Traveling to frigid Washington weather for a pair of games this
weekend, the only thing more difficult for the Bruins than
preventing their 2-0 Pac-10 record from freezing might be packing
their suitcases.
“I’ve never been to seven below,” freshman
forward Trevor Ariza said. “I don’t even know how to
pack for that.”
The Bruins have shown they do know how to prepare for conference
play and have transitioned into the Pac-10 portion of their season
with two solid wins last weekend over Oregon State and Oregon.
But if UCLA (6-3, 2-0 Pac-10) wants to affirm its renewed claim
to Pac-10 respectability under coach Ben Howland, they must return
from the Washington trip with two impressive wins.
Tonight, UCLA will face physical play from Washington State, a
team struggling under new coach Dick Bennett’s rebuilding
efforts. The Cougars (7-5 overall, 1-1 Pac-10) are coming off a
55-50 victory over Cal last weekend, which snapped their 22-game
Pac-10 road game losing streak.
“Because it’s done once, the biggest mistake I could
make is to assume we got it, we understand it, we’ll do it
again,” Bennett said of the win.
The Cougars are as experienced as any Pac-10 team, including
senior Marcus Moore, a 6-foot-6 guard who led WSU last year in
scoring, rebounding and steals. Junior guard Jeff Varem has just
begun his career with the Cougars after sitting out the beginning
of the season.
Varem, who moved to the United States from Nigeria when he was
16, played basketball for a community college in Indiana and was
recruited by Dick’s son, Tony Bennett, to play for WSU.
After sitting out a portion of the Cougars’ season due to
NCAA ineligibility, Varem returned to the court three games ago and
led Washington State in scoring against Cal with 15 points. With
junior guard Brian Morrison still nursing a hamstring injury, the
Bruins will have to counter Varem’s penchant for the
perimeter, combined with his physical presence at 6-feet-6 inches
and 235 pounds.
Varem and Moore aren’t the only big guys on WSU’s
team. The Cougars last starting line-up posted players all
6-foot-5 or taller, and three over 200 pounds.
“It’s going to be a lot more physical,”
sophomore center Michael Fey said. “They’ve got some
big guys who like to set screens. It’s going to be more of a
grind.”
Fey, who is a Washington native, will be playing in front of
family and friends this weekend ““ and on Sunday, against a
Husky team he knew from high school.
Washington (6-6, 0-2 Pac-10) lost to both Stanford and Cal last
weekend to open their conference play on the road. The Huskies are
shooting free throws at 75 percent as a team, and their stability
at the line means that the Bruins will have to repeat their
25-of-32 free throw performance from their contest against
Oregon.Â
If UCLA lapses into the free throw shooting funk that plagued
the Bruins all the way into conference play against Oregon State
““ where they sank only 3-of-11 at the line ““ Washington
could walk away with a win.
Howland pointed out key aspects the Bruins would have to work on
this weekend, such as not being tentative against their
opponent’s press and relying on performances from their
bench.Â
After breaking the ice of conference play with two wins under
their belts, the Bruins will have to rely on confidence and
aggressiveness this weekend, especially against an elated WSU team,
which is coming off its first Pac-10 win in a long time.
“Going on 40 years of coaching, there’s no telling
what’s going to happen,” Bennett said.
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The Washington State game tonight will not be televised locally
but can be heard on the radio at AM 1150 and online at www.uclabruins.com. Saturday’s
Washington game will be televised locally on Fox Sports Net West
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