Wednesday, January 20, 1999
Notebook
Watson expected to play vs. USC
Sophomore guard Earl Watson will play against USC tonight after
all.
After tearing the webbing between his third and fourth fingers
on his right hand Saturday against Stanford, Watson said he
expected to miss a week or two.
But Tuesday head coach Steve Lavin said that Watson isn’t
expected to miss any starts.
"I think in terms of defense, rebounding and distributing the
ball he should be fine," Lavin said.
"With his shooting hand injured it may be more difficult to
shoot the ball, but other areas should be fine."
Watson has started all 16 games this year, and was the only
player to start all 33 games last season.
Down in AP poll, same in coaches
The hard-fought 72-59 loss to Stanford seemed to gain respect
for the Bruins.
In most cases a 13-point loss at home would do serious damage to
a team’s ranking, but when it comes against the fourth-ranked team
in the country, it’s a different story.
UCLA fell from 10th to 13th in the Associated Press writer’s
poll.
UCLA didn’t budge at all in the coaches poll, where the Bruins
are still ranked 12th.
Bruins zone out against defenses
Both of the Bruins’ two conference losses were largely
attributed to their lack of success against zone defenses.
Oregon State used the zone throughout the game, while Stanford
used it at the end of the contest Saturday, to overcome a small
Bruin lead.
The Bruins have been unable to counter this defense because of
their lack of outside shooting.
In the two losses, they have connected on only five of 41
three-point attempts.
The Bruins are shooting only 33 percent from the field as a
whole.
"We’ve gotten good looks, but when you do get a good look,
you’ve got to make the shot," Lavin said.
"It comes down to ball movement, not settling for jumpshots, but
knocking it down when you get a shot."
Nevertheless, Lavin doesn’t expect to see much zone the
remainder of the season.
"I don’t think in general we’ll see it, but we could be wrong,
maybe we’ll see it all the time," he said.
"I think it will be on a game-to-game basis."
Freshmen to see more action
Both forward Matt Barnes and guard Ray Young are expected to see
more playing time in the coming weeks.
"Barnes will continue to see more action and I would like to
play Young for a more sustained period of time," Lavin said.
"I probably need to be more patient with him because he plays
well when you give him a stretch of 8-9 minutes."
Barnes played 13 minutes against Stanford.
He scored two points and had three rebounds. He had not played
more than six minutes in any other league game this season.
Young has averaged 13 minutes per game, highlighted by an
11-point, 4-rebound, and 2-block performance in 30 minutes of
action against Arizona State.
Anniversary of end of win streak
The 25th anniversary of the end of UCLA’s record 88-game winning
streak was Tuesday.
On Jan. 19, 1974 the Bruins fell to Notre Dame, 71-70, after
blowing an 11-point lead with just over three minutes
remaining.
UCLA would beat Notre Dame at Pauley Pavilion, 94-75, but would
lose three more games that season — including a loss in the NCAA
semi-finals.
That loss to North Carolina State in the Final Four ended
another Bruin streak – seven consecutive national
championships.
Notes compiled by Brent Boyd, Daily Bruin Staff.
Comments, feedback, problems?
© 1998 ASUCLA Communications Board[Home]