(12) U-C-L-A (10-2) at Oregon State (5-5)

Sports Network | January 2, 2009

GAME NOTES: Pac-10 Conference play gets underway for the 12th-ranked UCLA Bruins tonight, as they arrive in Corvallis to take on the Oregon State Beavers.

UCLA carries a six-game win streak into this clash, and the team is now 10-2 overall. The Bruins are coming off a 78-55 thrashing of Louisiana Tech, and their only two losses have come by a total of seven points to Michigan and Texas. They have only played one true road game to date, and that tilt ended in defeat.

Oregon State has won its last four games to improve to 5-5 overall, and the club is fresh off a 59-50 victory over Seattle on Monday. Clearly, however, the level of competition increases significantly tonight. The schedule has been rather soft for the Beavers thus far, but first-year head coach Craig Robinson has seemingly changed the losing mentality of the program.

UCLA owns a commanding 82-34 series lead against Oregon State, which includes sevens straight wins over the Beavers.

Darren Collison is the leading scorer for UCLA, as the dynamic point guard is netting 14.3 ppg on 55.0 percent shooting from the floor, including 50 percent from three-point range. Collison is also handing out 5.3 apg and paces the squad with 24 steals. Josh Shipp provides 11.7 ppg for the Bruins, and Jrue Holiday is scoring 10.6 ppg. The club is posting 77.2 ppg on 50.1 percent field goal efficiency, and it is limiting opponents to 57.9 ppg on 42.5 percent shooting. Shipp scored 16 points for the Bruins in the victory over Louisiana Tech last time out, while both Holiday and Alfred Aboya had 12 points. Holiday pulled down 10 rebounds and dished out five assists, and Collison made up for a two-point showing by dishing out 10 assists against only one turnover. The Bruins played tremendous team defense in the clash, as they limited the Bulldogs to 36.8 percent overall shooting.

Calvin Haynes has only played four games for Oregon State this season, but has proven to be a big-time performer in those contests. Haynes is generating 18.8 ppg on 64.1 percent shooting from the floor, including 10-of-18 from three- point range. Omari Johnson provides 11.3 ppg as the only other double-digit scorer in the lineup for the Beavers, who are generating 64.3 ppg on 49.1 percent field goal efficiency. Defensively, they have managed to limit foes to 61.2 ppg on 41.9 percent shooting from the floor. Haynes exploded for 24 points off the bench to lead the Beavers to victory versus Seattle on Monday. Daniel Deane pitched in 10 points for Oregon State, which earned a 20-6 edge in points from the foul line despite a lackluster 60.6 percent shooting effort from the charity stripe.

UCLA gets the nod tonight, as it will earn a road win over a group of Beavers who will play hard despite lacking the talent to knock off the Bruins.

GAME NOTES: Pac-10 Conference play gets underway for the 12th-ranked UCLA Bruins tonight, as they arrive in Corvallis to take on the Oregon State Beavers.

FACTS & STATS: Site: Gill Coliseum (10,400) -- Corvallis, Oregon. Television: FSN. Home Record: UCLA 8-0, Oregon St. 4-2. Away Record: UCLA 0-1, Oregon St. 1-3. Neutral Record: UCLA 2-1, Oregon St. 0-0. Conference Record: UCLA 0-0, Oregon St. 0-0. Series Record: UCLA leads, 82-34.

UCLA 73, Oregon State 61

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