'Dean' of running backs coming to UCLA

The Times' UCLA football beat writer, Chris Foster, today reported that four-star running back Aundre Dean of Katy High School (Katy, Texas) has confirmed his commitment to attend UCLA.

Dean (6-1, 200) made an early verbal commitment last fall, but was considered to be wavering and has now reconfirmed his intention to sign a National Letter of Intent to attend UCLA.

Arizona State-UCLA: postgame

The Bruins won easily, 84-51, and there was a lot to think about after their best overall effort of the conference season:

>> UCLA improved to 19-2 overall and 7-1 in the Pac-10 Conference. Arizona State dropped to 14-6 and 4-4 in the league (it has lost four in a row).

>> In the all-time series, UCLA now leads 55-14 and has won seven in a row over ASU. The Bruins are now 29-5 against the Sun Devils while playing in Los Angeles.

>> Bruin Coach Ben Howland now has a career mark of 9-4 against the Sun Devils while ASU Coach Herb Sendek is now 0-3 against UCLA.

>> UCLA guard Darren Collison had a season-high nine assists and has now made 28 straight free throws in five games. That ties the UCLA school record for consecutive free throws made in conference play, set by Gary Cunningham in the 1960 season (28-28 in 12 games). The UCLA school record is 36 by Henry Bibby (1972).

>> Bruin freshman center Kevin Love had his 12th double-double of the season, with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

>>  UCLA sophomore guard Russell Westbrook had a career high of four steals (previous, 3 at Washington State on Jan. 12).

>> The Bruins shot 58.5% from the field tonight, their best so far this season (previous, 57.7% vs. Washington State on Jan. 12). UCLA also had — by far — its best three-point shooting night this season with 8-12 for 67% (previous, 56.3% on 9-16 vs. Stanford on Jan. 3).

>> Arizona State sophomore guard Derek Glasser had a season high of 13 points and led the team in scoring for the first time this season.

>> Tonight was the 11th time that UCLA has held its opponent to less than 40% from the field (ASU shot 38.3%). It also was the 13th time that UCLA has shot 50% or better from the field (58.5%).

>> Other Pac-10 scores, with updated conference records:

• Arizona 80 (5-3), at USC 69 (4-4)

• California  69 (3-5), at Washington State 64 (5-3)

• Stanford 65 (6-2), at Washington 51 (3-5)

Quotes from Arizona State Coach Herb Sendek:

"Obviously, we got whipped in every facet of the game. Tonight was just a learning experience. We have a short turnaround; we have a game on Saturday against SC. We just have to keep working and no player in particular stood out tonight."

Quotes from UCLA Coach Ben Howland:

"I was really pleased with how we played tonight. We played exceptionally well, especially against their zone. We did a good job penetrating, jump-stopping and making the extra pass. We were really able to break it open. When Kevin Love hit his three and then Darren [Collison] added his own off a turnover, we didn’t look back.

"The only negative was that Lorenzo Mata-Real injured his [left] wrist when he tried to take a charge. We don’t know how bad it is, but he will have an X-ray after he gets washed up.

"I thought ASU played well, even though they have been struggling on the road. Russell Westbrook and Darren were exceptional tonight. They combined for 16 assists against only one turnover. Darren was perfect from the line and from the field and also added a season-high nine assists.

"Russell penetrated very well and made a lot of good plays on jump stops, pump-fakes and passes. I think this is the best we’ve attacked the zone in my five years at UCLA. This performance will give us a lot of confidence for the rest of the season."

Arizona State-UCLA: second half

The Bruins started strong in the second half with an all-court "Love Letter" outlet the length of the court to Darren Collison for a lay-in by center Kevin Love. UCLA is up, 53-27, with 16:09 to play in the game.

>> UCLA has rarely looked more in control than during tonight's game. The Bruins have penetrated the ASU zone at will and the Sun Devils have done poorly in coming back out to pressure Josh Shipp on three-point tries. So Shipp has 21 on 6-11 shooting and 5-8 from three-point land. The Bruins lead, 76-42, with 6:59 to play.

