Thursday, March 6, 2008

College Basketball Preview, The Sports Network, Bruins against Cardinal

College Basketball Preview, The Sports Network, Bruins against Cardinal
Bruins seek Pac-10 title against Cardinal in Top-10 matchup

Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - A battle of Pac-10 heavyweights is on the docket tonight in Los Angeles, as the third-ranked UCLA Bruins entertain the seventh-ranked Stanford Cardinal.
If UCLA wins this contest, it will clinch the league's regular-season title and the top seed in next week's conference tournament. Stanford needs a victory to pull into a first-place tie with UCLA as the final regular-season game approaches.
The Cardinal have won four straight outings and 11 of their last 12, including a 60-53 decision over Washington State last Saturday.
UCLA has won five straight and 10 of 11, and while the Bruins were pushed to the limit by Arizona on Sunday, the result was a 68-66 road win. They have only lost three games all season, but two of those setback came at Pauley Pavilion.
UCLA holds a 128-89 lead in the all-time series with Stanford, and the Bruins won the first meeting this season by a 76-67 final.
The man to watch for Stanford is Brook Lopez, a standout power forward/center who is scoring 19.3 ppg to go along with 7.8 rpg and 44 blocked shots. He is joined up front by his twin brother, Robin, who adds 9.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg and 63 blocks. Anthony Goods has been a solid offensive contributor for the team, as he is generating 11.2 ppg. Strong defense has been a key to the success of the Cardinal, as they are limiting foes to 58.8 ppg on 39 percent shooting from the field. Strong rebounding has also played a major role, as they are pulling down 10 boards per game more than the opposition. In the win over Washington State last time out, Brook Lopez racked up 25 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the floor. Robin Lopez added 11 points, and Goods tallied 10 points. Stanford only turned the ball over eight times, impressive to say the least.
Kevin Love is just a freshman, but the UCLA standout has to be considered a major candidate for Pac-10 Player of the Year. In addition to his 17.3 ppg on 58.2 percent shooting from the floor, Love is ripping down 11.1 rpg to rank among the national leaders. Darren Collison is posting 14.3 ppg for the Bruins, as he is shooting a stellar 47.7 percent from three-point range. Josh Shipp checks in with 13.5 ppg, and Russell Westbrook adds 12.4 ppg. Defensively, UCLA has been able to limit its opponents to 57.9 ppg this season on 42.2 percent shooting from the field. The Bruins are also outrebounding foes by nearly 10 boards per contest while scoring 74.1 ppg. In the narrow win over Arizona on Sunday, Love scored 24 points and ripped down 15 rebounds. Collison scored 16 points, while Westbrook netted 10 points.

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