Path to the Hall of Fame (v3)

[randy]

Nov 25, 2001: Connecticut (2-0) @ #13 UCLA (3-0)

CONN shot a respectable 45% FG, but they were not match to our 67% clip. Halftime, Up 53-37.

The players may have changed, but our brand of showtime, up tempo basket ball remains the same. Sensational display of balanced offense, in our 2nd game this season scoring over 100 pts. Both our point guards have 11 assists today.


Final Score: Connecticut - 77, UCLA - 101


Box Scores
[INDENT]Bradford 19, 1, 0, 6-7 FG (*)
Gray 16, 5, 2, 4-5 3PT
Pebbles 14, 2, 1
White 11, 4, 2
Jones 11, 4, 0, 2 stls
Maloney 10, 4, 1, 2 stls
Wallace 7, 4, 0
Davis 6, 3, 2
Beck 4, 1, 11, 4 tos
Hawkins 3, 2, 11
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 61-45%
REB: +1
TO: -4
Pts in paint: +20
2nd chance: -7
Fast break: -7
[/INDENT]

[randy]

Nov 29, 2001: #11 UCLA (4-0) @ Cal Poly (2-2)

We shot only 30% FG, but we still ended up with a double digit lead; we had twice as many FG attempts (37-17) as CALPOLY. Halftime, Up 29-16.

Both teams shots a little better in the 2nd half, but CALPOLY never had any moment resembling a rally. We continued to dominate the possessions game, ending up with +27 in FG attempts. Aside from defense, we also rebounded well today.


Final Score: UCLA - 65, Cal Poly - 49


Box Scores
[INDENT]Pebbles 15, 4, 0 (*)
Gray 12, 5, 1
Jones 8, 11, 0
White 8, 6, 2, 2 stls
Wallace 6, 3, 1
Davis 6, 2, 2, 2 stls
Maloney 5, 1, 0
Hawkins 3, 2, 6
Bradford 2, 3, 1
Beck 0, 0, 2
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 37-41%
REB: +9 (+13 off)
TO: -14 (8-22)
Pts in paint: +10
2nd chance: +10 (12-2)
Fast break: +8
[/INDENT]

[randy]

Dec 6, 2001: Houston (4-2) @ #13 UCLA (5-0)

HOU's early offensive rebounding preventing us to run as much as we would have wanted. Game was tied at 8, when SG James Davis connected on 4 triples, as part of a 23-2 run. HOU hardly able to recover since. Halftime, Up 42-26.

Unlike in the 1st half, it was us who dominated the rebounding battle in the 2nd half. I am please in the improvement we are making on rebounding, an aspect of the game that we didn't do very well last season.


Final Score: Houston - 63, UCLA - 77


Box Scores
[INDENT]Davis 17, 4, 0
Pebbles 16, 0, 1
Jones 10, 11, 3, 3 stls (*)
Gray 7, 4, 3
Bradford 7, 1, 1, 4 tos
Wallace 6, 7, 0
White 6, 5, 1
Beck 4, 2, 10, 4 tos
Maloney 4, 1, 0
Hawkins 0, 2, 2, fouled out
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 44-44%
REB: +6 (+7 off)
TO: -4
Pts in paint: +10
2nd chance: -1
Fast break: +4
[/INDENT]

[randy]

Dec 13, 2001: #16 UCLA (6-0) @ Weber St (4-4)

WEB was only 1-14 FG before they hit their 2nd FG, almost 12 mins have gone by in the 1st half. WEB ended up shooting 24% FG. Halftime, Up 38-16.

Both teams running up and down the floor early in the 2nd half, and almost scoring at will. Eventually, WEB didn;t had enough offensive weapons to engage us in a shootout.


