BRUINS, TROJANS KEEP THEIR FOCUS : UCLA WINS PAC-10 CHAMPIONSHIP BUT SETS ITS SIGHTS ON THE NCAAS UCLA 74, OREGON 67.

Byline: Jon Wilner Daily News Staff Writer

The most important play was the one they didn't make.

With hundreds of students rushing the Pauley Pavilion court on Saturday to celebrate UCLA's 74-67 victory over Oregon and the Pacific-10 title that came with it, the Bruins darted to their locker room.

And as the students gathered around the east basket and waited for UCLA players to hug and dance and cut the nets, the Bruins showered, dressed and kept their eyes on the big prize.

``I'm not into cutting down nets for the conference championship,'' point guard Cameron Dollar said. ``I want one net - and y'all know what one that is.''

In the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, site of the Final Four.

``We have to look at the bigger picture,'' guard Toby Bailey said. ``Last year, I think we were satisfied with winning the Pac-10.''

Saturday's victory clinched a share of the Pac-10 title and gave UCLA (19-7, 13-3) the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, since it can do no worse than tie with two teams it swept, USC and Arizona.

A win in Washington next week clinches the Bruins' third consecutive outright title - a feat matched by only one team (Oregon State, 1980-82) since the league expanded to 10 teams in 1978.

But don't expect the Bruins to celebrate in Seattle or Pullman, either. They have eight rungs to climb on the greaseboard ladder coach Steve Lavin drew several months ago.

``The Pac-10 is just one step,'' said Charles O'Bannon, who led UCLA with 23 points in his last home game. ``We have a lot of games to go. The next level is to win a game in the tournament. Then a second game, and so on.''

But Oregon coach Jerry Green's zone defense may have given future UCLA opponents a blueprint for derailing the Bruins, who have won seven straight and are one of the nation's hottest teams. Green deployed the zone after watching the Bruins struggle from the perimeter Thursday against Oregon State, and for 35 minutes it stymied UCLA's big men and forced the guards to score from the perimeter, which they failed to do.

``If I had to play them on a neutral court (in the NCAAs),'' Green said, ``I'd think about the zone. Because man-to-man, one-on-one they're a load for a lot of people to handle.''

The zone wasn't UCLA's only problem. Perhaps stuck in a post-Duke lull, perhaps caught up in the pregame ceremony honoring O'Bannon, Dollar and Bob Myers, the Bruins had no energy in the opening minutes. They were a step slow on defense and made half-hearted attempts to rebound, giving the Ducks a slew of second and third chances to score.

Meanwhile, Oregon played with the same emotion it used to defeat the Bruins in overtime last month in Eugene. The Ducks were aggressive in the 2-3 zone, rebounded relentlessly and hit their open shots. When guard Jamal Lawrence slashed through UCLA's sieve-like defense for a layup with 10 minutes left in the first half, Oregon's lead was 27-11.

``It was as good as we've played all year,'' Green said.

But back-to-back 3-point shots by Brandon Loyd and O'Bannon rallied the Bruins, who outscored Oregon 20-7 in the final minutes and trailed by three points when the half ended.

``It hurts when you let a team come all the way back like that after you've been way ahead the whole half,'' Bailey said.

With six healthy players in the second half - Kris Johnson (sprained ankle) and Loyd (bruised knee) could not go - Lavin ordered the Bruins into a matchup zone of their own. It slowed the Ducks' attack and helped UCLA's big men gain better rebound position.

``We had to pick our spots to use the man-to-man because we only had six players,'' said Lavin, whose five starters played 96 of 100 minutes in the second half.

UCLA held the Ducks without a field goal in the final 6:34 and took control with a 13-2 surge in which Bailey, as usual, was the featured player.

After Oregon's lead expanded to 62-58, he hit his only 3-pointer of the game. With three minutes left, he blew past Henry Madden for a layup to give UCLA a 67-64 lead. Then he found Jelani McCoy for a ferocious dunk and five-point advantage with 2:39 remaining.

``They were too close too late in the game for us not to step up and make the big plays,'' McCoy said.

MAKING HISTORY

With one victory UCLA joins the 1980-82 Oregon State Beavers as the only teams to win three consecutive outright conference titles since the Pac-10 expanded to 10 teams in 1978.

Here's a look at how their records compare, in conference play and overall.

Oregon State

1980 16-226-4

1981 17-1 26-2

1982 16-2 25-5

UCLA

1995 16-2 31-2

1996 16-2 23-8

1997 13-3 19-7

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Chart

Photo: (color) UCLA's Bob Myers, center, gets high-fives.

Associated Press 

Chart: MAKING HISTORY (see text)