RANKING IS `NOTHING' TO NO. 1 BRUINS UCLA TOPS THE AP POLL FOR FIRST TIME SINCE WINNING NATIONAL TITLE IN 1995.Byline: BRIAN DOHN Staff Writer UCLA's 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. picked up a sheet of paper, noticed the Bruins were the No. 1-ranked team in the Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. poll, and flipped it back onto a desk. ``Nothing. It means nothing to me,'' said Mbah a Moute, a sophomore power forward. ``It's just paper. It's rankings. It doesn't matter. It means people are going to come harder at you, so, to me, it means nothing. You look at the rankings, it's going to change the whole season.'' Nevertheless, for the first time since the Bruins won the 1995 national title, they are the media's top-ranked team in the nation, although the coaches did not agree. 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 received 36 first-place votes in the AP poll, double the number of No. 2 Pittsburgh. In the coaches' poll, the Bruins received 13 first-place votes and were ranked second behind Ohio State, which received 11first-place votes. ``It's always nice to be recognized,'' 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. said. ``Any time you're ranked No.1 in the country, I think that's special. ``I'd rather it be at the end of April, as opposed to the end of November. That being said, it's a special honor.'' UCLA was ranked fifth last week, but losses by the top twoteams (Florida and 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. ) and wins against Kentucky and Georgia Tech in the Maui Invitational helped the Bruins vault No. 2 Pittsburgh and No. 3 Ohio State in the media poll. ZZZzzzzz: After enticing early-season matchups against the Wildcats and Yellow Jackets in Maui, UCLA's next threeopponents are Long Beach State (tonight), UC-Riverside (Sunday) and Cal State Fullerton (Dec. 5). ``I know a lot of players on those teams, so they definitely won't be taken lightly,'' said Bruins junior 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 , a former Centennial of Compton teammate of Long Beach State's Sterling Byrd. ``These teams won't be intimidated by us because they know us. ``They won't be intimidated by the four letters on the front of our shirts.'' Free-throw woes: The Bruins are shooting an abysmal a·bys·mal adj. 1. Resembling an abyss in depth; unfathomable. 2. Very profound; limitless: abysmal misery. 3. Very bad: an abysmal performance. 60.8 percent from the free-throw line free-throw line n. See foul line. , which includes a dreadful 56 percent (42 of 75) in three games in Maui. ``I think we have to work a lot on our foul shooting,'' Howland said. ``It's hard to play threegames in three successive days in a row. That was a grueling trip. I'm glad it turned out well for us.'' The ugliest of the ugly came from junior center Lorenzo Mata, who air- balled a pair of free throws in the tournament and was 1 for 8 from the line in the title game against Georgia Tech. Mata, who missed a month of practice because of a knee injury, is 3 for 17 this season from the line. ``I think a lot of his free-throw shooting, honestly, is a lack of conditioning,'' Howland said. ``He's not in tip-top cardiovascular shape right now, and it's understandable when you haven't practiced much. So a lot of that was just fatigue, more than anything.'' brian.dohn@dailynews.com (818) 713-3607 CAPTION(S): photo, 4 boxes Photo: (1 -- color) UCLA coach Ben Howland instructs players in the Cal Poly Cal Poly may refer to:
Jeff Gross/Getty Images Box: (1) top 25 (2) No. 1 UCLA vs. LONG BEACH ST. - Brian Dohn (3) USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. vs. MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE - Matthew Kredell (4) AP POLL |
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