UCLA @ Arizona on Thursday, March 4th

By #1 Sports

The Bruins (13-15, 8-8 PAC 10) reached a new low with a 68-70 loss a Pauley Pavilion Saturday to last place Oregon and the finger pointing is well under way. Coach Howland has publicly criticized himself for not being careful enough about evaluating the character of his recruits – namely sophomore starting PG Anderson (5.8p, 1.8r, 89 assists) who committed a late turnover against the Ducks, 6′9″ senior F Nikola Dragovic (11.6p, 4.4r) who has been an embarrassment on and off the court, and 6′8″ sophomore F/C Drew Gordon (11.2p, 5.3r) who transfered 6 games into the season.

Of course, criticizing yourself for the failure of those around you is as self-serving as claiming to care too much – and Bruin fans aren’t buying it. 6′9″ F Brandon Lane was last seen in a boot, Dragovic is getting X-Rays after stepping on a ball, and 6′8″ F Reeves Nelson (11.0p, 5.5r) is recovering from eye surgery, and the coach is engaged in a war via the press with his point guard. 3-9 on the road and done like a donut, say we.

The Wildcats (14-14, 8-8 PAC 10) are also rebuilding this season under first year coach Sean Miller – only with more of the expected growing pains maddening inconsistency rather than full-on meltdown. The young members of this roster definitely stepped up Saturday in a 71-69 victory at Stanford. 6′3″ sophomore Brendon Lavender (3.3p, 1.2r) came off the bench to bail 4 of 5 from behind the arc and tally 15 points while 6′7″ F Derrick Williams (15.8p, 6.8r) not only converted the game-tying free throw but also blocked the final shot on defense which allowed fellow freshman MoMo Jones (6.3p, 1.8p, 1.5a) to bank home the game winner from 15 feet at the buzzer – his 15th and 16th points of the game. Senior G Nic Wise (14.4p, 3.3r, 3.3a) is a premier shooter but at just 5′10″ can simply vanish some games while 6′6″ forwards Horne (9.5p, 5.6r) and Hill (6.5p, 4.4r) are a couple of decent scrappers for loose balls.

FREE SELECTION: The Cats are young and inconsistent but they can boast improving depth and still have a possible NIT berth to battle for while the last place anyone wants to be right now – including the Bruins – is the UCLA locked room. Take Arizona – 5 1/2 at the McKale Center tonight and pick up your Daily Free Selections at Freeplays.com

- Your Pro Basketball Specialists #1 Sports!