Ben Howland Press Conference

UCLA head coach Ben Howland on what disappointed him the most from the weekend in Oregon:
“Just the beginning of the half, that we let them on that 9-0 run so quickly. Our mistakes. A bad foul leads to two free throws. They come back hit a three, get very fortunate on the four-point play. We fought back, eight-point lead with 10 minutes to go. But allowing the lead to slip away was the most disappointing.”

On why the Bruins lost:
“Our defense was really a primary factor as to how we lost. We played well enough offensively. even on Saturday – we scored seven more baskets than the other team. But our foul team really hurt us. If we’re 5-of-8 we’re up 17 at the half, instead of 14, and psychologically that’s huge.”

On Anthony Stover:
“He played with a lot of energy, played really hard. Nice tip in, blocked some shots. We still need Stover to rebound when he’s out there, to be an effective rebounder.”

On Joshua Smith:
“It was reminiscent of the Cal/Stanford weekend and he had two of the best practices of his year. (The games against Oregon) were the only games that his mom and dad attended, and he didn’t play particularly well. He played as poor a game as he has all year on Saturday. I think he’s very motivated right now. he wants to do better.”

On what’s holding Smith back:
“Conditioning.”