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How To Watch Arizona State at UCLA & Game Thread: Playing Defense Will Be Key

Arizona State heads to Pauley Pavilion this afternoon to face the Bruins. Can UCLA manage the same intensity they had Thursday night against Arizona? Or, will the team that lost to Washington State last weekend show up?

By Joe Piechowski
Bryce will need to do more than shoot three-pointers if UCLA is to beat ASU this afternoon.
Bryce will need to do more than shoot three-pointers if UCLA is to beat ASU this afternoon.
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The Arizona State Sun Devils and new coach Bobby Hurley visit Pauley Pavilion this afternoon. I don't know about you but, personally, I've NEVER liked Bobby Hurley. Some of that may go back to the fact that he went to Duke, but I think that it goes deeper than that. I think some of it stems from his headlines when he played at St. Anthony's HS in Jersey City, NJ where his dad is still the coach. To me, he's always come off as arrogant and entitled. But enough about Hurley, let's look at what's being said about our UCLA Bruins this morning.

Zach Helfand (aka Zach the Intern) has an interesting article in today's LA Times. The headline is "UCLA basketball players say inconsistency is linked to effort on defense".

The key statement in the article is:

UCLA's inconsistency, several players said, is a symptom of defensive effort. Fix that, they said, and they'll play every team like they did Arizona.

Helfand also quotes Tony Parker:

It's just coming out to play hard every time and being enthusiastic, no matter the scene, no matter where we are. If we play at a high level with energy, that type of attitude … it's going to be hard to beat us.

He also quotes Coach Steve Alford earlier in the article:

What I'll use is Saturday as a barometer, because here we go again. I want to see where our energy is, where our enthusiasm is, where our excitement is, because we didn't get that last weekend.

Considering that one of the players who frequently doesn't make much effort on defense is Alford's son Bryce, it will be interesting to see what Alford does if Bryce doesn't make an effort on defense this afternoon. Would he actually consider benching him? Personally, I doubt it.

But he should if Bryce isn't going to put forth the same effort on defense every game.

How To Watch, Listen, and Stream:

Game Date/Time:

  • Saturday, January 9, 2016, 2:00 pm PT

Location:

  • Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, CA

Game Notes:

TV:

  • Pac-12 Networks with J.B. Long and Mike Montgomery

Watch Online:

Radio/Audio:

  • 570 AM in Los Angeles with Bill Roth and Darrick Martin
  • Sirius Ch. 84 and XM Ch. 84 (UCLA Call)
  • And, of course, right here in the Bruins Nation Game Thread!!!


This is your Arizona State at UCLA Game Thread.

Go Bruins!!!

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