Here we go again.
UCLA throws away a golden opportunity to go 2-0 on their Bay Area road trip, committing 22 turnovers, falling to the Cardinal 59-70.
It’s blatantly clear the Bruins lack leadership, and a go-t0 guy. No one stepped up. We keep hoping sophomore guard Malcolm Lee will grab this team by the throat and demand the ball, but it never happens. UCLA is fluttered with supporting characters pretending to be the lead. No one is buying it.
The score doesn’t reflect how close of a game it truly was. The Bruins could have snatched this one away and never looked back, but continued to shoot themselves in the foot with turnover after turnover, and too many empty offensive trips.
Center Reeves Nelson was in foul trouble most of the game, leaving UCLA with no inside presence, offensively or defensively. Nikola Dragovic led the team with 13 quiet points.
It’s back to the drawing board for coach Howland and the Bruins, where they face crosstown rival USC. It may finally be time to waive the white flag on this season, and seniors James Keefe, Nikola Dragovic, and Mike Roll. Thank you for your effort, but let’s give minutes to the freshman, particularly Brendan Lane and Mike Moser, and prepare for next season.
Additional Game Notes:
1) UCLA shot 54% from the field, Stanford 47%. 22 TO’s loses the game for UCLA.
2) The Bruins committed 22 personal fouls, Stanford 10. This wasn’t a case of bad officiating, just bad defense.
3) Another player scored a career high against UCLA. Sophomore guard Jeremy Green dropped 30 points, 5-8 from three.
4) Tyler Honeycutt continued his strong rebounding effort since becoming a starter, grabbing 8 boards in 26 minutes.
5) Malcolm Lee cannot hit a jump shot, especially from beyond the arc. 0-4 from three.
6) Reeves Nelson may receive a one game suspension for his intentional elbow late in the game to Andrew Zimmerman.
Additional reaction around the net:
ESPN.com - Stanford sweeps Los Angeles schools
LAtimes.com – Bruins let one slip away at Stanford
Bruinsnation.com – As expected Bruins implode & embarrass four letters against Stanford
Mercurynews.com – Stanford holds off UCLA in impressive 70-59 win
Insidesocal.com – Bruins fall to Stanford 70-59
This entry was posted on Sunday, January 10th, 2010 at 10:31 am and is filed under Game Recaps. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.