talked about after the game.
Legendary coach John Wooden.
Wooden spoke during the halftime ceremony of Saturday’s game, and afterward, coach Howland spoke of his relationship with legendary coach Wooden.
“It was great to have that (1967) team honored (Saturday),” Howland said. “But having coach Wooden in attendance every game is an honor enough for us.”
“(Having Wooden in attendance) is something I will never take for granted. He left me a message on my phone after the Arizona game, and I will never erase it.
“I can promise you that.”
PAC-10 SEEDINGS: Following this weekend’s games, the seedings for next week’s Pac-10 Tournament became a little more transparent.
The Bruins are the No. 1 seed as a virtue of their tiebreaker with Washington State, while the Trojans are guaranteed at least the No. 3 seed because of their tiebreaker over Oregon.
The Bruins are scheduled to play on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. against the winner of the No. 8/No. 9 matchup, which will likely be Cal versus Oregon State.
If the Bruins advance, they will be playing in the 6 p.m. game on Friday against the winner of the No. 4/ No. 5 matchup.
BENNETT CALL: The coach of Thursday’s opponent, Washington State, Tony Bennett, was irked by a Pac-10 conference call last week.
Bennett, who was linked to job openings at Minnesota, said he will no longer comment on any coaching openings, and said he is committed to working with Cougars athletic director Jim Sterk to go over his future.
UCLA’s matchup with the Cougars on Thursday in Pullman, Wash., is sold-out, and Bennett prefers to look at the future.
“It’s exciting to see what could happen here,” Bennett told The Associated Press. “There are lots of games left, and the story is not finished yet.”
“We’ll be able to enjoy it all after the season, or when we are 50 years old and have beer bellies and can say at one point we were ranked ninth or 10th.”
DRIBBLERS: Afflalo is featured in a poll on ESPN.com as College Basketball’s Big Man on Campus. … The Bruins have been outshot by an opponent only four times this season, and all four times the Bruins have won. … Sophomore point guard Darren Collison was added to the Wooden Award watch list.