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Darren Collison scored 10 points and had a key defensive stop at the end of the game for UCLA's first-round victory. AP Photo/Michael Perez
#6 UCLA Bruins defeat #11 Virginia Commonwealth Rams 65-64. The game was awfully like UCLA's entire season. There were some good points when they took a double digit lead. There were bad points when they couldn't score a point for long stretches. But in the end it was defense that saved them. Down by one point with 11 seconds left to go, VCU inbounded the ball to Eric Maynor. Darren Collison was draped all over him and forced a short shot to preserve the Bruin victory. Up next for the Bruins is Villanova on Saturday on what can essentially be called home-court advantage for Nova.
#2 Memphis Tigers defeat #15 CSUN Matadors 81-70. The game was much closer than the final score indicates. In fact Northridge had a lead with seven minutes left to go in the game. But they suddenly went cold while the Tigers capitalized down the stretch. There was a lot of cussing involved when the thought of the team I have going to the finals could be ousted in the first round. Fortunately for everyone in a five mile radius around me that didn't happen.
LA Lakers defeat Golden State Warriors 114-106. This is getting a little alarming now. Yet again the Lakers led by double digits in the fourth quarter but squandered most of it away. Thankfully the Lakers managed to get some stops down the stretch unlike the other night against Philly. Lamar Odom had a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. But those turnovers. Yikes.
Anaheim Ducks defeat Phoenix Coyotes 3-2 (SO). Although the Ducks couldn't take care of the game in regulation again, fortunately it was only against the Coyotes who are nowhere near playoff contention. So no ground lost. Bobby Ryan knocked in the deciding goal in shootout to get the Ducks within two points of the eighth playoff spot. Rob Niedermayer played in this 1,000th NHL game. This makes him and his brother Scott the fourth pair of brother to play in at least 1,000 NHL games each.
LA Kings defeat Boston Bruins 3-2 (OT). Color me surprised. The Kings trailed 2-0 midway through the third period against the top team in the East. But a power play goal by Michal Handzus with 10:30 left and a goal by Drew Doughty with 1:36 left tied the game for the Kings. Dustin Brown provided the game winning goal in overtime with 35 seconds left. This was a gutsy win for the Kings on their first game of a six-game road trip. They still trail by six points for the eighth seed in the playoffs.
Tonight's Action
#10 USC Trojans at #7 Boston College Eagles. 4:20 pm CBS, AM 710 KSPN.
LA Kings at Pittsburgh Penguins. 4:30 pm FS West, AM 1260 KGIL (tape delay after Clippers game)
LA Clippers at Detroit Pistons. 5:00 pm KTLA 5, AM 1260 KGIL
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"This is getting a little alarming now. Yet again the Lakers led by double digits in the fourth quarter but squandered most of it away."
Alarming now? This has been a pretty standard Lakers happening for almost a decade now.
2 things:
UCLA escaped a game they should have lost. The tyrant, Howland, should've instill some autonomy this year in the offense because the personnel called for it. Now, we have a team that's tentative in the half-court offense because the tyrant is barking orders from the sidelines. Has he not learned from the past three years that his incessant string-pulling from the sidelines will not get them over the hump? UCLA finally has the athletes to run with the most talented teams in the nation, yet he continues to treat them like a mid-major team that needs to pick its spots. Too many times have I seen them aimlessly grinding out possessions until they are forced into taking bad shots while continually passing up good chances earlier in the shot clock. Howland's offensive (lack of) style worked before because he enjoyed elite players who could get their own shot like Jordan Farmar, Arron Afflalo, and Russell Westbrook as well as a transcendent post-player like Kevin Love who could make plays happen. As much as I love Darren Collison's rise from relative anonymity to being a top-notch point guard, he isn't the kind of player who can get his shot at will. The one player with the talent to do it, Jrue Holiday, is so apprehensive now that he's going to have to go to the NBA to showcase how good he really is. Howland spent the entire year trying to force this team into the mold of his previous teams that he failed to see that a different approach might have unlocked how special this team could have been. Let's face it, Howland is a DEFENSIVE coach by trade and philosophy, so why is he calling out the offensive plays? Why doesn't have an assistant who specializes in the offensive side of the court? Last night, during the timeout before UCLA's final possession with a one-point lead and the outcome of the game in the balance, I had ZERO faith in whatever play Howland was drawing up. The result? A shot-clock violation. Granted, Collison's shot was blocked, but you have to expect a better play coming out of a timeout.
What makes this most disconcerting is that after 3 years of getting bounced from the tourney by more athletic teams, this is the team that finally had the athletes. Howland has built a reputation of taking player under the radar and developing them into great players. Finally, he recruits a #1 class, and they look overmatched. Top-level recruits are going to look at this and wonder if Howland and UCLA are better options than North Carolina, Kansas, Louisvile, Duke, or UConn.
Second thing... Andrew Bynum is SOFT. He's going to have an injury-plagued career. He had an abbreviated high school career because of injury, and he's been injured both seasons he saw extended minutes. Now, he's going to be out another month. What a shame.