Simulated Games Set During Break

The Bruins, supposedly off until Saturday, will play three simulated games in the next three days in an attempt to gain game experience. Coach Steve Lavin is so intent on making them seem as real as possible that he will put the players in uniform and bring in Pacific 10 Conference referees.

The Bruins get the one-week break--from the victory over Nevada Las Vegas until Cal State Northridge comes to Pauley Pavilion--because UCLA is in finals. But the Bruins also realize what they need now more than anything is to play. So they will, albeit in practices in Pauley Pavilion that start at 6 a.m. to accommodate class demands.

“It’s very tough,” sophomore guard Earl Watson said of the current stretch in which they are playing only three games in 15 days. “A lot of us want to play. We want to gain that experience.”

Lavin’s solution is to turn the next three practices into pseudo-games. Hoping to come as close as possible, he will tape the scrimmages for later review, keep stats, use the real officials and have players in actual uniforms--blue one day, white another . . . and black.

“We’ll lock the doors, so it won’t have to be as sacrilegious,” Lavin said. “No one will have to witness it.”

He expects this to be the only time the black uniforms will be worn in Pauley.