March on Their Minds

Coach Ben Howland won’t entertain the notion at all, won’t discuss it. But Bruin players can’t help but think about the NCAA tournament. With Selection Sunday less than a month away and UCLA tied with Stanford for third place in the Pacific 10 Conference, calculations are being done.

Senior Dijon Thompson, who was a freshman on the last Bruin NCAA team, was most realistic about his chances for making a second trip.

Center Michael Fey thought any win total over 15 plus a third- or fourth-place finish in the regular season would do the trick and freshman Arron Afflalo thought 17 wins might be a good number, but Thompson said, “We need to finish third [in the conference]. I think 16 wins would be pushing it. We need at least 17 or 18 wins. Maybe 18 -- 18 is a solid number.”

Afflalo said that before the season started he assumed making the NCAA tournament was practically “a guarantee. But it’s not guaranteed. If we make it, that’s a great accomplishment this year. That’s what I think now. It’s tough to do.”

Three upcoming games might be more important than any others when it comes to NCAA bid time. Arizona State, tonight’s opponent, is a game behind UCLA and Stanford in the Pac-10 and most experts seem to think the conference will get either three or four tournament slots. Conference leaders Arizona and Washington will go, which probably leaves UCLA, Stanford and Arizona State fighting for one or two spots.

The Bruins already have defeated the Sun Devils in Tempe, Ariz. A season sweep might make a difference though, as Thompson said, “I’ve seen it before where one team sweeps the other and doesn’t go.”

By the same measure, UCLA lost to Stanford at Pauley Pavilion. So the Bruins could really use a win in Palo Alto on Feb. 20. And UCLA has a nonconference trip to Notre Dame later this month. The Fighting Irish are also a borderline NCAA team, even after upsetting Boston College on Tuesday night.

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The Bruins are averaging 16.5 turnovers a game, which ranks 255th in the country. That number is a reflection of having an all-freshman back court and a lack of depth at the point guard spot. Freshman Jordan Farmar, who had eight turnovers against Washington on Saturday, is averaging a team-high 34.6 minutes a game (35.1 minutes in conference play.)

Many of Farmar’s recent turnovers have come when opposing guards get their bodies into him.

“Jordan has got to get stronger,” Howland said, “and he’s going to get stronger. People are going to get physical with him because he’s a quick player. Last April he weighed 162 pounds. At the beginning of the school year he was up to 180. Now he’s 173, 175 and I think his optimum weight is closer to 185.”

While Farmar said he doesn’t feel tired, Afflalo -- who usually moves to Farmar’s point guard spot for five or six minutes a game -- can’t believe the pressure Farmar faces.

“He’s playing a lot of minutes and everybody seems to be picking him up full court,” Afflalo said.

“Some of these teams are full of older guys that are stronger physically. I can’t imagine playing point guard for 35, 38 minutes like Jordan is doing.”

Farmar also has struggled recently at the free-throw line (he made only three of seven shots last weekend).

“I’m thinking too hard,” Farmar said. “Now I’m not leaving the gym until I make 100 every day. That should be enough reps to not be a problem anymore.”

Howland said Farmar made 89 of his first 100 on Monday.

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TONIGHT

vs. Arizona State, 7:30

Site -- Pauley Pavilion.

Radio -- KLAC (690).

Records -- Sun Devils 16-7 overall, 5-6 in Pacific 10 Conference; Bruins 12-7, 6-5.

Update -- While Arizona State was splitting its two games in the Bay Area last week (beating Stanford, losing to California), Sun Devil forward Ike Diogu was having the best weekend of his career. The junior scored a career-high 39 points on 16-for-26 shooting against the Cardinal and 35 points against the Bears. Howland said Diogu is “brimming with confidence.” In UCLA’s 86-82 win in Tempe, the Bruins, using an effective double-team defense, held Diogu to 15 points on six-for-16 shooting.