UCLA Will Feel at Home Tonight; Stanford Has Never Won at Pauley

As he looked forward to what he called “three very important conference games” in a row against Cal, USC and Stanford last week, UCLA Coach Walt Hazzard announced, with some degree of confidence, that the Pacific 10 race was far from over.

His team was 6-6 with six conference games left. Now his team is 7-7 with four left and it’s a whole new ballgame.

After losing to USC Saturday afternoon, a particularly embarrassing defeat considering that USC had lost seven straight conference games, Hazzard was discussing the Bruins’ chances of finishing above .500 for the season.

UCLA will play Stanford at Pauley Pavilion tonight at 7:30. Stanford has never won at Pauley Pavilion and that seems to be about the only place that UCLA can win this season. But that doesn’t make it a lock for the Bruins. UCLA lost to the Cardinal in Palo Alto last month.

Stanford is 7-6 in the Pac-10 and 13-12 overall. UCLA is 7-7 in the Pac-10, 12-11 overall.

Hazzard said: “Stanford is a team we will have to play very well against to win. But, once again, we’ll be at home and we seem to play very well at home.”

Bruin Notes UCLA’s game against Stanford at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Pauley Pavilion will not be televised. It will be broadcast on KMPC (710). . . . Stanford is coming off a 61-59 victory at USC Thursday. . . . UCLA is coming off a 79-64 loss at USC Saturday afternoon. . . . UCLA is 11-2 at home this season. . . . Stanford has not beaten UCLA in Los Angeles since 1952 . . . UCLA forward Kelvin Butler, who had been out since Jan. 11 with a torn abdominal muscle, played one minute in the second half of the game against Cal last Thursday and played 13 minutes at USC Saturday. . . . Bruin guard Montel Hatcher, who was in something of a shooting slump, hit 6 of 8 at USC.