The Official UCLA Basketball Thread~~>

[LAKERS_FAN89]

Men's basketball matchup between UCLA and Oakland will be available across the nation as part of a special pay-per-view event.

CSTV Networks, Inc. and UCLA announced that the Saturday, December 16th, men's basketball matchup between the top-ranked UCLA Bruins and the Oakland Grizzlies will be available across the nation as part of a special pay-per-view event. This special presentation will be available live and on-demand via Internet video streaming

["THE" MoSav]

Men's basketball matchup between UCLA and Oakland will be available across the nation as part of a special pay-per-view event.

CSTV Networks, Inc. and UCLA announced that the Saturday, December 16th, men's basketball matchup between the top-ranked UCLA Bruins and the Oakland Grizzlies will be available across the nation as part of a special pay-per-view event. This special presentation will be available live and on-demand via Internet video streaming

sucks its not on TV in Fresno! 
But UCLA SHOULD win by 30 at least

[LAKERS_FAN89]

Men's basketball matchup between UCLA and Oakland will be available across the nation as part of a special pay-per-view event.

CSTV Networks, Inc. and UCLA announced that the Saturday, December 16th, men's basketball matchup between the top-ranked UCLA Bruins and the Oakland Grizzlies will be available across the nation as part of a special pay-per-view event. This special presentation will be available live and on-demand via Internet video streaming

sucks its not on TV in Fresno! 
But UCLA SHOULD win by 30 at least

YEA it should be a another blow out

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

UCLA takin' it all this year!

[LAKERS_FAN89]

UCLA takin' it all this year!

u can say that again

[LAKERS_FAN89]

LOS ANGELES (AP) - After a week of final exams and their toughest basketball test of the season, the No. 1 UCLA Bruins got to enjoy a bit of vacation Saturday night.

Darren Collison had 15 points and Arron Afflalo added 14 to help the Bruins rout Oakland, Mich., 74-53.

The easy win came a week after UCLA's closest and roughest game of the season, a 65-62 victory over then-No. 6 Texas A&M in the John R. Wooden Classic in Anaheim.

That was followed by days and nights of papers and exams.

"It's was a long week," UCLA coach Ben Howland said. "We had guys studying, staying up late and a tough game at the Wooden Classic."

Josh Shipp had 13 points, and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute added a season-high 12 rebounds for UCLA (9-0), which pulled away with an 18-0 run late in the first half and early in the second. Collison went 5-for-8 from the field and made all three of his free throws, and Afflalo shot 6-for-10 from the field.

Asked if they managed as well on their finals, Collison said, "Next question." Afflalo said, "I'm eligible."

UCLA and No. 8 Wichita State are the only unbeaten teams remaining in the Associated Press Top 10 after No. 2 Pittsburgh's 89-75 loss to No. 7 Wisconsin earlier Saturday.

Shawn Hopes had 17 points for the Grizzlies, and Vova Severovas had 11.

Oakland (6-7) is playing a tough schedule. The Grizzlies lost at Pittsburgh 66-55 Nov. 19 and will play at No. 20 Marquette on Tuesday night.

They shot just 32.1 percent from the field, to UCLA's 50.9 percent.

Oakland did manage to shoot 15-for-17 from the free throw line and managed to beat the Bruins on the boards 38-33, a stat that bothered Howland to no end.

"They must have a heck of a weight program," Howland said. "We've been out-boarded two weeks in a row now. If we continue to get beat on the boards, we are going to lose."

Howland was also unhappy with the Bruins 10-for-18 performance from the line, with Shipp going 3-for-7.

"Sometimes I play around in practice," Shipp said Howland told him during the game. "I need to get more serious."

UCLA scored the last 12 points of the first half after leading by just two with 4:12 to play.

Russell Westbrook made a bank shot and free throw during the run, and Darren Collison had a three-point play and made a jumper in the lane with a second to go to put UCLA up 33-19 at the half.

"That's three games in a row we've had a shot at the buzzer to finish the first half," Howland said. "We've finished first halves well."

Baskets by Mbah a Moute, Darren Collison and Lorenzo Mata opened the second half to complete the run and give the Bruins a 39-19 lead. UCLA held Oakland scoreless for more than 6 minutes during the stretch.

Shipp made a 3-pointer a few minutes later to give the Bruins their biggest lead to that point, 42-21 with 16:44 to play.

UCLA led by as many as 24, Oakland would get no closer than 14 the rest of the way.