>> Four Bruins finished in double figures, led by Shipp with 21, Love with 20 (and a game-high 10 rebounds), Collison with 14 and Russell Westbrook with 10. UCLA shot 58.5% from the field for the game and held ASU to just 38.3%.

Final score: UCLA 84, Arizona State 51

Arizona State-UCLA: first half

Luc Richard Mbah A Moute started the game and looked frisky in the first few minutes with a rebound and a lay-in to start a 13-0 Bruin run that opened an 18-7 lead for UCLA.

>> The Sun Devils have had a hard time shooting — they look "out of phase" as engineer Montgomery Scott would have said on "Star Trek." With 7:38 to go in the half, UCLA leads 27-15 as Arizona State has shot 33.3% from the field.

>> The Bruins shot 60.7% from the floor, looked great in driving into the lane to beat the Sun Devil zone and Kevin Love had 13 hard-fought points to forge a 46-24 lead at the half. Arizona State shot only 32.1% from the field and super frosh James Harden had a hard time even handling the ball. He was just 2-5 from the floor and scored six points.

UCLA had a 20-13 rebounding edge in the half and a 22-8 edge in points scored in the lane. Arizona State Coach Herb Sendek was not happy, and got a warning from umpire Bruce Hicks with 5:50 to go in the half.

Arizona State-UCLA: pregame

UCLA is favored by 13 1/2 points tonight over 14-5 Arizona State (4-3 in conference) at Pauley Pavilion. The over-under line is set at 127, so the Bruins are supposed to win by a score of 70-57. UCLA has beaten Arizona State in their last six meetings.

>> As usual, defense will be the key. The Bruins are allowing opponents to shoot 41.9% from the field, but the Sun Devils are  allowing only 39.7% shooting.

>> Tonight’s game features a pair of high school teammates and a pair of brothers facing each other. Arizona State’s junior forward Jeff Pendergraph was a teammate of Bruin point guard Darren Collison at Etiwanda High School, and the brothers Shipp —  Bruin Josh and Sun Devil Jerren — will be together on the court. All four are starters.

>> Although the Sun Devils have lost three games in a row, they have led in each: 12 over Stanford, nine over Washington and 11 over Washington State. But one of the reasons they’ve collapsed is the play of Pendergraph, who is averaging only 7.3 points a game in those three outings. "It seems like when I get on a roll, we get on a roll," he told Norm Frauenheim of the Arizona Republic. "It’s almost like defenses are saying: ‘We can’t get Jeff get going.’ " With freshman sensation James Harden almost unstoppable, that’s a good strategy. "There are a million excuses," said point guard Jamelle McMillan. "But we've lost three games we should have had."

>> The latest NBA mock draft from NBAdraft.net has two Bruins listed in the first round: Collison at No. 13 and freshman center Kevin Love at No. 20. Also on the board in the second round are Josh Shipp (who has said he plans to return to school) at No. 34 and junior forward Luc Richard Mbah A Moute at No. 40. All together, this mock draft has 15 Pac-10 players listed out of the 60 picks to be made by NBA teams.

College GameDay open to all students on Saturday

Common sense has prevailed and UCLA Sports Information sent this notice earlier this evening:

All students are welcome to come to Pauley Pavilion for ESPN College GameDay on Saturday morning. Members of The Den, wearing their Den t-shirt will receive priority seating.

Gate 10 at Pauley Pavilion will open at 6:30 am SportsCenter will air live from Pauley at 7:00 am, followed by College GameDay at 8:00 am.

The UCLA band and Spirit Squad will also be present.

CollegeGameDay will also air live from Pauley at 5:00 pm leading into the 6:00 pm contest between Arizona and UCLA.

Comforte out indefinitely

UCLA Sports Information issued an update on junior gymnast Kristina Comforte, who injured her right knee during the floor exercise portion of the dual meet win against Stanford last Sunday:

"An MRI taken on Monday indicated significant bone bruising but no ligament damage. Surgery will not be necessary, but she is out indefinitely."

