BRUINS OF THE BALL? HISTORY SAYS UCLA IS NCAA-BOUND UCLA 73, OREGON 61.Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer A few weeks ago, in the cramped hallways of Maples Pavilion The raucous student section that roots for the men's basketball team is called "6th Man" and it is located in several rows along courtside. The 6th Man, alongside the Stanford Band forms one of the loudest, most creative crowds in college sports. after a not-so-good effort in a loss to Stanford, several UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX players offered opinions about what was needed to reach the NCAA Tournament NCAA Tournament can mean: Men's Sports
A sweep of the three remaining conference games was one theory. Win the final four regular-season games, including one at Notre Dame Notre Dame IPA: [nɔtʁ dam] is French for Our Lady, referring to the Virgin Mary. In the United States of America, Notre Dame , was another. Shortly after, Bruins freshman Jordan Farmar Jordan Robert Farmar (born November 30, 1986) is an American professional basketball player at starting point guard for the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers. He was previously the starting point guard for the UCLA men's basketball team. said, coach Ben Howland squashed such talk during a team meeting, imploring im·plore v. im·plored, im·plor·ing, im·plores v.tr. 1. To appeal to in supplication; beseech: implored the tribunal to have mercy. 2. his young team to adopt the boring, mundane, one-at-a-time mantra. The Bruins bought in, and so it should come as no surprise that after UCLA defeated Oregon 73-61 Saturday in front of 11,789 at Pauley Pavilion to, by all logic, secure a spot in the 65-team NCAA Tournament field, not a solitary Bruin was ready to wholeheartedly whole·heart·ed adj. Marked by unconditional commitment, unstinting devotion, or unreserved enthusiasm: wholehearted approval. whole agree. ``I'm not ready (to say it), because I've seen so many times teams have good records and still don't get in,'' UCLA senior Dijon Thompson said. ``We've got to take care of business in the Pac-10 Tournament.'' UCLA (18-9, 11-7 Pac-10) matched its season-best four-game winning streak and finish tied for third with Stanford, but the Bruins are the fourth seed in the Pac-10 Tournament because they lost both meetings with the Cardinal. The Bruins will play fifth-seeded Oregon State at 2:50 p.m. Thursday at Staples Center. UCLA won Thursday's meeting 69-61. ``A lot of people say 18 is the magic number, but, again, I say 19, knowing we have one more game,'' UCLA freshman guard Arron Afflalo said. ``If we win Thursday, I'll be saying 20. ``Realistically, the only thing that guarantees it is if we go out and win that Pac-10 Tournament.'' Oregon (14-13, 6-12) was knocked out of Pac-10 Tournament contention by the loss. The Ducks are hoping for an NIT A measurement of luminance. One nit is equal to one candela per square meter (1cd/m2). Ten thousand nits are equal to one stilb. See candela. invitation, but the Bruins are waiting for the unveiling of the NCAA NCAA abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association field March 13. ``I feel good (about the NCAAs), but I'm not taking anything for granted,'' Howland said. ``There's one way we know for sure we're in, and that's to keep winning.'' Aaron Brooks led the Ducks with 18 points, but freshman Malik Hairston, who chose Oregon over UCLA, was held to nine points on 3-of-8 shooting and booed every time he touched the ball. UCLA freshman Josh Shipp matched his career-high with 20 points, and Michael Fey added 15 points and 11 rebounds, as UCLA built a 10-point halftime lead that never fell below eight. Thompson closed out his Pauley career with 10 points and 12 rebounds in a game that defined his transformation from scorer to complete player. His eighth double-double helped UCLA outrebound the Ducks 42-22. ``I can't say enough about Dijon,'' Howland said. ``He has led this team to where we are right now. I'm really, really proud of the great year he's had, and I'm looking forward to continuing to march forward.'' That likely will include UCLA's first trip to the NCAA Tournament in three years. Teams finishing third or higher in the Pac-10 in each of the last 16 years reached the NCAA Tournament, and 60 of the past 61 Pac-10 teams to win at least 11 conference games made the field. And since 1992-93, Arizona State, which traditionally has a very weak nonconference schedule, is the only Pac-10 school to win 18 games and not advance to the NCAAs. UCLA entered the week with a strength of schedule rated 20th in the nation. The Bruins entered the week with an RPI RPI - Rockwell Protocol Interface of 31, and teams with an RPI of 40 or better usually can count on at-large bids. ``I feel good that we've got 18 wins,'' said UCLA guard Brian Morrison, who last went to the NCAAs as a freshman at North Carolina North Carolina, state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N). Facts and Figures Area, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. . ``We've still got the Pac-10 Tournament. I hope this put us in the tournament, but I really don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. . I know we're playing well. We've won (four) in a row. I'm really happy and I'm hoping we can continue it next week.'' Another consideration by the selection committee is how a team finishes. The Bruins are 8-3 in their past 11 games. ``I'm really pleased about this,' Howland said. ``I think we have some momentum now. We're playing our best basketball at the right time of year.'' Brian Dohn, (818) 713-3607 brian.dohn(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 3 photos, 2 boxes Photo: (1 -- color) UCLA's Dijon Thompson, left, who scored 10 points with 12 rebounds, drives around Oregon's Jordan Kent. (2) Ryan Hollins, left, comes down with a rebound against Oregon's Bryce Taylor during UCLA's victory Saturday at Pauley Pavilion. (3) UCLA's Ryan Hollins, right, shoots over Bryce Taylor as Oregon's Ray Schaffer, left, battles with Dijon Thompson. Edna T. Simpson/Daily News Box: (1) STORY LINES (2) PAC-10 TOURNAMENT |
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