CATHERINE JAYIN JUN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Lavin opposes the referee’s call against UCLA in
its loss to USC this season.
Lavin: “˜It’s my fault’
Head coach Steve Lavin blamed himself for last week’s loss
to USC.
He said he was angry that he didn’t play his bench more
and vowed to give more minutes to the younger players so that they
can develop faster.
“I was sick to my stomach when I turned the tape off on
Thursday night,” Lavin said. “I should have substituted
more liberally. We gotta let these kids come of age, even if it
means falling down and picking themselves back up.”
Player of the Week times three
Matt Barnes was honored three times for his performances against
USC and Kansas last week.
He was named Pac-10 Player of the Week, Sports Illustrated
National Player of the Week and CollegeInsider.com National Player
of the Week after scoring 61 points, pulling 10 rebounds, and
distributing four assists during the two-game span.
Barnes’ 61 points is the most by a UCLA player in a
two-game period since Ed O’Bannon scored 64 (27 vs. Cal and
37 vs. Duke) in 1995.
Movin’ on up
UCLA moved up two notches to No. 9 in this week’s AP
poll.
The No. 9 ranking is the highest by UCLA since Nov. 19, when the
Bruins were No. 3. But the No. 3 ranking was before they had played
a regular season game.
UCLA dropped to No. 10 the following week after losing to Ball
State, its second game of the season.
Pac-10 notes
The Pac-10 had five teams ranked in the AP Top 25 (No. 9 UCLA,
No. 15 Arizona, No. 18 USC, No. 19 Stanford and No. 23 Oregon).
Five teams is the most the Pac-10 has had ranked since Feb. 13,
1995. … Cal center Solomon Hughes could see his first action this
week since since straining his right knee in late December. Hughes
leads the Pac-10 with a 69.6 field-goal percentage. …
Tuesday’s game against Willamette marks the 75th birthday of
McArthur Court, which is the oldest Division I basketball facility
in the country. … USC (13-2; 5-0 Pac-10) is off to their best
start through 15 games since 1975.
Notes compiled by Greg Schain, Daily Bruin Contributor.