Before UCLA’s matchup with Oregon, coach Ben Howland
couldn’t stop talking about how difficult it was to match up
with the Ducks.
Saturday’s result proved his point.
Oregon’s quickness and the perimeter shooting ability of
every one of its players caused all kinds of problems for the
Bruins, especially in the first half.
“When you have a five-man that’s used to guarding
guys in the post and now he’s got to guard the perimeter, it
makes the whole team have to sag and help,” freshman forward
James Keefe said.
Oregon shot 70 percent in the first half, many of which were
easy baskets created by the penetration of Oregon’s guards.
Senior guard Aaron Brooks led the way for the Ducks, scoring 16
points without even attempting a 3-pointer.
“We are a small team, and we want to spread the floor and
use our speed,” Oregon coach Ernie Kent said. “We
always want to keep the pressure on teams, all the way through the
last possession.”
Throughout the game, Howland tried all sorts of different things
to try to slow down Oregon’s offensive attack. In an effort
to produce more quickness from his post players, Howland played
Alfred Aboya for 17 minutes while Lorenzo Mata played 19 minutes,
his lowest minute total in his last five games.
Howland also used freshman forward James Keefe for five minutes
while sophomore forward/center Ryan Wright did not see any
action.
“I thought that defensively, Alfred was just a better
matchup. It’s harder for Lorenzo to be out on the three-point
line as much as James or Alfred and Ryan Wright would have a hard
time being out there. This was a game of guards.”
When sophomore forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute picked up his
third foul early in the second half, Howland went with a four-guard
set in which Michael Roll, Josh Shipp, Arron Afflalo and Darren
Collison were all on the floor at the same time and the unit was
relatively successful.
Mata, meanwhile, struggled mightily in the minutes he did play
in both halves. The center had just two points and two rebounds and
had three costly turnovers for the Bruins.
“We needed more rebounding out of (Lorenzo),”
Howland said.
WESTBROOK SHINES: Lost among the Bruins’
defeat was the stellar performance of freshman guard Russell
Westbrook.
Westbrook, who has been playing with more confidence in each
game the Bruins play, had everything come together for him against
Oregon. Besides being the Bruins’ most active defender in his
minutes, Westbrook was a needed boost for the Bruins offensively,
attacking the Ducks’ defense and hitting his one 3-point
attempt.
Westbrook finished the game with 10 points in 13 minutes, giving
the Bruins a huge spark off the bench with Collison on the
sideline.
“I was trying to come in and help my team any way I
could,” Westbrook said. “Coach asks me to come in and
penetrate the gaps. I’m just trying to come in and do exactly
what he says.”
“Russell was phenomenal today,” Howland said.
“He played aggressively and attacked. This was his best game
as a Bruin, no question.”
SHIPP HURT AGAIN: The injuries just keep piling
up for sophomore forward Josh Shipp. First the forward sprained his
ankle in practice two weeks ago. Then he had to sit out for most of
the second half against Washington with cramps.
Now Shipp, who has somehow managed to play more than 20 minutes
in every game this season, has a hamstring injury.
Shipp felt pain in his right hamstring as he headed to the
locker room at halftime and had to be stretched out. Still, Shipp
toughed it out in the second half. Aside from an ill-advised,
failed alley-oop pass to Mata toward the end of the game, he was
probably the Bruins’ most productive player in the game.
“We weren’t even sure if he was going to play in the
second half,” Howland said. “He gutted it
up.”
Shipp, who received treatment after the game ended and did not
come out of the locker room until about an hour after the game,
does not expect to miss any time.