Tougher Victories Are Downplayed

The Bruins’ run of close games, at four and counting heading into the Pacific 10 Conference opener Thursday at Washington, comes as such a dramatic contrast to the way the season started.

In the first six games, there was no late drama. The wins were by 19 points (Fairfield), 32 (Iona), 61 (Morgan State), 18 (DePaul) and 21 (Maine), and the loss was by 16 (Gonzaga).

And then came the next four: a one-point loss to Colorado State, a five-point overtime victory over South Florida, a two-point victory over Pepperdine and a two-point victory over Purdue in which the winning basket came with 1.1 seconds left.

“It’s not bad,” forward Matt Barnes said of the recent reversal. “We’re doing what it takes to win. We’re not blowing people out, but that’s OK.”

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Swingman Billy Knight, who informed Coach Steve Lavin last Wednesday that he would transfer because of a lack of playing time, is back on the team.

Knight called Lavin on Friday and asked to return. Lavin gave his approval, but told Knight he wanted to get feedback from the players clearing the move.

He did before practice Sunday, after the Bruins returned from a two-day holiday break, and got a positive return. Someone called Knight soon after. He was practicing with teammates by the end of the session.

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Tipoff for the Jan. 15 game at North Carolina has been set for 1 p.m. PST. There had been uncertainty because CBS, which will televise, needed to coordinate that game with its NFL coverage. That fell into place with the playoff matchups being set Sunday.