For the past three years, this calendar week for the men’s basketball team has been focused on the prospects of gaining a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament.
This time around?
Not quite.
“It’s a little weird, but we’ve got a different team,” senior point guard Darren Collison said. “(This situation) is very different. Everybody can see how different it is.”
UCLA (22-7, 11-5 Pac-10) has been projected as a No. 5 seed in the East region by the latest ESPN mock brackets, which would be their lowest seed since 2005. The past three seasons, the Bruins have been a No. 1 or 2 seed in the West region, allowing them to stay closer to home through the first two regionals.
Now, the Bruins are facing the prospect of not only a lower seed but also getting shipped away from the West Coast.
“Where you play does matter,” Collison said. “A lot of traveling results in fatigue and jet lag. … The only reason we want a good seed is to play on the West Coast.”
If the Bruins land in the West region, the first two rounds would be played in Portland, Ore., and the regional finals would be in Glendale, Ariz.
With a seed in the East region, UCLA would play in Boise, Idaho, then fly out to Boston for the following two rounds.
Most likely, the Bruins would need to win both games this weekend, then post at least two wins in the conference tournament to stay in the West.
For Collison and the Bruins, who have the most NCAA Tournament wins of any team in the last three years, their seeding is not what’s important.
“Seedings don’t matter,” Collison said. “You guys know seedings don’t matter. We’re just trying to get a good seed so we can play in the West as much as possible. It’s just being smart.”
As cliche as it sounds, coach Ben Howland knows the importance of not counting his tournament chickens before they hatch. The Bruins still have an upstart Oregon State team to deal with on Thursday, a matchup against conference doormat Oregon on Saturday, then the Pac-10 Tournament next weekend.
“I worry about getting ahead of ourselves,” Howland said. “Bottom line is that we’ve just got to take care of Thursday. We have no control over (the seedings) other than what’s before us each and every game.”
PAC-10 TITLE OUT OF BRUINS’ CONTROL: The Bruins need to win both games this weekend and also need Washington to lose at home on Sunday to Washington State in order to claim the conference co-championship. With the Pac-10 title out of their control, the Bruins are focused on bigger things.
“The No. 1 thing people remember is who won the NCAA Tournament,” Collison said. “They didn’t talk about how we beat Stanford in the Pac-10 Tournament (last year). All they talked about was how we lost to Memphis in the Final Four for the third straight time.
“Not to discredit (Washington’s) coach Romar and his staff ““ what they’re doing is good for them ““ but at the same time we’ve got bigger goals that we’re trying to accomplish.”
HOLIDAY ON HAAS: The electric atmosphere at Saturday’s game at California’s Haas Pavilion drew comments from freshman guard Jrue Holiday on Tuesday.
“That was probably the loudest gym I’ve ever played in,” Holiday said. “It was the craziest, best atmosphere, and it was definitely us against the world.”
Though it wasn’t the first time the Bruins have played on national TV this season, the win solidified Holiday’s view that UCLA can handle the pressure.
“We can do it,” Holiday said. “We can play in big-time games, and when it comes down to crunch time, we’re going to follow through.”
INJURY UPDATE: Both junior forwards James Keefe (back spasms) and Nikola Dragovic (flu) felt better Tuesday. Dragovic was still sick when the Bruins played at Cal on Saturday, and Keefe sat out Thursday’s game at Stanford.