Southern Cal vs. UCLA Preview: One Really Bad Team
by DCBruins on Feb 14, 2012 6:02 AM PST
in Basketball
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PrintThe good news is we play USC tomorrow night. While UCLA is struggling, UCLA fans can take some small solace in that USC may have the worst basketball team in its history. Jim Healy's tape of Charles Barkley from years ago, sums up Southern Cal basketball now.
So, how bad is it?
USC ranks 342 out of 344 teams in points per game. They have earned this ranking shooting the 335th worst in the nation from three (the same as UCLA's Saturday opponent St. John's) and a whopping 39% overall. In other words, they are third worst in the nation at scoring points, ninth worst shooting from three and still in the top 20 over-all worst at field goal percentage. It is any wonder, they have not broken 50 points their last three games?
The bad news does not stop for USC. Since UCLA beat them the first time, they have lost their starting center who was their leader in field goal percentage, blocked shots, and their second best rebounder. They literally do not have a big man off the bench and their starting PG, Maurice Jones, is averaging an insane 38 minutes per game.
This team is unbelievably bad. If not for one game against Utah they would have went 0 for the Pac-12. This is not a trap game, but rather a fire-the-coach-and-take-away-the-scholarships-from-the-players- right-now-if-you-lose kind of game.
There is not much more to say on U$C. This should be an easy game to pick up a game on one of the three teams UCLA needs to catch up to get to the magical first round bye in the Pac-12 tournament as Oregon will likely lose at Cal. Or help assure us a winning record for the post-season CBI tourney.
USC (as well as St. John's, who we play this Saturday) does present a unique opportunity. It is a time to play some other players' real minutes. In order for UCLA to have any chance to win the Pac-12 tournament, it does not seem smart to play Zeek, Jerime Anderson, and Tyler Lamb big minutes every night. Hopefully Norman Powell sees his career high in minutes against USC. If Stover is hurt, it would also be nice to see Brendan Lane set his season high for minutes. While I think Lane is the ninth best player on the team, UCLA will still need him this season if they are going to win the Pac-12 tournament and this is a time to rest banged up and hurting players like Anthony Stover and Travis Wear.
Of course it would be a good time to practice the zone as well, but oh never mind. But maybe CBH can work on a few things with the time left in the season. Stopping the Wears from shooting long two pointers, having Norman Powell work on his mid-range game, Tyler Lamb becoming more consistent, convincing Josh Smith that the Staples Center is located in Washington state, etc.
Go Bruins, beat SC!
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How exciting!!
A game of middle to bottom of the division Pac-12 teams. We’re #1!!!
Louisville, KY for UCLA class of '87
Errr.....
“This is not a trap game, but rather a fire-the-coach-and-take-away-the-scholarships-from-the-players- right-now-if-you-lose kind of game.”
For us or them….?
I know we'll win. We have to.
But even though $UC is arguably the worst team in the country, I just don’t have much faith in our own fairly-bad and very-much-underachieving team. I have a feeling this will disgustingly be a single-digits, uncomfortable win where our guys play down to their level.
Most of the time
when we’re supposed to win, but by a smaller margin, i would agree. But this year’s SUC team is the worst in history. An average UCLA team (I should never have to put the word “average” before UCLA) should demolish one of the worst teams in the nation.
No mercy BRUINS!
I don't think we are bad or underachieving
Just mediocre and talent-challenged
I have to disagree
We have underachieved … by blowing games we should have won this season. You know which games they are.
I am not as sure
We don’t have a go to guy, there is no JF, DC, AA, shoot not even a Michael Roll. Who do you want to take the big shot on this team? I would guess Zeek who was literally the fifth option last year and that team was merely good. Look at the Stanford road game, Anderson had the wide open game winner and then we had the ball in Zeek’s hand to make something happen. We thus lost.
So yeah we blew the UW game last shot in that we had a time out and Smith was on. Smith should have got the ball on the last possession or at least a look. But I look as those kind of games as more on Howland not on the players. Why didn’t we go zone to rest some of the guys? Why not more Stover earlier? How come Howland could not adjust to the Oregon or Oregon state presses? How come we have not done better against the zone? I can easily scheme against UCLA and we don’t have an answer for it.
