UCLAâs shots (clang!) heard âround Pac-10
It may have been the first time in the glorious history of UCLA basketball at Pauley Pavilion that one Bruins fan could turn to another and legitimately ask: âDid they nail a lid on our rim?â
My kingdom for a horse -- or a layup.
They call it âhoops,â and for a span of 12 minutes 20 seconds on Saturday, UCLA couldnât buy one.
Not a jump shot, not a put-back, not a slam dunk . . . nada.
Arizona Stateâs 61-58 overtime victory over UCLA was so stranglehold-strange.
At one point in Saturdayâs second half, after UCLA raced to an 11-point lead, we were ready to declare the Pac-10 season over.
The Bruins seem poised to hand the team picked to finish second its third conference loss before the Super Bowl.
See you all at the Pac-10 tournament in March at Staples Center.
And then Arizona State, in an almost desperate state, locked down and allowed UCLA one basket in the final 8:14 of regulation and five minutes of extra time.
Former Bruins center Kevin Love, who would have been a sophomore this season had he not opted out for the NBA, could only watch as a spectator from the second row.
Two days after falling down against USC, Arizona State stood up.
âThat team,â excited Sun Devils guard Jamelle McMillan said afterward of UCLA, âI donât think theyâve lost at home, ever -- in their whole history of the school.â
Not quite, but we get his point. Former Arizona State coach Bill Frieder went 0-17 against UCLA, and Saturdayâs win improved the Sun Devilsâ all-time record at Pauley Pavilion to 6-26.
More than a loss, though, the game might have been a blueprint.
âI think so,â McMillan said. âWe broke down a little bit for a stretch, but overall, our game plan worked to perfection. It really kept them kind of guessing the whole game.â
UCLA, meet the rest of your season.
The tape of Arizona Stateâs tenacious 2-3 matchup-zone effort against UCLA should be whizzing around basketball offices throughout the Pac-10.
What the Sun Devils did to shut down UCLA over the final 13-odd minutes -- boy were they ever -- will be a slide show at Arizona State Coach Herb Sendekâs next clinic.
UCLA knew it was going to see a lot of zone defenses this season, but nothing like this spike strip. Breaking into a bank might have been easier than busting into Arizona Stateâs vault.
The hope for UCLA is that maybe, just maybe, only Arizona State plays it this way.
The Sun Devils held the Bruins 18 points below their season average of 76 points, and that included five minutes of overtime.
âThatâs their bread and butter,â UCLAâs Josh Shipp said of the zone. âThatâs what makes it so effective. Theyâre working on that every day in practice. Not like itâs something new to them.â
UCLA didnât help itself by dribbling around the zone for 20 seconds or so before even trying to attack it.
The Bruins look confused at times, but boy that Darren Collison sure is a good dribbler.
Arizona Stateâs star guard James Harden, who rebounded from his basket-less effort against USC on Thursday with eight baskets and 24 points Saturday, said UCLAâs methodical approach did his team a favor.
âDefinitely,â Harden said. âThey werenât getting as many transition buckets in the late second half. Guys were getting back on defense and we were making them go against our set defense, which [makes it] kind of tough to score against us.â
What Arizona State did to improve to 15-3 overall and 4-2 in Pac-10 play took practice and patience.
Defense never makes the media guide cover -- itâs usually 2% fun and 98% dirty work.
To sustain the intensity takes physical -- and mental -- toughness.
âFatigue is going to set in, especially late in the game,â McMillan explained. âEverybody had each otherâs back, trusted each other, we were there helping. Guys knew the next guy was going to rotate. Thatâs what it takes -- everybody on the same page, everybody trusting each other.â
Both teams wanted to win, but maybe Arizona State needed it more.
Falling to 3-3 in Pac-10 play would have put the Sun Devils three games behind UCLA in the conference race.
âOur sense of urgency was at an all-time high,â McMillan said.
Sendek scoffed when someone suggested he might have found a way to corral one of the nationâs top teams.
âWe didnât stop them all 13 minutes,â Sendek said. âThey missed some open shots. A game like this that goes overtime, a shot here, a free throw there, one play called one way or another . . . and the result is different. And thatâs part of what drives coaches crazy and what adds to the great excitement of basketball.â
Sendek said there was no magic potion. He did not, with a big stick, mix two parts witch hazel with one part castor oil.
What about herbs, Herb?
âI donât have any formula against UCLA, I guarantee you that,â Sendek said. âWe were fortunate to get a win today.â
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Go beyond the scoreboard
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