Half an hour to go till Howland's UCLA Bruins (9-10, 4-3) tip off against Oregon Ducks (10-9, 2-5) on McArthur Court. This will be the Bruins' last game in what has been arguably one of the most intimidating venues in the West Coast. The Ducks are struggling though and as we have written in our pre-game notes they are going to be hungry and desperate for a win to break their 5 game losing streak. Will the Bruins show enough composure to play with poise and build on the consistent defensive efforts from last two games? No one here knows the answer and I guess that's why this season has been such an interesting roller-coaster trip (not necessarily fun).
Whatever happens on our side, you can count on the Ducks to come out all fired up. They pulled off a huge upset about three years ago against the eventual Pac-10 champions and Howland's defense has had issues with Oregon's athleticism and quickness in the past. It will be interesting to see how UCLA handles Porter with its new zone defense. In terms of historical numbers, UCLA is 32-19 (.627) all-time in Eugene, Ore. The Bruins have won nine of the last 10 games overall and four of the last five in McArthur Court. The last six games in Eugene have all been decided by nine points or less. The Bruins swept the season series last year, posting an 83-74 win at Oregon
Once again, Don MacLean will be doing the color commentary today which is always fun. You can read up on all of our musings leading up to this game here. If you want to follow the game online you can do so via our official site. As always, we will be here in the game threads with our rapid fire takes and commentary. So let's get this party started. Fire away.
GO BRUINS.