The No. 8-ranked Bruins travel to Washington this week for the first of four meets away from Pauley Pavilion.

Basketball Kaleidoscope: Love on mid-season awards lists

Bruin freshman center Kevin Love has, like several other freshman stars, made his way onto the mid-season awards lists released yesterday.

Love appears on the "Player of the Year" watch lists for both the Naismith and Wooden awards. He’s the only Bruin on the Wooden Award list; Josh Shipp is also on the 30-player Naismith Award list.

>> The ESPN "College Gameday" origination from Los Angeles on Saturday will have host Rece Davis in Pauley Pavilion with analysts Jay Bilas, Hubert Davis and former Notre Dame coach Digger Phelps on Saturday morning. Bilas and Davis never played in Pauley, but Digger was a familiar figure as the Notre Dame coach from the 1971-72 season through 1990-91. He had a 14-18 mark against UCLA, but broke the Bruins’ 88-game win streak with a 71-70 victory at South Bend in 1974. He was 6-10 against UCLA in Pauley Pavilion, but won four in a row at one point; he had a 2-6 record against John Wooden overall, but 12-12 against a succession of Bruin coaches that followed. Check the student section Saturday to see if the ancient folding sign from the 1970s -– still preserved -– that reads "Digger is a Wimp" is trotted out for his return.

>> Bruin Coach Ben Howland has said that the UCLA-Notre Dame series was exciting and should be re-started. Would Saturday be a good day to announce that, with Phelps in the house? UCLA has a 27-19 record against the Irish and the teams last met in 2004-05 in South Bend in Howland's first year at UCLA, a 75-65 Bruin win. Notre Dame's 19 wins is the most by any non-conference opponent against UCLA and more than the 13 wins achieved by Arizona State and Washington State against the Bruins.

>> Rivals.com recruiting analyst Jerry Meyer sees next season’s star recruit, Jrue Holiday, as a potential "one-and-done" player at UCLA. He writes, "No need to convince us that he is the best and most complete perimeter player in this class, but will he get the chance in a potentially loaded UCLA backcourt to convince the NBA executives?"

Football Kaleidoscope: Spring practice dates set

Things are getting crazy in recruiting, but spring practice dates have been set for April 3-26 with the spring game scheduled for Saturday the 26th.

>> The Austin American-Statesman reported that the nation’s No. 1-rated running back, Darrell Scott of Ventura St. Bonaventure, has Texas and Colorado as his top two picks for schools at present, but the Bruins are recruiting him hard.

>> Just to show how strange recruiting can be, Notre Dame Prep (Scottsdale, Az.) quarterback Sean Renfree turned down Arizona State and Boise State and will sign with Duke. The Blue Devils, despite being a perennial loser in football, just hired David Cutcliffe as head coach. Cutcliffe coached Peyton Manning at Tennessee and Eli Manning at Mississippi. Kelly Page, a highly-regarded quarterback from Mesquite, Texas, de-committed from Oregon after the Ducks got two verbal commitments from other option quarterbacks and will now go to Ball State.

>> In case you missed it, the only former Bruin selected in the inaugural All-American Football League Draft last Saturday was quarterback David Koral, who was primarily a reserve in 2004 and 2005. He was the fifth pick in the first round and went to Michigan, which will play its home games at Ford Field in Detroit. The six-team league will begin play in April with a ten-game regular season.

ESPN GameDay coming to Pauley Pavilion

The ESPN "College GameDay" show will originate from Pauley Pavilion 8 a.m. PST on Saturday, before the UCLA-Arizona game that will be shown on ESPN beginning at 6 p.m.

At today’s news conference, it was announced that members of The Den, UCLA’s student fan group -– the ones with the blue shirts -– will be able to attend the show live. The Bruin athletic department made the determination that no one else, student or otherwise, will be allowed in.