Situation Is the Same but Different

Last season, UCLA jumped out to a 5-0 Pacific 10 Conference record before taking a beating from No. 7 Arizona at Pauley Pavilion, 97-72.

That was followed by another loss at Stanford, 67-52 and a discouraging descent to the bottom section of the conference, the Bruins posting only two more victories the rest of the season.

So the Bruins lost at 17th-ranked Arizona on Saturday, ending a four-game winning streak. Now comes Stanford tonight at Pauley Pavilion, the Cardinal sporting a seven-game winning streak at Pauley, a recent win over Arizona and a point guard Chris Hernandez, whom UCLA Coach Ben Howland says may be the best in the conference.

But things are different now. What happened against Arizona a year ago was devastating. What happened in Tucson on Saturday, a 76-73 loss on a last-second, 26-foot three-point basket by Salim Stoudamire, was more uplifting than deflating for the Bruins.

“The Arizona game showed a lot of character,” said Bruin senior Dijon Thompson. Center Michael Fey suggested that this season’s Bruins had something last year’s didn’t, even when they were 5-0 in the Pac-10. “Confidence,” Fey said. “We’ve got confidence.”

Thompson agreed, saying, “Right now we’re playing good basketball, so one loss isn’t going to shake us or rattle us.”

Howland isn’t about to call the Arizona loss any kind of moral victory, but he also says that UCLA, which starts three freshmen and usually plays its fourth rookie substantial minutes, showed great resilience in a difficult game.

“In that tough environment, I’m elated at how our freshmen reacted,” he said. What concerns Howland is the extended minutes he keeps playing Thompson and freshman point guard Jordan Farmar. Both are averaging more than 36 minutes a game. Farmar said that when he missed two open jump shots late in the Arizona game and then clanked two technical free throws in the final two seconds, “fatigue could have been a factor.”

Howland said he needed to do a better job of getting Thompson and Farmar rest. But since senior Cedric Bozeman was lost for the season with a knee injury in November and was the only other true point guard, and since Thompson is playing the best basketball of his career, “It’s hard to sit those guys,” Howland said. “But I have to.”

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TONIGHT

vs. Stanford, 7:30, FSNW2

Site -- Pauley Pavilion.

Radio -- XTRA 690/1150.

Records -- Cardinal 8-7 overall, 2-3 in the Pacific 10 Conference; Bruins 10-4, 4-2.

Update -- The Cardinal has won four in a row over UCLA and seven in a row at Pauley Pavilion. The surprise for new Coach Trent Johnson’s team has been the improvement in guard Dan Grunfeld, a 6-foot-6 junior who has the largest jump in scoring average from last year of any player in the NCAA’s Division I. Under Mike Montgomery last season, Grunfeld came off the bench and averaged 3.4 points. This season, he leads the Cardinal with an 18.1 average, third in the conference, just behind UCLA senior Dijon Thompson, who is scoring 18.4 points a game. But the catalyst for Stanford is junior point guard Chris Hernandez, who is a fierce defender and a savvy passer. Stanford starts three juniors and two seniors, an advantage against the young Bruins. Coach Ben Howland said he expected to increase rookie backup center Lorenzo Mata’s playing time. Mata played only eight minutes, combined, against Arizona State and Arizona last weekend.

Tickets -- (310) 825-2946.