Other than the challenge from Texas A&M, UCLA is amid a month of lesser opponents from small conferences that culminates against Sam Houston State on Tuesday, before they face Michigan next Saturday and then begin the Pac-10 Conference season.

In recent weeks the Bruins won by 30 over Long Beach State, beat UC Riverside by 23 and Cal State Fullerton by 24. Their average margin of victory on the season is 17.

Those numbers are bound to change. After they open the conference season against Washington St. Dec. 28, the Bruins face No. 17 Washington on New Year's Eve and No. 22 Oregon a week later.

UCLA led from the opening basket Saturday.

Michael Roll made a layup and followed it with a jumper to give UCLA a 15-8 lead with 11:42 to play in the first half.

But Oakland stayed with the Bruins, answering with an 11-6 run. The Grizzlies pulled within three at 17-14 after a pair of free throws from Hopes, and later within two at 21-19 after a 3-pointer from Derick Nelson with 4:12 left in the half.

[LAKERS_FAN89]

next games

UCLA vs. Sam Houston State
12/19 - Tuesday, 7:30 pm
Pauley Pavilion Arena

["THE" MoSav]

next games

UCLA vs. Sam Houston State
12/19 - Tuesday, 7:30 pm
Pauley Pavilion Arena

another W, should be
nice win tonight
Imagine if we still had Farmar... Things would be even more nasty then they are..I dont see UCLA being stopped. There defense is way too good, and they have numerous guys that can score at will...

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

next games

UCLA vs. Sam Houston State
12/19 - Tuesday, 7:30 pm
Pauley Pavilion Arena

another W, should be
nice win tonight
Imagine if we still had Farmar... Things would be even more nasty then they are..I dont see UCLA being stopped. There defense is way too good, and they have numerous guys that can score at will...

To think, Farmar was being advised to stay one more year by most, because they were saying he wasn't ready...Good thing (for the Lakers) he didn't listen!

["THE" MoSav]

next games

UCLA vs. Sam Houston State
12/19 - Tuesday, 7:30 pm
Pauley Pavilion Arena

another W, should be
nice win tonight
Imagine if we still had Farmar... Things would be even more nasty then they are..I dont see UCLA being stopped. There defense is way too good, and they have numerous guys that can score at will...

To think, Farmar was being advised to stay one more year by most, because they were saying he wasn't ready...Good thing (for the Lakers) he didn't listen!

He was ready for sure, i was just saying Farmar would be Eating up defeneses in college right now!! 
But Man does he look good already in the league.
The only bright spot about Farmar going is Collison is really getting to shine! His defense is great, and he is lightning quick and can get in the lane and dish with ease, having Josh Shipp back has been huge too, he was a huge loss last year

[LAKERS_FAN89]

GAMEDAY CENTRAL
DATE: Dec. 19, 2006
SITE: Pauley Pavilion (12,800)
TIP-OFF: 7:33 p.m. PST
TV: FSN Prime Ticket
TALENT: Bill Macdonald (play-by-play), Don MacLean (color)
RADIO: AM 1150
TALENT: Chris Roberts (play-by-play)
SIRIUS RADIO: Channel 128
WEB: www.uclaBruins.com
SERIES: First meeting




UCLA vs. SAM HOUSTON STATE
This is the first-ever meeting between UCLA and Sam Houston State. SHSU is a NCAA Division I program located in Huntsville, Texas. The Bearkats are in the Southland Conference and currently 6-4 overall. SHSU is coming off a 70-62 overtime loss at UC Irvine (Dec. 16). Junior forward Ryan Bright leads the Bearkats in scoring (16.0 ppg) and rebounding (7.8 rpg).

["THE" MoSav]

GAMEDAY CENTRAL
DATE: Dec. 19, 2006
SITE: Pauley Pavilion (12,800)
TIP-OFF: 7:33 p.m. PST
TV: FSN Prime Ticket
TALENT: Bill Macdonald (play-by-play), Don MacLean (color)
RADIO: AM 1150
TALENT: Chris Roberts (play-by-play)
SIRIUS RADIO: Channel 128
WEB: www.uclaBruins.com
SERIES: First meeting




UCLA vs. SAM HOUSTON STATE
This is the first-ever meeting between UCLA and Sam Houston State. SHSU is a NCAA Division I program located in Huntsville, Texas. The Bearkats are in the Southland Conference and currently 6-4 overall. SHSU is coming off a 70-62 overtime loss at UC Irvine (Dec. 16). Junior forward Ryan Bright leads the Bearkats in scoring (16.0 ppg) and rebounding (7.8 rpg).

