Coach Ben Howland sees room for improvement from Bruins

No spectators or media were allowed into UCLA’s scrimmage Thursday, so you had to take Bruins Coach Ben Howland’s word about how it went.

Not that he was very forthcoming.

“I can’t give you any stats, any score, any numbers,” Howland said of his team’s contest against Cal State Fullerton at the Sports Arena, citing NCAA rules. “Nothing. It’s really strange, I know.”

Maybe it’s just as well. Howland didn’t have much good to say about UCLA’s ability to stop the Titans.

“My biggest concern is our defense and being able to stay in front of the ball and not get hurt in transition,” Howland said. “They had one player on the team that really shot it well from three and continued to do it both halves. We’ve got to be able to react to that better.”

Howland said his team’s conditioning needed improvement because the Bruins have been practicing on the high-school-length court inside the old men’s gymnasium on UCLA’s campus while Pauley Pavilion undergoes renovations.

Of course, the space underneath the basket belonged to the Bruins’ big men, as expected.

“They couldn’t match up with our size inside,” said Howland, whose front line includes 6-foot-10 Joshua Smith and 6-10 twins David and Travis Wear. “That was our advantage.”

Another pleasing aspect was the state of the 52-year-old Sports Arena, UCLA’s primary home this season.

“I like what they’ve done in terms of dressing the place up in Bruins colors,” Howland said. “It’s going to be fine.”

ben.bolch@latimes.com