So yeah, should this team have done better? Well yes. But that’s just it there is no margin for error (well tomorrow night there is) in many games and that the players, many of whom are playing close to their maximum talent levels, to go to that next level.
Take Anderson in the Cal game. He was very good leading our comeback. But at the end he tried to do too much, to create instead of taking what was given him. He can’t do that. Thus two turnovers and comeback ended.
I think CBH as a teacher of individual players is doing good. This team’s talent level is so low, I think I would take Oregon State’s first five over ours if I was starting from scratch. On paper , we are in the bottom half of talent in the PAC 12. These players are playing close to all that they can be (Putting aside Josh). But that is just it, Howland asking them to play Man to Man all the time and to do things they cannot is the problem.
So I guess taking off my UCLA goggles I am impressed with what this team as individuals had done at times this PAC 12 season. With the exception of the Cal games, they have always been close. Remember how bad they were at the start of the season? But I am frustrated with Howland first for putting and this spot and also for not realizing they need to play zone, David Wear never to play three, Stover to be the backup center, etc.
Enough babbling. I see your point, I just see the players in a different light.
You don't need someone to take a big shot
You just need a team than can maintain a double digit lead…that would be nice.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
lol,
or maybe I should be crying. You are right. But you could see the trends. Press on us and we wilt. Last five minutes we get cautious because no one can/will step up or we choke free throws. Take our one road win outside LA, against WSU we did not score a FG the last 5:36 of the game!
Why can’t we finish games? In whose hands do you want the ball at the end of the game? Even the 2009-10 disaster that question had an answer. This year I don’t know. I think that is part of the problem.
I get what you're saying
In the end…this point doesn’t matter because either way, I hold Howland responsible. He either is not getting these guys to play up to their potential, or he seriously overestimated their potential when he recruited them. It would really be a stretch to try to get him off the hook for anything in the last 4 years. The only somewhat reasonable argument is a general lack of elite talent on the west coast. Even that does not excuse him whiffing (or not even sniffing) on guys who would have fit his teams really well.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
I agree and even that reasonable argument fails
for if it was true no elite talent in the West Coast, we will still be doing good in the PAC 12, just not nationally. We are not.
The loss against Washington was inexcusable
If we had actually done serious practice against zone defense – we’d won that game. We looked clueless and it wasn’t due to lack of talent.
Similarly it was coaching move (or lack thereof) that cost us a victory against Stanford. We also looked completely hapless during stretches against Oregon State and Oregon.
None of these losses had to do anything with lack of talent. Of course lack of talent was also not the issue against LMU.
So yes this season has been an underachieving one unless folks want to make more excuses.
Facing one of the worst teams in the country
Well that’ll just make our loss more embarrassing, right?
I'm so numb now if we lose I will be okay.
We are irrelevant so I won’t have to read that old “Bruins in Ruins” headline anywhere but the local fish wrap.
In all seriousness
I would love to really spank them and this team if it focuses could do that.
This is to the howlers
Everyone in the world expects us to beat the trogans, and to beat them by a substantial margin. This includes the trogans themselves. Maybe enough for a little Tyler Trapani action in the first half.
Howlers, please answer to yourselves truthfully. How many other times this year did you have such a feeling of a certain win? Back in the olden days, we felt this way about every game, no matter who we were playing. That’s not a function of naivete on the parts of the fans, but the precision level of our team. We fully, completely expected to win every game. We just did.
Now, Howlers, another question. How many times this year have you said that we could or should win the game, but deep down, you knew that we were not going to win? In the old days, we never had that feeling.
That’s the legacy you Howlers want to leave to future generations of Bruin fans. I want you and them to have it better – as good as I had it. I want your good old days to be like mine. Alas, these are your good old days, and they suck. Howland is not going to make them better.
by Fox 71 on Feb 14, 2012 4:41 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
+1
sad, but true.
i love CBH but it is very clear he is not a good fit for U.C.L.A.
by UCLA_beer&mathematics on Feb 15, 2012 6:33 AM PST up reply actions
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