Final Score: UCLA - 84, Weber St - 57


Box Scores
[INDENT]Bradford 17, 7, 1 (*)
White 16, 8, 0
Jones 10, 7, 1, 2 blks
Pebbles 10, 5, 1
Hawkins 10, 3, 8, 4 tos
Davis 9, 1, 0
Maloney 8, 4, 0
Gray 4, 3, 1
Wallace 0, 1, 0
Beck 0, 0, 3, 4 tos
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 51-35%
REB: +7
TO: -3
Pts in paint: +18
2nd chance: Even
Fast break: +12 (20-8)
[/INDENT]

[randy]

Dec 20, 2001: #19 UCLA (7-0) @ Santa Clara (6-4)

Our poor 3PT shooting (29%) not allowing us to gain momentum to pull away. Our slight advantage in rebounding partly responsible for our lead. Halftime, Up 37-28.

SNTCL's combination of outside shooting, and the inside play of their 7-3 behemoth C Ryan Shaw (18 pts), has kept them close the entire 2nd half so far. Up 68-61, 6:07. With the help of C Troy Jones' inside pts, and a 3pt shot by SF Anthony Gray, we were able to increase the lead 14, and hold on for the win.

SNTCL shot 12-17 3PT. We had a 10-0 advantage in off rebounds


Final Score: UCLA - 83, Santa Clara - 74


Box Scores
[INDENT]Jones 20, 11, 0, 8-9 FG (*)
Gray 20, 5, 1, 4-7 3PT
Davis 9, 0, 2
Bradford 8, 0, 4
Wallace 7, 3, 0
White 5, 6, 2
Beck 5, 1, 6, fouled out
Pebbles 5, 1, 4, 2 stls
Maloney 4, 6, 0
Hawkins 0, 0, 4, fouled out
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 52-54%
REB: +9 (+10 off reb)
TO: -7 (10-17)
Pts in paint: +22
2nd chance: +12 (12-0)
Fast break: +14 (21-7)
[/INDENT]

[randy]

Dec 23, 2001: (8) Loyola Marymount (4-6) vs (1) #19 UCLA (8-0)

A combination of turn overs and sub par defense allowed LOYCA to lead by 6 midway in the 1st half. We got back behind the consistent scoring of SF Abdul Pebbles (11 pts). LOYCA kept it close and eventually reclaim the lead because of their 3PT shooting (5-10). Halftime, Down 37-38. First time this season we are trailing at half time

We made some progress on our perimeter defense, but our turn overs remain an issue. We started getting aggressive going to the paint, and able to get to the FT line to get the lead. We continue to score from the FT line, and inside the paint. C James Wallace has played well so far, and his last 2 FTs gave us a 9 pt lead. Up 58-49, 7:35.

After shooting 5-10 3PT in the 1st half, LOYCA had difficulty getting open looks and went for just 1-16 3PT in the 2nd half. Nice to see that our defense stepped up big time in the 2nd half.


Final Score: Loyola Marymount - 55, UCLA - 76


Box Scores
[INDENT]Wallace 16, 4, 1
Pebbles 15, 5, 2 (*)
Bradford 13, 4, 1
Jones 11, 7, 1
Gray 9, 4, 0
Maloney 6, 2, 1
Hawkins 3, 3, 10
Davis 3, 1, 1
White 0, 5, 0
Beck 0, 1, 1
McFadden 0, 0, 0
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 48-30%
REB: +4
TO: -4
Pts in paint: +16
2nd chance: -6
Fast break: +2
[/INDENT]

[randy]

• We'll be meeting up with Weber St for the 2nd time in less than 2 weeks

Dec 24, 2001: (5) Weber St (5-6) vs (1) #19 UCLA (9-0)

Pace of the game is to our liking - very fast, forcing lots of turn overs, and running the brea for easy baskets. However, when WEB is not throwing the ball away, they actually shot the ball well (57% FG) to make this game close. Halftime, Up 50-42.

The high-scoring nature of this game have slightly favored WEB in the 2nd half, as they are almost hitting all of their 3pt shots, 7-9 3PT in the game so far. Up 76-70, 7:30. WEB's consistently good shooting starting to pay off, as they eventually got to within 1. Up 81-80, 4:01.

