UCLA Tries to Snap Out of Doldrums

It is a veritable certainty that UCLA will win another men’s college basketball game sometime. Coach Walt Hazzard would like it to be tonight starting at 7:30 when his Bruins play Arizona State at Pauley Pavilion.

They will start the game with a four-game losing streak, including three in the Pacific 10 conference. They’re 9-11 overall and still looking for that 10th victory that has eluded them since January.

The Sun Devils are 11-12, 6-7. They’re commonly complimented on having the best depth in the conference, from the first player through the 10th. This would be a bigger advantage if they could play 10 on 10.

Before hard times reappeared in Westwood, the Bruins were 9-7, 6-2 in the conference and in first place for one night, Thursday, Jan. 31. The next night they played USC at the Sports Arena, led by eight points in the second half . . . and lost.

Two days later, they played Notre Dame at Pauley Pavilion, led by four points in the second half . . . and lost.

Five days later, they went to Pullman, Wash., cruised to a six-point lead in the second half . . . and lost in overtime.

And two days after that, they led Washington by 11 at the half . . . and, you guessed it, finished second best.

Of the four games, they played badly for the duration in only one--Washington State--and for the first five minutes of the second half at Washington. That was enough. Had the Bruins won only one game in Washington, they’d have been in OK shape. They still have conference games remaining at Pauley, where they’re 8-2, against USC, Arizona and Oregon State. Now 6-5, the Bruins are only fifth-best in the conference.