EDWARD LIN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Senior Dan
Gadzuric fends off two USC players for the ball Feb.
6.
By Greg Schain
Daily Bruin Reporter
Before the season started, 27 members of the media picked who
they thought would finish atop the Pac-10.
Twenty-six picked UCLA.
One picked Arizona.
“Somebody picked us to win the Pac-10?” a shocked
Arizona coach Lute Olson said when he found out.
“That’s more of a credit to the program’s history
than where we actually stand.”
Even Olson didn’t realize the power of his team. With six
games to go, the No. 9 Wildcats (17-6, 10-3 Pac-10) stand at the
pinnacle of a crowded leaderboard, even though they have just one
returning starter. They are a game up on Oregon and one and a half
games up on Cal, Stanford, USC and UCLA.
MEN’S BASKETBALL vs. Tonight
7:30 p.m. Pauley Pavilion Fox Sports Net
The No. 20 Bruins (16-7, 8-4) will get the first opportunity to
knock Arizona off of their nest when the Wildcats visit Pauley
Pavilion tonight for what will likely be a heated, fast-paced
contest.
“Every year we’ve played at Pauley, it has been a
high energy game,” Olson said. “And this year should be
no different.”
The Bruins should come out of the gate with a lot of energy
because they all still remember the infamous Debacle in the Desert,
Jan. 19 at Arizona, where they blew a 20-point lead with 14 minutes
left and went on to lose.
“It’s fresh in our minds,” junior forward
Jason Kapono said. “But we can pay them back tonight. We had
a chance to be sitting on top of the Pac-10 and we squandered it.
But now we have a chance to redeem ourselves.”
Before the Bruins think about winning the Pac-10 title, they
need to answer some serious questions.
First, can they keep up with a team that likes to run the floor?
As soon as Arizona upped the tempo in the second half against UCLA,
the Bruins looked helpless and gave up their large lead. They
committed far too many turnovers and didn’t show the patience
in waiting for smart shots to open up.
And Olson expects the game to come down to shooting and ball
handling, aspects of the game where UCLA has been inconsistent.
“This game will come down to shooting percentage and ball
possessions,” Olson said. “And that’s determined
by the number of offensive rebounds and the number of turnovers
versus recoveries.”
The Bruins also need to address the issue of Channing Frye, one
of Arizona’s standout freshmen. Frye, a 6-foot, 10-inch
center, exploded for 19 points and eight rebounds against UCLA in
Tuscon earlier this season.
“Frye really beat us up last time we played,” senior
guard Billy Knight said. “We can’t let him have that
kind of game again if we want to win.”
According to UCLA head coach Steve Lavin, the Bruins had three
goals going into the season. They wanted to win a Pac-10
championship, win the Pac-10 conference tournament and win the NCAA
Championship.
Lavin is quick to remind that those goals are still within
reach, but tonight’s game is crucial.
“It starts tonight against Arizona,” he said.
“At the end of the day, all of our goals going into the year
are still attainable.”