Bruins Steamroll Over Wildcats, 82-60

By KS Wong
Bruin Basketball Report

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Freshman Kevin Love dominated the interior on his way to 26 points and 11 rebounds to lead UCLA to a 82-60 rout of Arizona before 12,111 at Pauley Pavilion and a nationally televised audience.

Love's 13th double-double of the season was too much for the overmatched Wildcat frontcourt.

In an attempt to protect their center Jordan Hill from foul trouble, Arizona started 6'6 Bret Beirlmaier and used 6'6 Fendi Onobum off the bench against Love, and the freshman phenom from Lake Oswego had his way in the paint. Love was 9-12 from the field and 7-8 from the free line.

"He doesn't play like a freshman, does he?" UCLA coach Ben Howland said. "He is such a special player and is so hard to handle in the paint. The whole team did a good job feeding him the ball. He got a lot of second shots."

UCLA's offense was clicking again, as it has the last four games, on all cylinders, with players moving and making the extra pass to open teammates.

"We pressured the ball," UCLA's Darren Collison said. "We did whatever it takes to disrupt the other team's offense. We're playing team ball. That extra pass really counts."

Russell Westbrook abused Arizona's Chase Budinger all night on the offensive end, lighting up the Wildcat forward for 21 points on 10-13 shooting. Westbrook posted up the bigger Budinger and scored on him at will in the paint.

Collison added 12 points and 7 assists in the victory.

As good as UCLA's offense was in the game, their defense sparkled even brighter.

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute blanketed Budinger who labored for 9 points and committed 3 turnovers. Mbah a Moute was assisted by good team defense on Budinger who was continually bumped off his route whenever he tried to curl off a screen to get open.

Budinger became so frustrated in the game that he was later called for a flagrant foul on a spineless play where he practically tackled Josh Shipp on a breakaway layup.

Arizona's leading scorer Jerryd Bayless found little room to shoot as well, he finished with just 13 points as Russell Westbrook and Darren Collison combined to frustrate the Wildcat freshman all night long.

Moreover, Westbrook and Collison's pressure defense on the perimeter was a big factor in the win as they kept the Wildcats off balance by forcing them to initiate the offense 10-15 feet further than they're normally used to.

UCLA had their game going from the outset, opening a 23-8 lead after the first nine minutes of the game. The Bruins held the Wildcats to just 32% in the first-half in route to a huge 42-22 halftime lead.

Halftime provided no respite for the Wildcats as they seemingly came out in the second-half already looking like a defeated team with no fight left in them. Arizona never got as close as 19 points the rest of the contest.

UCLA dominated in every facet of the game. They finished the game shooting a sizzling 57.1% from the field with most of their shots coming on layups and dunks. UCLA attempted only 10 three-pointers in the game - making just two.

The Bruins controlled the glass all night, outrebounding the Wildcats 35-23.

With the triumph over Arizona, the first-place Bruins move to 20-2 overall and 8-1 in the conference. The Widcats dropped to 15-7 and 5-4.

BBR Notes: Luc Richard Mbah a Moute sprained his left ankle with just over seven minutes remaining. Howland had no immediate update after the game.

(photo credit: AP)