SF Abdul Pebbles scored. Up 83-80, 3:47. WEB missed, but we turned the ball over on our next play. We stole the ball, and scored on the break. Up 85-80, 3:05. We got 3 more stops, and in between we scored on a 3pt play opportunity to go up by 8. WEB eventually scored, but they were not fouling despite the clock not in their favor, and we were able to hang on for the win.

Not the kind of defense we want to play, esp if we have any ambitions of making a deep run in the NCAA tournament this season


Final Score: Weber St - 84, UCLA - 90


Box Scores
[INDENT]Pebbles 17, 3, 0
Davis 17, 1, 2, 3 stls, 5-11 3PT
Gray 14, 2, 2, fouled out
Jones 13, 4, 2, 2 stls, 4 blks (*)
White 12, 4, 3, 4 stls
Hawkins 8, 2, 8, 4 tos, fouled out
Maloney 4, 3, 1
Beck 3, 2, 2
Bradford 2, 2, 3, 2 stls
Wallace 0, 2, 0
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 55-56%
REB: -11
TO: -9 (12-21)
Pts in paint: +18
2nd chance: -14 (10-24)
Fast break: -5
[/INDENT]

[randy]

Dec 25, 2001: (3) VCU (7-3) vs (1) #14 UCLA (10-0)

Our defense allowed VCU to shoot only 24% FG, and also forced 11 turn overs. VCU's 14-14 FT shooting in the 1st half kept them within striking distance. Halftime, Up 42-28.

We're still leading by 13 at the 13:09 mark. We suddenly can;t make our shots, and VCU steadily climbed up with 12-0 run. Up 54-53, 9:22. After we split our FTs, VCU able to tie the game with another basket. But that didn't last long as we hit 4 FTs, and then a 3pt shot by SF Abdul Pebbles to get us back to a 7 pt lead. Up 62-55, 6:40.

After a FG by VCU to cut our lead to 5, we went on a 17-5 run to put this game away for good. Up 79-62, 3:08. We were able to get away with a win, despite getting almost nothing from both our point guards.

Champions of JAG Holiday Invitationals!


Final Score: VCU - 66, UCLA - 84


Box Scores
[INDENT]Jones 25, 11, 0, 3 blks (*)
Davis 14, 2, 1
Gray 12, 9, 0
Pebbles 10, 1, 1
White 8, 5, 0
Maloney 6, 2, 1
Wallace 5, 3, 0
Bradford 4, 3, 6
Beck 0, 0, 2, 5 tos
Hawkins 0, 0, 0, fouled out
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 45-32%
REB: +4
TO: -11 (11-16)
Pts in paint: +24
2nd chance: +17 (28-11)
Fast break: +19 (27-8)
[/INDENT]

[randy]

Season Preview / Predictions

1. Oregon
2. Stanford
3. UCLA
4. Arizona
5. USC
6. Utah
7. Oregon St
8. Arizona St
9. Washington
10. California
11. Washington St
12. Colorado

Non-Conference Records (RPI)

1. #14 UCLA, 11-0 (13)
2. #12 Stanford, 9-1 (17)
3. #17 Oregon, 8-1 (18)
4. California, 9-2 (25)
5. Arizona St, 6-3 (59)
6. Arizona, 5-4 (110)
7. Utah, 7-3 (142)
8. Washington, 4-5 (155)
9. USC, 4-5 (188)
10. Oregon St, 3-6 (206)
11. Colorado, 3-6 (213)
12. Washington St, 3-7 (245)

