SEATTLE – The losing streak may be over, but that doesn’t mean there’s any sense of relief surrounding the Washington men’s basketball team. The Huskies can’t afford to feel anything but concerned with No. 13 UCLA in town today.
The No. 21 Huskies (6-5 Pacific-10, 17-5 overall) stopped the bleeding caused by their three-game losing streak with a victory over USC on Thursday. But Washington walked away from that game not feeling especially good about things. The Huskies allowed a 27-point lead to be trimmed to nine because of sloppy offense and some lazy defense.
And in today’s 12:30 p.m. matchup with the Bruins (10-2, 20-4), there can’t be anything that resembles sloppy. The Huskies say it will take more than just a win against a Trojans team playing without standout guard Gabe Pruitt to get their confidence truly back.
“It’s huge for us,” senior guard Brandon Roy said of today’s game.
“I can’t even enjoy the USC game yet because I know this is an even bigger game, because we’ve got two games on the road next. We don’t want to go on the road trip having lost a game at home. This is a very big game for us and it’s a big game for our confidence. To beat USC without Gabe Pruitt was a good win, but UCLA is bigger.”
“What gets your confidence sky high is when you beat someone who is at a high, high level,” UW coach Lorenzo Romar said. “And that’s not putting USC down at all, but USC is not leading the league, UCLA is. You win a game like that, you can gain even more confidence.”
Washington already has beaten the Bruins once this season, rallying from 12 points down and winning 69-65 on Jan. 14 for its first victory at Pauley Pavilion in 19 years. For their second meeting, both teams will have a different look.
UCLA was without senior forward Cedric Bozeman back in January, and center Ryan Hollins was just getting healthy after missing six games with a strained groin. Washington has since tweaked its starting lineup, inserting Mike Jensen for Jamaal Williams.
Bozeman has returned to the lineup and Hollins is healthy, something that has not been the case with the Bruins all season. Every scholarship player has had an injury this year, yet UCLA has found way to stay in first place. A big factor has been the play of sophomore guards Aaron Afflalo (17.2 points) and Jordan Farmar (13.9 points).
And the Bruins defense has been playing well. UCLA held Washington State to 30 points in a 50-30 win on Thursday.
“We did come out with a win,” Romar said of the first game with UCLA. “The thing we talked about after is we were down by 12 on the road and were able to win the game. We also understand that was then, a month ago. It’s a different situation now. And they’re playing as good a basketball as they’ve played all year.”
“It’s going to come down to a grinding game like the game down there,” Roy said. “It’s going to come down to who wants it most.”
Romar said he “probably” would start the same lineup he went with against USC, with Jensen starting and Williams coming off the bench. Williams seemed to react well to it, scoring 15 points and going 7-for-11 from the field, and Roy had 25 points, making 10 of his 15 shots. Jensen had just four points and five rebounds, but his presence creates more balance, say Roy and Romar.
Because of Jensen’s outside shooting ability, it forces the opponent’s center to guard him on the perimeter, opening up the lane for Roy and others to get to the basket. It also gives Washington more depth off the bench. Roy said he had his easiest time all season getting to the basket against USC.
“With me, Jamaal and Bobby (Jones) in there at the same time, we’re all trying to get it going and when games get tight, we’re each saying, ‘I’m going to turn it around for us.’ Now it gives us a little better balance.”
“Sometimes, if everyone needs shots at the same time, who’s going to set the screens, who’s going to make the pass?” Romar said. “Sometimes you can offset those guys and have more of a balance.”
Of course, having success against USC is one thing, doing it against a top team like UCLA is another. But the Huskies know a victory today before a national TV audience would go a long way toward regaining their reputation as one of the nation’s top teams.
“If we can beat them again, knowing that they’re a good team and knowing they picked up a lot of road sweeps, that would do a lot for our confidence,” Roy said. “At the same time, I feel like our backs are against the wall the rest of the season. …It’s going to be hard for me to be excited until we finish the season strong.”
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