Rough and ready

They come walking down the hall, this assortment of Texas A&M; muscle, and it’s hard not to stop and stare.

There’s 6-foot-9, 250-pound Bryan Davis, a sophomore who is eager to guard UCLA freshman Kevin Love because, he said, “I just like to get physical.”

He was followed into the locker room Friday by 6-9, 255-pound Joseph Jones, who politely answered a question on his style of play with a smile and one word: “physical.”

Sitting next to Jones was Chinemelu Elonu, a 6-10, 235-pound sophomore, and down the row was DeAndre Jordan, a 7-0, 255-pound freshman who is projected as a possible first-round NBA draft choice even though he doesn’t start for Texas A&M.;

“Look at their roster,” UCLA Coach Ben Howland said. “We’re talking about a 6-10 guy, another 6-10 guy I didn’t even know who he was walking down the hall. They have a plethora of 6-10 guys, it’s incredible.”

So Howland was stumped as to how Texas A&M; lost 10 games this season. “That’s a good question,” he said. “At the end of the day it doesn’t matter. They beat BYU.”

By beating Brigham Young on Thursday night, ninth-seeded Texas A&M; (25-10) plays top-seeded UCLA (32-3) at about 6:15 tonight at the Honda Center in a second-round NCAA West Regional game.

The Bruins beat the Aggies, 65-62, at the same place in December 2006 as part of the Wooden Classic. Acie Law IV, who was then Texas A&M;’s star guard, scored 21 points, Josh Shipp had 18 for UCLA and the Aggies outrebounded the Bruins by 11.

“That was a real physical game,” backup UCLA center Lorenzo Mata-Real said. “It was the most physical game I’ve ever seen. Everybody was bruised and sore after that game.”

Freshman Kevin Love has only heard stories of the game. “I don’t think there will be much finesse,” Love said. “Tomorrow will be all-out war.”

Love has scratches and scabs that cover his arms and shoulders and patchy bruises up and down his legs. “I’ll get more scratches for sure,” he said. “It will probably be the most physical game of the year.

“I do look forward to that. I’ll be a bruiser tomorrow. I’m not going to be shooting too many threes. I have to get on the offensive glass as much as I can.

“If we’re going to win, I’m going to need to get 10-plus rebounds, I think. We’re going to have to pound it inside, draw fouls, get them in foul trouble, take advantage of the opportunities.”

The Aggies finished sixth in the Big 12 Conference and lost to Kansas in a semifinal of the conference tournament. Besides losing Law, Texas A&M; also lost coach Billy Gillispie to Kentucky.

Mark Turgeon from Wichita State (and a former Kansas player) took over. The difference, Jones said, is not how hard or well the Aggies play man-to-man defense but how the offense runs.

“We run motion more than we did a year ago,” Jones said. “We like to go inside out more. But otherwise we’re pretty much the same.”

UCLA forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, who has sat out UCLA’s last two games -- against Stanford in the Pacific 10 Conference tournament final and against Mississippi Valley State on Thursday -- said his sprained left ankle felt fine and he would start against Texas A&M.;

Like Mata-Real, Mbah a Moute’s memories of playing Texas A&M; involve being knocked around like a pinball.

“Oh man, that was the most physical team we played,” he said. “They are strong and tall and I think it will be worse this time. Last year, they had two or three really big guys. Now it’s more like four or five. We have got to play within our principles. Keep them off the glass, limit their touches inside, double the post, play team defense. That’s all it is.”

Sounds easy.

But as the Bruins made their way to consecutive Final Fours the last two seasons, they have struggled in second-round games.

Two years ago, they beat Alabama, 62-59, after Ronald Steele barely missed a three-point shot at the end. Last year, UCLA sneaked past Indiana, 54-49, needing key steal by Darren Collison near the end to preserve the victory.

“That’s why we stress one game at a time,” Collison said. “At this point no one will back down.”

--

diane.pucin@latimes.com

--

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOOX)

UCLA’s matchup

A look at UCLA’s second-round tournament game vs. Texas A&M;:

*--* Starters TEXAS Ht Wt Stats P UCLA Ht Wt Stats A&M Dominique 6-4 185 8.6 ppg. G Darren Collison 6-0 160 14.9 ppg. Kirk Donald Sloan 6-3 205 9.4 ppg. G Russell 6-3 189 12.5 ppg. Westbrook Josh Carter 6-7 200 12.3 ppg. F Josh Shipp 6-5 220 12.8 ppg. Joseph Jones 6-9 255 10.4 ppg. F Luc R. Mbah a 6-8 232 8.8 ppg. Moute Bryan Davis 6-9 250 8.7 ppg. F/C Kevin Love 6-10 271 17.2 ppg. RESERVES Deandre 7-0 225 8.0 ppg. C Lorenzo 6-9 237 3.4 ppg. Jordan Mata-Real Derrick 6-4 190 5.7 ppg. G/F James Keefe 6-8 228 2.1 ppg. Roland Chinemelu 6-10 235 2.8 ppg. F Alfred Aboya 6-9 245 3.1 ppg. Elonu *--*

* SCOUTING REPORT: The Aggies aren’t a finesse team. They have 146 blocked shots, third most in school history, and have scored at least 20 points in the lane in all 25 wins. They also outrebounded opponents in all 25 wins and have held opponents to 39.4% shooting. Kirk was named to the All-Big 12 Conference defensive team and will often match up with Westbrook, the Pacific 10 Conference’s defensive player of the year. The Aggies, like UCLA, play man-to-man defense. Davis, a muscular, big-chested sophomore, plans to guard Love whether the UCLA freshman tries to score from the perimeter or use his own strength inside. The Bruins also outrebounded opponents by an average of nine a game.

* KEY TO THE GAME: The ball pressure Collison applies on the Aggies guards. New Coach Mark Turgeon has incorporated a motion offense to Texas A&M; and the guards have been vulnerable to pressure. The Aggies lost to Arizona, 78-67, a team UCLA beat twice. If the physically imposing Aggies front line pushes UCLA’s forwards around, the Bruins could struggle if forced to rely on outside shooting.

-- Diane Pucin