BRUINS AREN'T DUCKING THIS CHALLENGE TONIGHT'S GAME VS. OREGON COULD BE FOR PAC-10 -- AND A NO. 1 SEED IN NCAAS.Byline: BRIAN DOHN Staff Writer The calendar has flipped to February and the NCAA Tournament NCAA Tournament can mean: Men's Sports
UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX tonight. The fifth-ranked Bruins host No. 9 Oregon at Pauley Pavilion Edwin W. Pauley Pavilion, informally and commonly known as Pauley Pavilion, is an indoor arena located on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles, California. It is home to the UCLA Bruins men's and women's basketball teams. The men's and women's volleyball teams also play here. in a showdown for first place in the Pacific-10 Conference The Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) is a college athletic conference which operates in the western United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I. Membership Full members , but the game involves so much more. The teams are tied atop the conference, but the outcome of a rematch the Ducks won a month ago in Eugene, Ore., figures to go a long way in deciding seedings in the NCAAs. The winner, with a strong finish, becomes the front-runner for one of the four coveted cov·et v. cov·et·ed, cov·et·ing, cov·ets v.tr. 1. To feel blameworthy desire for (that which is another's). See Synonyms at envy. 2. To wish for longingly. See Synonyms at desire. No. 1 seeds in next month's NCAA Tournament. ``Winning your conference outright, not so much the (conference) tournament, has a lot to do with seedings (in the NCAAs),'' UCLA guard Arron Afflalo Arron Agustin Afflalo (born October 15, 1985) is an American professional basketball player, currently with the Detroit Pistons. He recently completed a three-year career at University of California, Los Angeles in the Pacific Ten Conference of the NCAA as the starting shooting said. ``Losing this game will put us at a disadvantage.'' Bruins coach Ben Howland Ben Howland (born May 28, 1957 in Lebanon, Oregon) is an American college head coach of men's basketball. He has been the head coach of the University of California, Los Angeles since 2003, and recently signed a contract extension through 2013. was in ``no one game is more important than another'' mode, but his players weren't saying the same thing. ``This game is very, very important. One of our biggest games of the year, if not the biggest game of the year,'' UCLA power forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (born 9 September 1986 in Yaounde, Cameroon) is a 6' 8" Cameroonian basketball player who plays for the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Bruins in the Pacific Ten Conference of the NCAA. said. ``This is for the Pac-10 championship, whoever wants to stay in first place.'' Think it's crazy to wonder about NCAA NCAA abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association seeds with half of the Pac-10 schedule remaining? Well, a loss by the Bruins (18-2, 7-2 Pac-10) would make it so Oregon (19-2, 7-2) would have to stumble mightily down the stretch not to finish ahead of UCLA. The first tie-breaker when it comes to determining the Pac 10's winner is head-to-head play. Because of what transpired last month at McArthur Court McArthur Court is a basketball arena located on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene. Also known as "The Pit," it is known as one of the toughest arenas in the country for opposing players to play in. The arena is named for Clifton N. , another Oregon win would mean UCLA, if it lost this time, would have to finish ahead of the Ducks to win the conference. In essence, Oregon's one-game lead would be a two-game lead. UCLA still must travel to Arizona, Washington and upstart Washington State. Oregon already has played at those schools (winning twice), and will play host to all three in the next four weeks. ``They're in first place right now, so we have to go out and get this win,'' said UCLA wing Josh Shipp Josh Shipp (born 23 January in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) is an American motivational speaker and author focusing on youth and college-aged audiences. He is noted as being one of the youngest speakers ever accepted into the National Speakers Association. , who was reminded the teams were tied for first. ``They beat us, so they're in first. They have the edge on us, and we need to get it back'' Even if the Bruins were to win the Pac-10 Tournament title, history suggests the NCAA selection committee puts a much heavier weight on the regular season, and thus, will reward the regular-season champion. And, finally, the Pac-10's top seed in the NCAAs is likely to remain in the West, while the other seeds likely will be shifted around the country. Last March the Bruins were a No. 2 seed and played essentially fourhome games -- two in SanDiego, two in Oakland -- en route to a Final Four berth. If the Bruins are a No. 1 seed next month, they could start the NCAAs in Sacramento and play in the regionals in San Jose San Jose, city, United States San Jose (sănəzā`, săn hōzā`), city (1990 pop. 782,248), seat of Santa Clara co., W central Calif.; founded 1777, inc. 1850. . ``They beat us up there at their place, so we still have that feeling in our hearts, so we definitely don't want to lose against them at home,'' Mbah a Moute said of the Ducks. ``For me, it's one of the biggest games of the year.'' Although the Bruins are 11-0 at home, they will see a more complete Oregon squad than the Aaron Brooks-led team that posted a 68-66 victory Jan. 6. Wing Malik Hairston is back after sitting out the first game with a heel injury, and he adds size and athleticism to a small but mobile Ducks lineup. But Brooks is Oregon's main cog. With Afflalo saddled with foul trouble, Darren Collison was also called upon to guard Brooks, who scored 25 points -- including the winning basket with 13.4 seconds remaining -- in the first meeting. Brooks is averaging a Pac-10-leading 19.1 points per game, and Afflalo, one of the best defenders in the nation, said he watched more film than usual to prepare for this matchup. In Brooks' eightconference games, he is shooting 55.6 percent from 3-point range. ``This is a loss I want to avenge personally,'' Afflalo said. ``I give (Brooks) all the credit. He's very good, and he's done it throughout the season. I feel like the type of effort I approach a game with, I feel I can slow him down. ``I'm going to try to make him work at everything he does. If he guards me, then I'm going to move all around to make him chase me.'' CAPTION(S): 2 photos, box Photo: (1 -- color) ARRON AFFLALO (2 -- color) AARON BROOKS Box: No. 5 UCLA vs. No. 9 OREGON - Brian Dohn |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion