Bruins Stub Momentum in the Desert

What limped out of McKale Center late Saturday afternoon, literally hobbling in the most critical of cases, was a UCLA team that had been forced to substitute spin control in place of performance. Because, you know, maybe the Bruins really needed this just before the tournament and maybe this is their wake-up call.

Or maybe they are in trouble.

“A big pile of trouble,” Arizona forward Eugene Edgerson said.

UCLA was routed by the Wildcats, 87-70, in the regular-season finale before 14,545 and exposed in every way, leaving the Bruins to contemplate a terrible showing on the eve of the pairings announcement and a third-place finish in the Pacific 10 Conference for the second season in a row.

The 12th-ranked Bruins finished with a 12-6 Pac-10 record, 22-8 overall. No. 13 Arizona (22-6, 13-5) was led by Pac-10 player of the year Jason Terry with 26 points.

“It says a lot,” JaRon Rush admitted. “We had won five games in a row. But then we came down here, with a tough crowd and a tough environment.”

Said teammate Travis Reed: “It takes away a lot. But I still think we can regroup and get ready for the tournament. It doesn’t really matter how you finish now, it’s how you finish in the tournament.

“We’ve just got to regroup and get ready for the tournament, whoever and wherever we play. If we don’t regroup fast, it will be over.”

Ditto if they don’t heal fast.

Baron Davis, his running and jumping already limited by the sprained middle toe, an injury suffered two nights earlier at Arizona State, aggravated it when Wildcat Michael Wright stepped on his right foot with about two minutes remaining in the blowout. He struggled off with 1:53 left, headed straight to the locker room, and afterward was in a walking boot.

X-rays ruled out a break, but there was no denying the implications. Though the toe is not medically in worse shape than Thursday, it is in worse shape because it comes with the tournament that much closer and with Davis now unable to practice for at least the next few days. Whether the best player on the team gets in any actual preparation for what could be his final weekend as a Bruin remains to be seen.

On the other hand, early indications are that he will play in the first round Thursday or Friday.

“With four or five days’ rest, whatever we will have, he should be fine,” trainer Jeff Smith said. “It will still be painful, but less painful than it is now.

“I wouldn’t say he will be 100%. But he’s got a pretty high pain threshold.”

But even Davis didn’t deny that the toe, even after a break of about a day and a half, was bothering him against Arizona.

He had 21 points--on respectable eight-of-17 shooting, including four of nine on three-pointers--and four steals in 35 minutes.

But he also had problems.

“Jumping and cutting,” he said. “It’s just real painful. If you could see me, I didn’t have any quickness. I haven’t ever gotten my shot blocked that many times.”

It came in the same game when a bruised right hip forced Ray Young out after a 27-second test drive late in the first half and that Brandon Loyd sat out altogether because of a sore hand, one contest after he made three three-pointers.

To the end, injuries have been an area of Bruin vulnerability.

The inside game too. Arizona had 46 rebounds, UCLA 31. On offense, Jerome Moiso and Reed were a combined two of 10 from the field with six points, five rebounds and two blocks in 35 minutes, while A.J. Bramlett of the Wildcats had 14 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks alone in 28 minutes.

“We just didn’t bring everything we could,” Moiso said. “Especially on the glass. That’s what killed us today. We had been doing well the last five games, but we didn’t compete today. And we didn’t have the heart to answer back.”

Or composure, with the young Bruins appearing rattled at times in the face of a talented team and boisterous fans, or offensive stability. Troubles through the season--their injuries, their big men, their youth, their problems on offense--had all come back at once, as if a reminder of how many things can go wrong in the next week, or the next game.

“Playground ball,” Edgerson said of the UCLA attack that shot 38.1% and had eight assists and 17 turnovers. “You’re not going to win in the tournament if you play like that. You’ll be lucky if you win one game.”

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