No.1 Hit Has UCLA Rocking

Beating No. 1 and being No. 1 are as far apart as the end lines. One involves a great day, the other, great days.

But when a day is this wonderful, UCLA found no harm in soaking in adulation that comes grudgingly in this town.

Two days after taking an embarrassing tumble, the Bruins took a huge step forward Saturday, pummeling No.1 Kansas, 87-77, in front of a noisy capacity Pauley Pavilion crowd of 12,280 and a national TV audience.

“It’s a great feeling,” said Matt Barnes, who followed a career-high 34-point performance against USC with a game-high 27 against the Jayhawks.

“Let’s get more like it. Let’s do this more often.”

Students poured onto the court as the horn sounded, mobbing players as if it were March and a banner had been won. Maybe the fans were thanking Barnes for visiting them Friday night while they camped out in front of the ticket booth. Maybe they were grateful that the sour taste of losing to USC was washed away so swiftly.

Or maybe beneath all that California cool beats the hearts of bona fide college basketball fans. This was the first sellout since late last season. No coincidence the opponent was No. 1 Stanford.

“We get great home crowds in marquee matchups,” Coach Steve Lavin said. “That’s when the fans come out.”

And this time they left pleased. While driving home, many no doubt asked, “Why can’t the Bruins play this well every game?”

Meanwhile in the locker room the Bruins asked, “Why can’t this many fans show up loud and lusty every game?”

Bruin fans might blanch at the comparison, but they are no different than their team, showing up in force against top opponents and sauntering in when they feel like it against mediocre ones. No. 11 UCLA (12-3) made like No. 1 against No. 1 on a day their fans made the game their No. 1 priority.

“I would like to see them at every game, but people have other things to do,” center Dan Gadzuric said. “We need to do what we need to do and they’ll come out.”

Supreme confidence, suffocating defense and slick shooting was needed against Kansas (13-2), which had not lost since its opener and reached the top of the rankings last week.

Barnes led the way, making 10 of 14 shots. Billy Knight added 20 points, many coming on late free throws, and Jason Kapono had seven rebounds and 10 points despite making only three of 10 shots.

Gadzuric played only 17 minutes because of foul trouble, but they were dominant minutes. He made six of nine shots for 13 points, blocked three shots and helped contain the Jayhawks’ vaunted low-post combination of Drew Gooden and Nick Collison.

Gooden had 22 points and 10 rebounds, but made only seven of 17 shots and one of six three-point attempts. Collison had six points and one rebound before fouling out and was collared for stretches by Bruin freshman Andre Patterson, who had five rebounds in 10 minutes.

All four UCLA freshmen had shining moments, a sharp contrast to the USC game, when they appeared lost. Guard Cedric Bozeman had his best game, running the offense with confidence for 27 minutes, scoring four points and passing for three assists.

Dijon Thompson, another freshman who did absolutely nothing against the Trojans, made a big play on each end of the floor.

He blocked a shot by Gooden from behind in the waning seconds of the first half, and when the All-American forward looked back to see who had the temerity to stuff him, Thompson grinned and the horn sounded with UCLA ahead, 46-35.

Thompson made a three-point shot with 10 minutes to play after Patterson forced a turnover to extend the lead to 65-56. Redshirt freshman Ryan Walcott, a forgotten man since Bozeman returned from a knee injury two weeks ago, also got into the act, passing for two assists in four minutes.

But it was the seniors--Barnes, Gadzuric, Knight and Rico Hines--who were most composed amid the din.

“We were calm and confident before the game and in timeout huddles,” Lavin said. “We have salty veterans who understand that a season is a marathon.”

The composure was tested with nine minutes to play. Gadzuric was called for his fourth foul when it appeared Patterson actually committed the infraction. Lavin protested wildly, and Kansas guard Kirk Hinrich seized the moment by sinking consecutive three-point baskets to cut the margin to 65-61.

But order was restored when Barnes put back a missed shot by Knight and Kapono made a 15-footer. Kansas had one more surge, pulling to within 80-77 with 1:42 left. But the Bruins clamped down defensively and Knight made six of his free throws.

“USC taught us a lesson,” Knight said. “Sometimes you get lulled into thinking you just have to come out and run the offense and defense and you’ll win. That game reminded us you have to play with heart. The key now is to go back to conference games with the same intensity.”

A packed Pauley Pavilion for the next home game wouldn’t hurt.

“Golly, I don’t know how good we’d be if we had a crowd like this every night,” forward T.J. Cummings said. “Sometimes our crowd is up and down--just like we are. They gave us a big boost today.”