"Barn Cats" Bury Bears

by Tydides on Jan 29, 2009 9:35 PM PST in Basketball Comment 13 comments

No miracle shots necessary this time.

The Bruins start things off on the defensive end pressuring the Bears into turnovers and mostly staying in front of their guys. Although the Bruins also started out somewhat sloppy on their offensive halfcourt sets, they were able to get out on the break due to all of their steals, and went into the break with an 8 point lead. The Bruins then had a 20-2 run in the second half to put the game away early before cruising to an 81-66 victory (box score).

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Jeff Lewis

DC was aggressive early, in the middle, and late in the game, constantly getting to the rim and giving himself FT opportunities to wind up with 20 points. Holiday and Shipp also chipped in with 11 and Roll and Aboya had 10 each to put 5 guys in double figures tonight. Another encouraging sign: 21-23 on Free Throws. While Drago had some miscues, he also displayed a lot of aggressiveness on the boards and was often seen diving on the floor for loose balls. That's the kind of all around effort we are going to need down the stretch.

The Bruins now find themselves again tied for first in the conference after a wild night in Arizona.

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Cal

Cal missed alot of easy shots underneath the bucket. Were they inept or were our boys that intimidating?

by bruin75 on Jan 29, 2009 9:53 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Jrue

Holiday had himself a great second half.

by Raisin on Jan 29, 2009 9:54 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Very Strong Game

We looked good tonight for close to the entire game, with good activity from the bench and confidence and control from DC. Cal looked lost from the beginning which was surprising to me given Monty’s abilities. I didn’t think the refs were nearly as bad as usual from my vantage point in section 314c. For me, any game in which they do not determine the outcome is a good game. I went to Pauley thinking it was going to be a fun game and it didn’t disappoint. Let’s keep it going—one game at a time.

Bruins Forever

by bruinsince69 on Jan 29, 2009 10:04 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

CBH

is obviously getting advice from coach N.. N. says we should drive more, get to the line, play loose, crash the boards, play the freshmen meaningful minutes, and not stand around on offense.

So, we get 16 fast-break points, 26 points off turnovers, and 38 (!!) points in the paint. We shoot 55% overall, 40% from three. Lee, Gordon, and Anderson play 31 minutes between them (2 for Morgan). We outrebound Cal 34-23. We get to the line 23 times, and knock down 21 of them.

Nice adjustments from this past weekend, Nestor.

by Bruinut on Jan 29, 2009 10:05 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Jrue--too unselfish

Jrue showed us a little of his tremendous talent tonight. He should create more for himself. There are going to be games down the home stretch where we will need another scorer and threat to go to the hoop.

by bruin75 on Jan 29, 2009 10:07 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

Tonight Jrue really showed more flashes of greatness that we were expecting to see. If he can be another threat to drive to the hoop, that will really help DC. Also, even though Jrue has said he likes playing at UCLA and has not decided if he will leave, I’m afraid chances are he will. I saw a mock draft tonight that has him at FOURTH. Even if he drops some, I can’t see him lower than 10-15 so it would be alot to expect him to come back. This draft has 3 Pac-10 players in the top 5 once again. Great talent in our conference…

GO BRUINS!!!

by uclafan11 on Jan 29, 2009 10:54 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

you're so on point, i should call you collison

it’s crazy how easy he makes things happen when he chooses too. collison is obviously getting doubled hard, hedged hard on screens and so on… getting the ball to jrue to do something 4-on-3 seems like an antidote and then let opposing d’s pick their poison. when he curls around and gets the ball around the free throw line something good always happens. the only thing i can think is his defense assignments wear him out a bit, but i just dont accept that. the only other thing i can think of is he is used to playing point and not accustomed to having to do something to get the ball. either way, i’m looking forward to seeing him establish himself on the offensive end.
on another note the early turnovers show how unaccustomed our offense is to feeding the post, but a commitment to that will pay off. thank you bruin ballers for making your free throws! nice win

Across The Face

by rb bruin on Jan 29, 2009 11:03 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Anderson

Showed some real poise and ability today. He’s developed a lot from the beginning of the season. I can’t wait to see what a year of tutelage under Collison brings him next year

by blinkshot on Jan 29, 2009 10:16 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Lee, Anderson and Holiday (if he returns)

Will all be fantastic next season. They’ve all flashed the potential. Hopefully some of the bigs improve too (or the incoming freshman step up). But it’s far too soon to talk about next season, it’s Stanford time. :)

by Raisin on Jan 29, 2009 10:39 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

excellent bounce back game...

this is such an exciting team this season, including the growing pains. The first half defense and T.O.’s were excellent, holding them to 23 pts in the first half. Jrue was phenomenal in the 2nd half, he showed his understanding of the game through his court vision. If he continues to contribute in all dimensions and Collison keeps attacking the rim, we should be successful offensively. Aboya is taking too many outside shots for my liking, but I like he aggression offensively.

by UCLAallDay on Jan 29, 2009 11:42 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

I remain in awe

SJH came up with a good analogy with house cats versus barn cats. But for Tele to come up with perfect pictures to illustrate that analogy is going above and beyond the call of duty. Once again Telemachus out-performs our expectations.

by Fox 71 on Jan 30, 2009 7:23 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

I know "Da Bears" suffered enough, but....

Isn’t the guard palming the ball in the picture?

I may work with the Waves, but I'm still a Bruin!

by HoozierDaddy on Jan 30, 2009 10:18 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

No, that is not "palming"

His hand is “mostly” on top of the ball. His hand would need to be more on the side or even below the ball. That photo looks to be setting up a nice behind the back dribble.

by haster123 on Jan 30, 2009 11:03 AM PST reply actions 0 recs