Hazzard Is Riled by Losing Effort : Coach Says UCLA Had No Business Being Flat for USC

While his players sat in silence in the locker room suffering over the game they had just lost, 79-64, to USC Saturday, UCLA Coach Walt Hazzard stepped outside to state, calmly but quite emphatically, what he thought the problem had been.

Hazzard said: “I was very disappointed in my team’s effort today. . . . This is one of the worst efforts I’ve ever seen from a team that I coached.”

UCLA’s record dropped to 12-11 overall and 7-7 in the Pacific 10, and Hazzard was just as emphatic about what the record would mean to the Bruins’ postseason hopes. At this point, any hope would seem to rest with their defending their NIT title. The NCAA tournament committee is not likely to be calling the Bruins.

“It’s not going to have a good effect, that’s for sure,” Hazzard said. “If our record is not above .500, we will not be going to a tournament. That is not . We will not be going because we will not deserve to go into postseason play.”

To finish above .500, the Bruins have to win three of their last five games. They play at Pauley Pavilion Monday night against Stanford, next Saturday afternoon against DePaul and the following Monday against Arizona, then finish on the road against Oregon State and Oregon.

The kind of game the Bruins played Saturday won’t beat any of those teams.

And while UCLA was giving a less-than-impressive effort, USC was playing one of its best games of the season.

Hazzard said: “I have to commend USC for a very good game. They were hungry. They wanted the ballgame more than we did. They scratched and clawed and just beat us on the boards.

“Maybe it’s my fault. But I don’t rebound and I don’t play defense. I’m not making excuses and I’m not blaming anyone. But I’m not happy with the effort I saw today.

“We did not rebound today. Rebounding takes effort and determination. You have to stay after it until you get it. Too many times, I saw our point guard coming out with a rebound.”

The Bruins were outrebounded, 35-24. Their front line accounted for just 10 rebounds--none from 6-10 center Jack Haley, who fouled out after 15 minutes of play; three from 6-8 forward Craig Jackson, who also was limited in minutes because of foul trouble, and seven from forward Reggie Miller, who also led the team in scoring with 29 points.

The Bruin point guard, freshman Pooh Richardson, had six rebounds.

Hazzard said USC did not do anything differently to cause his Bruins more trouble than when they beat the Trojans, 66-56, on Jan. 29 at Pauley Pavilion. He said the Bruins were prepared for everything they saw from the Trojans Saturday.

“I just think it comes down to a question of rebounding, and that’s effort,” Hazzard said. “I can’t emphasize that enough.

“And I don’t understand that. I don’t understand not being up to play USC. It’s our crosstown rival, for bragging rights and all that.

“Last year, they beat us in two tough ballgames. We should have all the incentive in the world to play USC. This team has had highs and lows all season, but I don’t understand why this game would be a low.”