VIDEO: UCLA coach Ben Howland before playing Arizona State

TEMPE, Ariz. “”mdash; UCLA coach Ben Howland met with reporters in the team hotel on Friday.

Howland talked about the struggles of junior guard Lazeric Jones and sophomore forward Tyler Honeycutt.

Howland also talked about his team having maturity issues when playing on the road.

The Bruins are set to take on Arizona State Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

VIDEO: Arizona postgame locker room

TUCSON, Ariz. “”mdash; The UCLA men’s basketball team meets the media after its 85-74 road loss to Arizona.

The thumping was broadcast nationally on ESPN2. The crowd at Arizona’s McKale Center harassed the Bruins all night long leading to a technical foul on UCLA junior guard Lazeric Jones.

Then, after sophomore forward Reeves Nelson fouled out with 2:58 to play, the “ZonaZoo” recited Nelson’s steps as he returned to the bench. Nelson had words with the Arizona student section.

The Bruins talk about defensive lapses and struggling to stop Arizona big man Derrick Williams.

Bruins look to grow up against Arizona State

TUCSON, Ariz. “”mdash; In the Bruins’ 85-74 loss to Arizona Thursday, the “ZonaZoo” seemed to not be full of Wildcats, but parrots.

Squawking incessantly, Arizona’s student section succeeded in harassing the Bruins in front of a national television audience. Junior point guard Lazeric Jones received a technical foul for an elbow to the face of junior guard Kyle Fogg. And to add insult to injury, UCLA sophomore forward Reeves Nelson received the age old “left-right” treatment as he retreated to the bench after fouling.

Bruins trail Wildcats 38-33 after first half

TUCSON, Ariz. “”mdash; The UCLA men’s basketball team’s duel in the desert with the Arizona Wildcats is living up to the hype.

After a back and forth first half, the Bruins trail 38-33 at the break in tonight’s battle for second place in the Pac-10.

Arizona’s NBA prospect sophomore Derrick Williams has caused all sorts of matchup problems for the Bruins in the first half, scoring 12 points that included a couple of electrifying dunks that sent the sell-out crowd at the McKale Center into a frenzy.

VIDEO: UCLA baseball coach John Savage at media day

UCLA baseball coach John Savage participated in Southern California Baseball Coaches Media Day Wednesday at ESPN Zone in Anaheim.

The event included a coaches cook-off in which each coach had to prepare a dish of sliders, or miniature hamburgers (pun intended).

Savage’s jalapeño sliders won the award for best presentation. He called it “Fillet de Gillespie” after his coaching mentor and current UC Irvine coach John Gillespie.