The morning after
While reaching for the phone Friday morning, senior forward Matt
Barnes experienced a neck spasm and could not move his neck
afterward, according to Bill Bennett, associate director of sports
information. Barnes is seeking treatment at the Oregon training
room and may possibly see a doctor. His condition will be evaluated
over the next day and a half, and it has not yet been determined
whether Barnes will play in Saturday’s game against Oregon
State. If Barnes does not play, either senior guard Rico Hines or
sophomore forward T.J. Cummings will start in his place.
Bouncing back
The UCLA men’s basketball team knows how to come back from
a hard loss. After losing at Cal last season 92-63, the Bruins
defeated then-No.1 Stanford on their home floor 79-73. This season,
the Bruins rebounded from their Jan. 10 loss to USC to beat
then-No. 1 Kansas. And though Oregon State is not the top team in
the country, nor are they even ranked, the Bruins know they have to
get wins in conference play. “After a big loss, we want to
come out and show people that we can play,” Hines said.
“We always bounce back because we’re a mature team. On
the other hand, we shouldn’t have to go through the blowouts
to get ourselves motivated for the next game.”
Offensive woes
The Oregon shut-down of the Bruins’ offense is reflected
in the fact that sophomore reserve center John Hoffart, who played
the last three minutes of the game, scored more points than Barnes.
Hoffart completed one field goal and converted a free throw with 53
seconds left in the game.
Back in the mix
Hines, who saw 11 minutes against Oregon, had a slight scare
with 17:24 to go in the game. The senior guard had sat out five of
the Bruins’ last seven games because of lingering effects of
a concussion, and after taking a charge from Luke Ridnour, Hines
fell backwards to the floor and hit his head on the ground. After a
few seconds, Hines got up and looked a bit dazed. “I bumped
my head when I feel, and it scared me a little bit more than
anything,” Hines said. “When I took the charge, I just
wanted to go out there and play aggressively and give my team a
boost. I’m still getting used to being back in the
game.”
The Pac-10 shuffle
Though UCLA has lost three of its last four games and has gone
4-6 since its loss to USC, they are still just one game out of
first place in the conference. USC and Oregon currently lead the
conference with matching 7-2 records. UCLA and Arizona are tied for
second at 6-3, with Cal and Stanford right behind at 5-3. Wins
against Stanford and Arizona, not to mention the state schools
““ Arizona State, Oregon State ““ become even more
critical down the stretch.
Slow and steady wins the race
Oregon State traditionally runs a slower offense, which will be
an advantage for the Bruins. UCLA has been trying to slow down
their offensive sets, working the shot clock and getting more
touches on the ball before a shot goes up. “We do better in
grinder games, games where we can force the other team to play
against our half-court offense,” head coach Steve Lavin
said.
Notes compiled by Christina Teller, Daily Bruin Senior
Staff.