COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NCAA MEN’S TOURNAMENT : Bruins Fret Over Injury to Edney : West: Point guard’s left ankle is sore as UCLA prepares to face Missouri. Zidek could be key.

For UCLA, Saturday was all about uneasy murmurs and size.

Although Coach Jim Harrick preferred to talk about 7-foot center George Zidek’s potentially pivotal role, on the eve of an NCAA tournament second-round game today against the Big Eight’s battle-hardened Missouri, Bruin point guard Tyus Edney’s sore left ankle caused a tremor of concern.

Edney, who suffered the injury in the first half of the Bruins’ 92-56 romp over Florida International Friday night, played five minutes in the second half, but was limping noticeably Saturday and did not participate in the team’s hourlong workout at Boise State University Pavilion. “I don’t think it’s going to be anything that’s going to stop me from playing or anything like that, but I’m sure I’ll feel it,” said Edney, who wasn’t certain about how he suffered the injury.

“I’m not exactly sure if I can go full speed tomorrow, but I’ll wait and see.”

The injury, however serious it may be, was another reminder of how crucial Edney’s play is to Bruin success. Last year, when he was severely limited by a sore back, UCLA dropped its last regular-season game to Oregon then lost in the tournament’s first round to Tulsa.

“It’s going to be a concern if he can’t do the things that make him one of the top guards in the country--which is accelerate by people, change directions, make cuts,” assistant coach Lorenzo Romar said.

“But, you know, when we played Arizona State (on Feb. 16), when his knee trouble flared up, he did something which he didn’t do against Oregon in the last game of the year when his back was bothering him--play with his head.

“If he’s playing with his head, he can still be a factor even though he may be slowed down a step.”

And while at least some of the concern was focused on Edney, Harrick tried to put the spotlight on Zidek’s matchup against Missouri’s twin towers--the 7-foot Haley brothers, Sammie (who starts) and Simeon (who backs up).

So far, while the Bruins (26-2) have run and dunked their way to a 13-game winning streak, and are one game away from making the Sweet 16, Zidek has experienced a silent March: In five games this month, Zidek has averaged only 6.2 points and six rebounds.

But even as Harrick has reduced Zidek’s playing time in favor of 6-foot-9 freshman J.R. Henderson against the Pacific 10’s collection of smaller front lines, the Bruin coach has consistently maintained that Zidek, at some key moment down the road, would be asked to deliver points and post defense against a big, strong club.

After watching Sammie Haley make two inside baskets in the final minutes to seal the Tigers’ 65-60 defeat of Indiana in the first round, Harrick said today is that time.

“Indiana tried to go down the stretch without a center, and Haley really, really hurt them,” Harrick said. “I think it makes George a really big factor in the ballgame.

“I was looking at tapes of his game against Kentucky (on Dec. 3, when Zidek had 16 points and a season-high 10 rebounds), and he was playing with great confidence and great aggression. And I need to get him back playing that way because he’s a fine, fine player.”

Harrick, who hasn’t played Zidek 30 or more minutes in a game since Jan. 26 against Stanford, said he accepts some of the blame for Zidek’s falling output.

Zidek acknowledged that he knows a major part of UCLA’s half-court offense will revolve around his performance in the low post, where he will probably receive single coverage.

Eighth-seeded Missouri (20-8), an inconsistent offensive team that shot better than 50% only five times this season, bases its game plan on preventing fast breaks and forcing teams to score against the Tigers’ harrying man-to-man half-court defense.

“The Haley brothers are really good shot blockers, with long arms,” Zidek said. “I’ve got to make sure I initiate some body contact, not just try to shoot over them, or else I might get it blocked.

“If they double-team me, I’ll kick it out or hit cutters. If they just play me with single coverage, I should be able to score.”

Although Missouri Coach Norm Stewart appeared to be unaware of the questions concerning Edney’s ankle and stressed the Tigers’ size advantage over UCLA, he was definitely aware of Edney’s importance to the Bruins.

Stewart, who concedes that he makes do without a true point guard in his lineup, compared Edney with Kansas’ Jacque Vaughn, who led the Jayhawks to a sweep over Missouri this season.

“He’s similar,” Stewart said. “He runs that ballclub, pushing it up court or holding the ball, and at the same time scoring 15 points a game or close to it.”

And UCLA’s national-player-of-the-year candidate, Ed O’Bannon, who also did not seem to know the details of Edney’s injury, made his team’s feelings even clearer:

“I think we’re lost without him. We played one game without him (a victory at USC), and (backup) Cameron Dollar, he did a great job. But Tyus, he means everything to us.”