Oregon-UCLA: postgame

The Bruins managed a 75-65 win today against Oregon, coming back from a 48-37 deficit to maintain its first-place standing in the Pac-10. The crowd of 11,355 was loud, topping out at 112 decibels, about the same as being on the tarmac as a jet plane takes off. Other notes:

>> UCLA improved to 24-3 and 12-2 in the Pac-10 while Oregon dropped to 15-12 overall and 6-9 in the conference.

>> UCLA now leads the all-time series at 79-25 and has a 44-5 record in Los Angeles (39-5 at Pauley Pavilion).

>> Bruin Coach Ben Howland is now 8-2 against Oregon at UCLA.

>> Oregon forward Maarty Leunen had a team-high 11 rebounds, moving into third place all-time on the Ducks rebound list with 863. It’s the most rebounds by a Duck in 31 years since Greg Ballard finished his career with a school record 1,114 in 1977. Leunen is the active leader in Pac-10 rebounding. His double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds was his 16th this season.

>> Bruin center Kevin Love had his 16th double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds. He has had 10 double-doubles in his last 12 games.

>> UCLA’s total of 75 points in the 18th time this season that it has scored 70 or more points. The Bruins are 18-0 in those games.

>> UCLA’s largest deficit of the game was 11 points at 48-37, but the Bruins are now 3-2 in games in which they have trailed by 10 or more points. The Bruins led for only 9:01 in today’s game; Oregon had the lead for 30:59.

>> UCLA converted 57% of its offensive possessions into points: 17-31 in the first half (54%) and 21-36 (58%) in the second half. Oregon converted 48% with 17-29 in the first half (58%) and just 15-37 (41%) in the second half. The Bruins scored on their last nine possessions and made eight of 10 free throws in the final three minutes.

>> UCLA’s junior class, which includes Darren Collison, Luc Richard Mbah A Moute, Alfred Aboya and Michael Roll, is now 86-16 in almost three seasons.

>> The only negative today was Josh Shipp's 0-1 from three-point range, so he's now in an 0-20 slump.

Quotes from Oregon Coach Ernie Kent:

"I thought we had an excellent game plan going into tonight’s contest. We executed it for the first 30 minutes; unfortunately, a basketball game is 40 minutes. We did the same thing against USC. We played one of our best games against one of the top teams in the country, but our poise has to be a lot better in the stretch of the contest. Our goal now is to get three more wins and get to the Pac-10 Tournament. That’s our only goal right now.

"We had 11 turnovers in the second half. It doesn’t take a mathematician to figure out that that’s going to hurt you eventually. We did the same thing against SC. Tajuan Porter is struggling sometimes at key points in the game. We just have to have better leadership and poise at key points of the game. It was easier last year when we had Aaron Brooks because we could depend on him for our leadership.

"Overall, our basketball team stood out; we all did a good job. Our bench really helped us out. Malik [Hairston] played well as well as Bryce Taylor. We played solid basketball for the first 30 minutes."

Quotes from UCLA Coach Ben Howland:

"That was another great example of an opposing team giving us their best shot. Oregon is a very good team and they played extremely hard. I believe they’re an NCAA team, even with their current record. We dug a big hole in the beginning, but I was proud of how our guys fought back and kept our composure.

"We did a better job attacking our basket in the second half. We also fought hard on the boards to get valuable second shots. I thought our defense down the stretch was phenomenal and our steals helped us to this win. You have to give Darren Collison a lot of credit for not only scoring, but handling the basketball, but also in slowing down Tajuan Porter. I was happy for Russell [Westbrook], especially coming back from missing a layup and rolling his ankle. He is all about the team and it was good that he made some plays for YouTube. Luc’s defense on a great player like Maarty Leunen was phenomenal. We also rebounded well and that made a difference for us all game.

"Kevin Love’s last eight minutes were very important for us in our comeback. Mata-Real’s minutes were also extremely important for us. He was a great lift off the bench and his big blocks and tip-back shot really helped us cut the lead."

Comments

[Bert]

Love looked to me like he had the flu.

[DK BRUIN]

How come no one has mentioned the other handicap the Bruins and all true Bruin fans overcame today. Steve Lavin announcing! I cringe every time that man comes. I don't know what else to say. Thank g-d for Coach Howland! Steve Lavin is the WORST.

[Bruin_Bry]

Rich,

The math doesn't add up?

"The Bruins led for only 9:01 in today’s game; Oregon had the lead for 38:59."

[DK BRUIN]

CORRECTION: How come no one has mentioned the other handicap the Bruins and all true Bruin fans overcame today. Steve Lavin announcing! I cringe every time that man comes WITHIN 100 FEET OF SACRED WOODEN COURT. I don't know what else to say. Thank g-d for Coach Howland! Steve Lavin is the WORST.

[Ernie]

Yes. I have a hard time accepting Steve Lavin as a basketball authority. I wish they would keep him off UCLA games.

[Rich Perelman]

Bruin Bry, thanks for the sharp eyes. The Bruins did lead for 9:01 and Oregon for 30:59; the 38:59 was a typo.