Thursday, January 14, 1999
Bruins battle Bears for better title shot
PREVIEW: Wary of Cal, Stanford’s record, UCLA must beat them to
stand winning chance in Pac-10
By AJ Cadman
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
California. UCLA. Bears. Bruins. This daughter university will
wage yet another battle against their parent school this evening at
legendary Pauley Pavilion to stay in the hunt for the Pac-10
title.
The Bruins (11-3, 3-1 Pac-10) face an early, but crucial, part
of their season. In one of the nation’s toughest conferences, a
sweep of the Bay Area schools by UCLA would place them at 5-1 and
atop the conference standings. On the other hand, losses to
California and No. 4 Stanford would put the Bruins at 3-3 in the
conference before facing upstart Southern Cal and non-conference
foe Louisville on the road.
"Cal and Stanford are two very strong basketball teams," said
Bruin head coach Steve Lavin. "Their 1-2 record in the conference
is misleading. They have always found a way to dominate us at
Pauley since I have been here."
The Golden Bears (10-3, 1-2 Pac-10) arrive in Westwood with high
goals this season. After probation kept them out of last year’s
NCAA Tournament, head coach Ben Braun and Co. think they have the
leadership this year to return to the NCAAs.
California features 1997-98 Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year Geno
Carlisle. The 6-3 senior guard joined the Golden Bears last season
after transferring from Northwestern. Carlisle torched the Bruins
last year at Pauley for a season high 31 points on 11 of 22
shooting, including three of eight from behind the three-point arc
in an 87-84 loss.
"Carlisle brings veteran leadership to Cal after leading the Big
10 in scoring two years ago," said Lavin. "He is very difficult to
defend because it seems his bad shots usually go in."
Carlisle is fourth in the conference in scoring this season,
scoring at a 18.1 ppg clip. Complimenting the Bears’ floor leader
is 6-2 guard Thomas Kilgore, who is No. 17 in the Pac-10 with a
13.0 ppg average and third in steals at 2.27 per game.
In the frontcourt, 6-7 sophomore forward Sean Lampley provides a
strong presence in the paint. He is No. 20 in the conference at
12.7 ppg, and third at 10.0 rebounds per game and No. 10 in field
goal percentage (49.6 percent).
"They get the ball to shooters on the outside after putting it
inside," said Lavin of Cal’s balance. "They execute well in their
half-court offense."
He will be matched up against UCLA freshman forward Jerome
Moiso, who is averaging 12.8 ppg and 6.5 rpg for the season. Moiso
scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds in his last outing
against the Oregon Ducks.
"I just keep telling him to shoot the ball when we feed it to
him," joked Lavin.
The Bruins are 9-1 with sophomore guard Baron Davis in the
lineup. Davis is currently fourth in the Pac-10 with 4.7 assists
per game. The matchup between Davis and Carlisle will showcase two
of the top point guards in the nation matching up head to head.
Freshman forward JaRon Rush will probably get the nod to start
against California. Rush continues to experience pain in his lower
back, although that has not seemed to affect his conference best 10
rebounds per game. Fellow freshman Matt Barnes will see more
playing time due to the absence of floor leader Rico Hines, who is
out four to six weeks after fracturing the fifth metatarsal bone in
his foot. DERRICK KUDO/Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Jerome Moiso sails past UNLV defense in a game during the winter
break.
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