+1
nice info!
GO UCLA!
Should win by 30

[LAKERS_FAN89]

Now comes the hard part for No. 1 UCLA.

Josh Shipp scored 18 points, Darren Collison had 11 points and nine assists, and the Bruins overcame a sluggish start to beat pesky Sam Houston State 75-61 on Tuesday night.

"We knew they'd be a hard team, their style of ball," UCLA coach Ben Howland said. "They come out, they have that Princeton offense. It's not fun, it's like a root canal. I'm just glad we got the win.

"This game was good for us to test our mental toughness on defense for long stretches of time. Other people are going to use that tactic against us."

Other than a 65-62 triumph over No. 13 Texas A&M, the Bruins breezed to one-sided victories over lesser opponents since winning the Maui Invitational last month, beating Long Beach State by 30 points, UC Riverside by 23, Cal State Fullerton by 24 and Oakland (Mich.) by 21.

The road figures to get much tougher because UCLA entertains Michigan (11-1) on Saturday before opening its Pac-10 schedule next week with home games against Washington State (10-1) and No. 17 Washington (8-1).

After that, the Bruins travel to face Oregon State (6-5), No. 21 Oregon (10-0) and Southern California (9-2).

"We've got a really tough road ahead," Howland said. "We have 20 games in a row, every one of them will be very highly contested, starting with Michigan on Saturday.

"It's all starting now. We have to be mentally and physically prepared. I thought we could be close to where we are right now, but you have to take it one game at a time. Our league is the best since I've been here."

Arron Afflalo added 12 points and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute had nine points and eight rebounds for the Bruins (10-0), who broke open a close game midway through the second half.

Ryan Bright and Jejuan Plair each had 12 points and six rebounds for Sam Houston State (6-5). Bright, who leads his team in scoring, also had four steals before fouling out with 4:47 remaining. James Barrett scored 12 points for the Bearkats.

The Bruins scored the first five points of the second half for a 40-29 lead before Sam Houston State went on an 11-4 run to make it 44-40. But that's as close as the Bearkats would get.

A 3-pointer by Michael Roll and six straight points by Shipp extended UCLA's lead to 57-43 with 8:45 remaining, and the Bruins led by as many as 21 points after that.

"When you play teams that slow you down, it's going to help you in the long run," Shipp said.

UCLA missed 12 of its first 16 shots, but wound up going 27-of-50 (54 percent) and outrebounded Sam Houston State 32-30. The Bearkats shot 26-of-57 (45.6 percent), including 2-of-16 from 3-point range.

The Bruins entered the game shooting just 59.8 percent from the free throw line, but made their first 10 and 12-of-13 in the first half. They finished 17-of-21 overall. The Bearkats were just 7-of-18 from the line.

UCLA didn't play like the nation's top-ranked team in taking a 35-29 halftime lead over Sam Houston State, preseason favorite to win the Southland Conference's West Division.

Plagued by several slow starts this season, the Bruins got off to another one as the Bearkats took a 9-2 lead in the opening four minutes behind five points by Bright and four by Shamir McDaniel.

"You're going to have games like this. We've got to come out with better intensity," Collison said. "We're playing good teams coming up, so we have to pick up the intensity."

Sam Houston State led 14-11 when Shipp's first two baskets and Afflalo's only field goal of the first half put the Bruins on top for the first time. They led the rest of the way.

UCLA is one of four unbeaten teams in the Top 25, along with No. 8 Wichita State (9-0), No. 14 Connecticut (9-0) and Oregon (10-0).

["THE" MoSav]

The Pac Ten is fuckin loaded this year, sheesh.

UCLA will STAY undefeated satruday vs Michigan.

[LAKERS_FAN89]

The Pac Ten is fuckin loaded this year, sheesh.

UCLA will STAY undefeated satruday vs Michigan.

UCLA vs. MICHIGAN
This is the 13th meeting between UCLA and Michigan with the Bruins leading the series 9-3, including winning the last two. UCLA is 5-1 against the Wolverines in Pauley, with the only loss coming in 2002 (81-76). Last year, the Bruins posted a 68-61 win on Dec. 17, 2005 in Ann Arbor, Mich., on the strength of 21 points by Jordan Farmar and 20 from Arron Afflalo.