Muhammad leads Bruins in Pac-12 awards

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Jack Wang

Two days after UCLA won an outright Pac-12 title, Shabazz Muhammad became the eighth player in program history to win Pac-12 Freshman of the Year — sharing the honor with Arizona point guard Jahii Carson.

The star swingman, who ranked third in the Pac-12 with 18.3 points per game, is the first Bruin to win since Kevin Love in 2008. Muhammad also made the 10-man all-conference first team with senior point guard Larry Drew II, while freshman point forward Kyle Anderson was a second-team selection.

Muhammad and Drew both generated some talk for the conference’s Player of the Year Award, but that went to Cal guard Allen Crabbe. Oregon’s Dana Altman won Coach of the Year, and had his Ducks positioned for a conference title before losing the last two games of the season.

Muhammad and Anderson also made the All-Pac-12 Freshman team, but guard Jordan Adams missed the cut for the five-man list. He averaged 15.2 points per game, eighth best in the conference, and was an honorable mention for receiving at least three votes.

Here’s the full list of conference awards: Continue reading →

UCLA at Washington: What to Watch

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Jack Wang

No. 23 UCLA (22-8, 12-5) at Washington (17-13, 9-8)
Tipoff: 11 a.m., Hec Edmundson Pavilion
TV/Radio: CBS/AM 570

At a glance: If UCLA wins, it will clinch a share of the Pac-12 championship and get either the No. 1 or 2 seed in the Pac-12 tourney (depending on whether Oregon wins or loses at Utah).

The Bruins haven’t beaten Washington on the road since 2004, but Hec Ed hasn’t been as intimidating as usual this year. Six teams, including three outside the top 150 in RPI, have won there by an average of eight points. The Huskies hadn’t lost more than two games at home in a season since 2007-08. Continue reading →

UCLA at WSU: Halftime update

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Jack Wang

The night couldn’t have started worse for No. 23 UCLA, which is lucky to be down just 35-24 to Washington State at halftime.

The Bruins opened the game 1 of 10 from the field while playing some porous defense against the conference’s worst team. WSU used a matchup zone to keep UCLA from getting its second field goal until almost 10 minutes had elapsed. Even without its No. 2 and No. 3 scorers — Mike Ladd (~~thumb~~ knee) and DaVonte Lacy (knee) — the Cougars ran out a 25-4 lead with eight minutes to go. Continue reading →

UCLA at USC: Halftime update

Posted on February 24, 2013 by Jack Wang

UCLA’s offense looks about as good as it has all season, and enters halftime with a comfortable 47-26 lead over USC. The Bruins opened the game with seven straight points, and haven’t really allowed eased off yet at the Galen Center.

They’re outshooting the Trojans by a wide margin (58.6 percent to 33.3) but most impressive are their 13 assists on 17 field goals. Continue reading →

UCLA vs. WSU: What to Watch

Posted on February 9, 2013 by Jack Wang

Washington State (11-12, 2-8)
Tipoff: 7 p.m., Pauley Pavilion
TV/Radio: Pac-12 Networks, AM 570

At a glance: Can UCLA’s offense get rolling again?

Twice in the last three games, the Bruins’ field goal attempts have outnumbered their point totals. Still first in the Pac-12 in points per game on the season, UCLA drops to fifth once you cut out the nonconference schedule. Their 69.7 average against league opponents trails USC and Stanford, both of whom are just 5-5 in the Pac-12.

“We need to do a better job taking good shots and being more selective,” head coach Ben Howland said.

The Cougars, who haven’t had a winning conference record since 2008, offer the Bruins a chance to get back on track. Washington State is one of the slowest teams in the conference, and will need to dictate the pace at Pauley Pavilion if it wants its third win of the calendar year. Continue reading →

UCLA trio makes Freshman of the Year watchlist

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Jack Wang

Shabazz Muhammad, Jordan Adams and Kyle Anderson all landed on the midseason watchlist for the Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year Award — a 12-man group selected by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. The news isn’t a huge surprise given that the trio accounts for 52.7 percent of UCLA’s scoring and 45 percent of its rebounding.