Top players to watch out

1. Fr C Ricardo Ewing (Arizona): 14.0 ppg, 9.6 rpg
2. Sr C DeVante Murphy (Oregon): 14.3 ppg, 13.9 rpg
3. Fr PG DJ Emery (Oregon): 12.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 4.0 apg
4. Sr SG Dwayne Bolts (Oregon St): 17.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg (+ injured for almost 2 more months)
5. Sr SG Shannon Smith (Stanford): 13.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 4.0 apg
6. So C Troy Jones (UCLA): 13.8 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 1.8 bpg
7. Fr SF Steven Brown (Washington St): 18.6 ppg

[randy]

Dec 27, 2001: #14 UCLA (11-0, 0-0) @ USC (4-5, 0-0)

We had a tough game against USC on their home court last season: http://www.wolverinestudios.com/forum/showpost.php?p=156638&postcount=23

This game is no different. USC played a very efficient offense in the 1st half, 48% FG and only 6 turn overs. Our early penalty situation only made things worse. The combination of SF Anthony Gray (9 pts) and SF Abdul Pebbles (15 pts) provided majority of our offense, and we're able to claw our way back. Halftime, Down 40-41.

Everything going wrong for us at the start of the 2nd half - USC connected on 3 more triples, we continue to turn the ball over, and PG Jacob Hawkins picked up his 4th foul. We got ourselves in a deep hole suddenly. Down 43-54, 15:03. We worked hard to come back again, and we're able to reduce our deficit to 3. But USC able to answer back. Down 59-66, 6:57.

We had a chance earlier to cut the lead to 4. But we missed. On USC's next play, they hit a dagger 3. Down 63-72, 3:22. We shot 2 FTs. Both teams missed their next shot. We get steal and scored on the break. Down 67-72, 2:23. We need a stop. But USC able to drive and score. Our defense not present today. Timeout. Down 67-74, 2:00.

We scored on an offensive put back. Down 5. Miss by USC. We go to C Troy Jones on the low post, and Jones scores. Down 3. We get a steal. SF Anthony Gray got fouled while going to the basket; 2 FTs. Gray hits both. Down 73-74, 0:46.

USC going for a 2-and-1; they miss a quick 3. Scramble for the loose ball. Out of bounds, in our favor. Timeout. Down 73-74, 0:32.

USC got called for a foul. 1-and-1 for Sam Beck. Beck missed the front end. USC rebounds the ball. We have to foul. 1-and-1 for USC. USC also missed. We get the rebound and dribbled to our front court. Timeout. Down 73-74, 0:15.

We want the ball to go to SF Anthony Gray. Gray gets the ball. Gray puts up a quick shot. The long jumper by Fray is good! Timeout USC. Up 75-74, 0:10.

We want to make sure we don't foul, and press to kill some time. USC's PG Roy Perez gets the ball. He zips through bringing the ball across the timeline. Without setting up a play, Perez drives strong to the basket. The floater by Perez is good! We have no more timeout. 0:04 left. We were not able to put up a shot. What a game!


Final Score: UCLA - 75, USC - 76


Box Scores
[INDENT]Pebbles 20, 4, 1, fouled out
Jones 18, 7, 0, 3 blks
Gray 17, 4, 3
Beck 6, 1, 4
White 5, 6, 1
Wallace 4, 3, 0
Bradford 3, 2, 3
Maloney 2, 1, 0
Davis 0, 1, 3
Hawkins 0, 1, 3, 5 tos, fouled out
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 49-48%
REB: -1
TO: -1
Pts in paint: +8
2nd chance: -4
Fast break: Even
[/INDENT]



Pac 12 Conference Standings

1. #17 Oregon, 1-0 (W1)
2. Colorado, 1-0 (W1)
3. Arizona, 1-0 (W1)
4. USC, 1-0 (W1)
5. Oregon St, 1-0 (W1)
6. Utah, 1-0 (W1)
7. #14 UCLA, 0-1 (L1)
8. California 0-1 (L1)
9. Arizona St, 0-1 (L1)
10. #12 Stanford, 0-1 (L1)
11. Washington, 0-1 (L1)
12. Washington St, 0-1 (L1)