Bruin Bites: Howland's Dumpster Fire Joke, Women's Hoops Rolling, Hundley Profile

What a joke. That sentiment could perfectly describe any of the following things: Ben Howland's basketball program, Dan Guerrero's reaction to Saturday's "huge" win over a pathetic Texas squad in Houston, or the complete inaction to hold Howland accountable as we trudge through another joyless season of boring, losing UCLA basketball. There is simply no joy left in Westwood when it comes to hoops, and if not for Jim Mora, Brett Hundley, the Mayor, and the rest of the football team, it'd be a pretty dire winter for Bruin fans everywhere. But don't fret: Howland's team will inevitably flame out in either the Pac-12 tournament and get snubbed by the NIT (again), or if by some miracle, stagger into March Madness, will be eliminated by the second round. So at least this death-march of what should be Howland's last season (well actually, last season should have been, but I digress) in Westwood will fortunately not stretch out due to any Lavin-esque "magical" level play by this depleted roster.

So, with that said, let's get to the bits and pieces of news floating around the UCLA-iverse at the beginning of this work week. Here's the Bruin Bites for this Monday morning:

• How lame was Saturday's game? Well, if a picture is worth a thousand words, check this out. Playing in a practically empty Reliant Stadium, in front of less than 3,000 fans, the Bruins squeaked out a narrow win in a game which went from hyped-during-preseason-national-game to national embarrassment for Coach's once-proud program. As former Vols coach Bruce Pearl said, there's more fans at some high school hoops game. Yet another pathetic strike against Chianti Dan and Howland's dumpster fire program.
• On the other hand, the #17-ranked women's basketball team could not be off to a better start, notching their fifth win in six games, by delivering a devastating beat down of the #12-ranked Lady Longhorns in Houston, 62-42. Alyssia Brewer led UCLA with 12 points and 11 rebounds, picking up for usual leader Markel Walker (6 points, 8 rebounds). Ironically, the women's game, thought to be the undercard for the main event, the men's game, was the only game that featured two nationally ranked teams that had any national interest. My guess is a lot of those fans (well, the few who attended) came to see the women's game and stuck around for a free men's game after.
• Finally, in case you missed it, there was a nice write-up about our redshirt freshman QB, Brett Hundley shortly after he helped take down the Trojans in epic fashion. Enjoy watching him in the Blue and Gold now folks, because on the path he's projected to take, he may not be in Westwood for too long. Side note: still waiting for Mazzone to land us another big-time QB prospect since our depth will be pretty thin with only Hundley, Millweard, and Neuheisel in the mix (it appears Fuller has moved to WR and I doubt he'll move back).
  

Alright folks, those are your Bruin Bites to start the work week with. Fire away with your thoughts, takes, and additions in the comments thread.

GO BRUINS