Here’s the complete list in alphabetical order: Continue reading →

Anderson, Adams miss practice with stomach illness

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Jack Wang

Freshmen Kyle Anderson and Jordan Adams are both showing symptoms of what UCLA head coach Ben Howland called a “stomach virus.” Anderson missed all of Tuesday’s afternoon practice, while Adams returned after missing the middle portion of the session.

Howland said he hopes to have them back for Wednesday, while Anderson tweeted that he felt better after spending the day in bed.

“They were throwing up everywhere,” said freshman Shabazz Muhammad, who thought the reason might have been contaminated lettuce.

Anderson and Adams may not be 100 percent in time for Thursday’s 6 p.m. PT tipoff at Arizona, but will likely be well enough to push through any lingering discomfort. If not, the Bruins Continue reading →

UCLA at Utah: What to Watch

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Jack Wang

UCLA is finally leaving Pauley Pavilion after a six-game homestand. Here’s what to watch at 6:30 p.m. Thursday (Pac-12 Networks).

What’s at stake: The Bruins need to prove they can win in a road environment. With all but four games coming at home, it’s still hard to say how noise might affect these young players. This season, they have lost in front of a sparse Georgetown crowd in Brooklyn and won in front of an almost empty Reliant Stadium.

The one time UCLA faced a truly intimidating crowd was in its 78-69 loss to San Diego State on Dec. 1. Aztec fans packed Anaheim’s Honda Center that night, making up the vast majority 17,204 in attendance. Utah is averaging 7,380 at home this season, while Colorado brings in 10,252.

Shabazz Muhammad, for one, expects plenty of taunts concerning the NCAA investigation that kept him out for three games. He claims he likes it.

“If I’m not energized, that stuff gives me energy and gets me up real fast,” the star freshman said.

There’s also the simple issue of riding this win streak as far as it will go. Utah might not be too difficult, but Colorado has only lost two games at home since a 73-70 overtime loss to Texas A&M on Feb. 9, 2011.

“As soon as we lose, it’s just back to the same thing again,” UCLA freshman Jordan Adams said.

At a glance: Utah can be roughly defined as a statistical antithesis Continue reading →

Parker unhappy, but trying to get healthy

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Jack Wang

Shabazz Muhammad and Jordan Adams, two of the best freshmen in the Pac-12, average 36.2 combined points. Kyle Anderson isn’t as dangerous a scorer, but ranks sixth in the conference in rebounds and seventh in assists.

Left out of the celebration is Tony Parker, who — his development hampered by injuries and lack of playing time — has actually become less-featured since junior center Josh Smith transferred out in late November. In his past five games, the 6-foot-9 freshman has played a total of 20 minutes. His 2.8 points and 1.4 rebounds rank lowest among the team’s eight scholarship players.

Two days before Christmas, Parker tweeted: “A lot of (people) told me this wasn’t for me I wish I would’ve listened.” He told ESPN recently that there is no rift between himself and head coach Ben Howland, and a large part of his dissatisfaction is also due to being over 3,000 miles away from his home in Georgia. Parker added that he isn’t sure whether he will return to UCLA next season, and had no comment when asked if he regrets his commitment. Continue reading →

UCLA 65, Texas 63: How bad is the Bruins’ 3-point defense?

Posted on December 8, 2012 by Jack Wang

UCLA’s 65-63 win was about as ugly a showing of basketball as you’ll see all year, a sloppy affair that looked like two teams trying their best not to win. Longhorns coach Rick Barnes said as much afterward, stating that to him, UCLA hadn’t won; Texas had given the game away.

The Bruins ended the game on a 12-2 run, but that didn’t erase what was essentially a microcosm of the team’s defensive woes.

Poor 3-point defense: The eye test has been pretty clear: UCLA runs into significant trouble against good 3-point shooting teams, with San Diego State being the best example. But how do the stats break down? A few days ago, Ken Pomeroy wrote that 3-point defense shouldn’t be measured by opposing shooting percentage, but by the amount of threes opponents take at all. Teams have much more control in preventing threes entirely versus controlling how often they go in after they’re released.

Under Ben Howland, here’s where UCLA has ranked in 3PA% (percentage of field goal attempts taken from 3-point range):
2012-13 – 36.9% – No. 275 in the country, entering Saturday
2011-12 – 31.0% – 103
2010-11 – 25.8% – 10 (NCAA second round)
2009-10 – 33.3% – 203 Continue reading →

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