Howland: Our primary goal is for us to win the Pac-10

UCLA Coach Ben Howland told reporters Tuesday that he had good -- meaning no -- news about injuries, but then practice would be held later in the day.

On the upcoming matchup with Stanford, which trails  the Bruins by one game in the Pac-10, Howland said: "Stanford is not doing a lot differently now than when we played them before.They are doing a great job of getting the ball inside, especially to Brook [Lopez] who is averaging  20 points per game.

"They have great balance; I think Brook is the only one averaging in double figures. Both of the Lopezes are a load inside. They have a lot of balance. They are better because they have had Brook back a lot longer this time. When we played them before, he had just come back.  He had only been in the lineup three or four games. Both teams have improved since the first game; their guard play is very good.  Mitch Johnson is playing extremely well at the point for them. They have developed more depth; Landry Field has had some big games for them off the bench and I don't think he even played in our game the first time.

"Obviously it is a big game and we are excited to be where we are. We have had a great conference up to this point. Obviously, we would like to finish up strong this weekend."

>> About the problems posed by Stanford's Lopez brothers, Howland added: "The Lopez twins create difficult problems. The have two true 7-footers and both are really good players. They will be playing this game for a long time. Any time you see that much size and skill and toughness and ability -- not only do they score, they block shots, rebound, change shots -- they are two outstanding players. We did play Kevin [Love] and Lorenzo [Mata-Real] some against them the first time.

>> Asked about the battle between Love and Brook Lopez in the first game, Howland said: "It was intense; they are very tough. I think Kevin had 15 [points] and seven [rebounds] in that game. Josh [Shipp] had a great game against them; he made some big shots for us.  It seems like an eternity since we played them ... nearly two months. We know we will have to play better than we did to have success."

>> Howland said he had no problem with the late 8 p.m. start of Thursday's game. "We can't start the game at 6 or 7 [p.m.] because people can't get here by then; L.A. traffic can be pretty bad.  It makes sense to start the game at 7:30 or 8." The Bruin coach said he was not concerned that East Coast viewers probably wouldn't be able to see the game due to the late start.

>> More on Love: "I think we did very well on Sunday of getting the ball in to Love. They had Fendi Onobun trying to guard Kevin who is about 6-6, and Kevin had a real size advantage. Love did a great job of keeping his man behind him. All [the other Bruins] did a really good job of feeding the post. This has got to continue to be an emphasis -- not only was he getting fouled and scoring, but he did a good job of passing out of the post and gave us opportunities We did a good job of it last weekend especially against Arizona. Good things happen when Kevin touches the ball. The more he touches it, the better it is for us."

>> Asked about Russell Westbrook's missed dunk last week, Howland said: "I thought in our last game Russell has a tendency to get down on himself and gets frustrated [when he misses a dunk]. When he makes a bad play, he does not put it behind him. It is something I have talked to him about and he knows that. He dunks like that every day and I don't think he thinks about ESPN or Fox. They do not show jump shots; just dunks. That is what is promoted by the media. I, on the other hand, would rather see a good screen."

>> Howland added that "Luc [Mbah A Moute] was 5-5 from the foul line and played good defense as he always does [against Arizona]. The turnovers were unfortunate. He is back in game shape. He has played in five games since he missed two weeks and I am confident he is back at full shape. He may still have some pain in his ankle, which is not surprising because it is his first serious sprain of that ankle."

>> On the looming NCAA Tournament, Howland said: "Our primary goal is for us to win the Pac-10, to win it outright, and that is what we are playing for on Thursday. We have no control over the seedings.  Obviously, we would like to stay out West for the first and second round -- that is what we have said all along. There are a lot more games to be played after Thursday. I hope that seedings are based more on the conference race than the conference tournament. I don't know all the tiebreakers; I haven't even thought about that.  We don't want to be traveling across the country; we want to stay out West. 

"I think we were a two-seed last year but we got to stay out West and we got to the Final Four, so staying out West is very important to us. You play really good teams in the NCAA Tournament no matter where you are seeded: 1, 2, or 3. The parity in college basketball is so good now; I don't think there is much of a difference in playing a [seventh-seed vs. 10th-seed]  winner or an 8-9.  Having to travel East as opposed to Phoenix, Ariz., is the big difference."

Howland also said: "I think Coach [John] Wooden is in a lot of pain.  His family is there with him basically around the clock supporting him. We talked for just a minute and I didn't want to be a bother.  He was sleeping when I first got there. He kind of woke up just when I was leaving. He is in a lot of pain [in the wrist], I think. He is really, really tough.  He watched the Sunday game with Arizona on TV with his son Jim."

Comments

[Blueblood in VA]

"The Bruin coach said he was not concerned that East Coast viewers probably wouldn't be able to see the game due to the late start."

But Ben, we're concerned about you!!!!

at this point in the season though, my high school students--especially the sports fans--understand why Mr. Taylor is so tired on Friday mornings...