Bruins play it up for crowd

They say that they play each game with the same level of intensity, but clearly UCLA’s basketball players have been holding out.

That much was evident Saturday at a rocking Pauley Pavilion, where the Bruins rolled through Michigan, 92-55, in a nonconference game Coach Ben Howland called their best of the season.

Fueled by 11,876, their first home sellout crowd this season, and the opportunity to prove themselves to a national television audience, the Bruins (11-0) dominated both ends of the court in a performance that erased any doubt about whether they are worthy of the No. 1 ranking in the nation.

Michigan (11-2) was supposed to be tough as trees, but instead wilted like flowers when confronted with an inspired UCLA squad that scored its season high in points against a defense that was ranked No. 10 in the nation in scoring defense at 54.3 points a game.

And on defense, UCLA was airtight, causing numerous bad passes and using a decided edge in quickness for 12 steals. Michigan began the game averaging 14.8 turnovers, but had 23 Saturday.

“That was a really gratifying win,” Howland said. “I think we would have beaten most teams in the country here today.”

The timing for such a dominant performance couldn’t have been any better, not just because the Bruins begin Pacific 10 Conference play Thursday, but also because they had been sluggish in their two previous games against unheralded opponents.

The Bruins turned a corner in Saturday’s game, in which Josh Shipp had 18 points, Arron Afflalo had 17, Darren Collison had 15 points and eight assists and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute had 13 points and a career-high seven steals.

“We needed this a lot,” Collison said. “Obviously, that was a big game for us and I thought our intensity level was at the level we need to be at the whole season.”

From the beginning, there was little doubt the Bruins were out to make a statement against a nationally known team after little-known Oakland and Sam Houston State had given the Bruins problems.

UCLA got added motivation from the bulletin board. The players arrived in their locker room to find newspaper articles taped to the wall.

The articles, from Michigan-area papers, featured Michigan players saying they were going to win.

“They wanted to come out and prove something against us so we just wanted to play hard and get a win,” Shipp said.

Afflalo set the tone with two three-point baskets in the first two minutes as the Bruins took an 8-0 lead. The Bruins then went to work on defense, with Lorenzo Mata and Mbah a Moute double-teaming 6-foot-11 center Courtney Sims, Michigan’s leading scorer.

Several of Mbah a Moute’s steals came at the expense of Sims. UCLA used a similar strategy against Sims last season and held him to two shots and six points.

Sims finished with a team-high 13 points Saturday but had only two points on two shots in the first half. He also had three turnovers by halftime as UCLA took a 36-23 lead.

The Bruins then came out blazing in the second half, making 11 of their first 16 shots to open a 67-36 lead. The roll continued until the Bruins starters went to the bench with 6 minutes 14 seconds to play and UCLA up, 79-45.

UCLA shot 66.7% from the field in the second half, 58.9% for the game. The Bruins had 25 points off turnovers, many of which were open layups on fast breaks.

“I think we were a little bit nervous,” Coach Tommy Amaker. “Our older guys were trying to make things happen and I felt we were pressing a bit.”

Still, Amaker said that even a perfect performance might not have been enough.

“I thought they played exceptionally,” he said. “I don’t think anything could have beaten them the way they played today.”

Which is a good level of play for the Bruins as they head for conference play.

“This was a big win, obviously,” Mbah a Moute said. “You want to go into conference undefeated and have that confidence going into the Pac-10. Winning the way we won today was definitely a boost.”

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peter.yoon@latimes.com