Stopping Texas’ J’Covan Brown will be key for UCLA

UCLA Coach Ben Howland, when asked about Texas’ basketball team, had an immediate assessment.

“J’Covan Brown is as good a guy as we’ve seen, and that includes Kansas and Michigan,” Howland said.

The Bruins (2-4) host the Longhorns (4-2) on Saturday at the Sports Arena. Stopping Brown, who averages 20.3 points and 4.8 rebounds, will be critical for UCLA.

The Bruins and Longhorns played dramatic games in 2007 and 2008, and both times Texas won.

In 2007, when UCLA was ranked either No. 1 or 2 in most polls, Damion James had a dunk with 8.3 seconds left to give Texas a 63-61 upset at Pauley Pavilion. A year later in Austin, when the Longhorns were ranked in the top and the Bruins a few spots back, Texas won, 68-64.

This year, neither team is ranked. The Longhorns suffered back-to-back losses last month, including a 100-95 decision in overtime to Oregon State.

The Longhorns are scoring 80 points a game and giving up 68.3.

“One of our other negatives is that we put the other team on the free-throw line too often, when we just try to play defense with our hands,” said Brown, who is one of three guards in the Texas lineup. “But then we’re young and we’re still learning.”

Brown said he and his teammates watched tapes of UCLA playing in Maui. “They went out and played hard and tried to play big, play inside-out,” Brown said.

UCLA has four players who are 6-foot-10 in their rotation — Josh Smith, Travis and David Wear and Anthony Stover — and Texas doesn’t start anyone taller than 6-7. So Brown said the key is to get easy baskets and not let UCLA do the same.

Of Smith, whose actual weight is well north of its listed 305 pounds, Brown said, “He’s going to bang, he’s smart and he likes throwing his weight around. Which is good when you’re a big player.”

diane.pucin@latimes.com