Pac-10 Conference Notebook
by Scott Allen
Cummings or Going?
UCLA is still waiting to hear whether senior forward T.J. Cummings, who was declared academically ineligible for the fall quarter, improved his grades enough to return to the floor. According to head coach Ben Howland, Cummings had a passing grade headed into his final, which accounts for 70 percent of his grade. He completed his final last week but grades had not been processed as of Wednesday morning. Cummings averaged 10.3 points and 3.9 rebounds last season and would likely see time off the bench if reinstated for Wednesday’s game against UCSB.
Wooden to be Honored
At halftime of Saturday’s game versus Michigan State, UCLA will honor legendary head coach John Wooden and his late wife Nell by naming the floor in Pauley Pavilion “Nell and John Wooden Court.”
Around the Pac-10
No. 5 Arizona (4-1)
After raising some doubting eyebrows following a narrow victory in Saint Louis, the ‘Cats shoved any questions as to whether or not they belong among the nation’s elite this season with wins over Texas and Marquette last week.
Sophomore forward Hassan Adams scored a career-high 30 points against the Longhorns as Arizona held off a furious late rally and won 91-83 in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden. Adams, whose previous career-high was 22, finished 12-for-21 from the field and pulled down 10 rebounds for good measure. Fellow sophomore Andre Iguodala registered a triple-double with 13 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists and Channing Frye added 15 points.
The Wildcats led by as many as 19 in the second half, thanks to a 20-3 run fueled by Adams. But Texas held the ‘Cats to one field goal in the final six minutes and pulled to within 86-80 with 31 seconds left before running out of gas–and time. All five starters scored in double-figures for Arizona.
Against the Golden Eagles, junior guard Salim Stoudamire, who has struggled out of the gate, found his range with seven 3-pointers en route to a game-high 27 points in an 85-75 Wildcats victory. Arizona trailed by eight at the break and by as many as 15 in the second half, but held Marquette to 30 percent shooting after halftime.
Frye contributed a double-double (11 points, 13 rebounds) and Adams had his second straight strong game, adding 20 points and a pair of blocks to seal the win. Sophomore Chris Rodgers added seven points in 25 minutes off the bench as Arizona head coach Lute Olson went with a six-man rotation. No reserve besides Rodgers played more than four minutes.
Up Next: Dec. 17 vs. Saint Mary’s (CA)
Arizona State (4-1)
The Sun Devils trailed Temple for 39 minutes when the two teams met in Tempe last week, but the inside-outside duo of Ike Diogu and Steve Moore figured out the Owls’ patented zone-defense just in time to pull out a 70-66 victory. The pair combined to score the Sun Devils’ final 15 points as Rob Evans’ squad overcame a seven-point deficit with four minutes to play. Diogu tallied a game-high 23 points and Moore added 15, four on a four-point play down the stretch, and two with 32 seconds to play that gave the Sun Devils’ their first lead of the game. Temple’s match-up zone got to Arizona State freshman Wilfried Fameni, who shot just 1-for-8 from the field, and, despite his late-game heroics, Moore shot 3-for-12 from the field and 2-for 8 from beyond the arc on the day. ASU trailed by five at the half.
Up Next: Dec. 17 at Northwestern
California (3-3)
Haas Pavilion, one of the toughest places for opposing teams to play the past few years, seemed to have lost its magic after Cal Poly shocked the Bears 63-62 in the season-opener in November.
Three straight home wins, including a recent 80-55 thumping of Wyoming, has Haas bumping again and the Bears seemingly back on track with the Pac-10 season approaching.
California starts three freshmen and a sophomore. One of those freshmen, Marquise Kately, poured in a career-high 18 points. Powe added 12 points and four rebounds while Amit Tamir finished with seven points and four boards. Freshman Ayinde Ubaka had 10 points on 3-for-5 shooting. The Bears forced 26 Wyoming turnovers.
Up Next: Dec. 20 vs. Saint Joseph’s (Pete Newell Challenge in Oakland)
Oregon (3-1)
After falling behind by 13 early in the second half, the Ducks went on an 11-0 run to pull to within two, but the Jayhawks followed with a 14-2 run of their own and held on for a 77-67 victory at Kemper Arena. Luke Jackson did his part for the Ducks, scoring a game-high 27 points to go along with eight rebounds, but the rest of the team shot a combined 12-for-44 from the field and Kansas’ Wayne Simien was too much to handle down low, posting 19 points and 14 rebounds. Oregon sophomore forward Matt Short, sidelined for the first three games due to a stress fracture in his foot, returned to the lineup and pulled down five rebounds.
Up Next: Dec. 17 vs. Santa Clara
Oregon State (4-3)
The Beavers began their week with an 84-53 trouncing of Division III Willamette. You can almost hear Dick Vitale screaming, “Cupcake City, baby!” Chris Stephens led the way with 19 points and freshman Angelo Tsagarakis added 18 for the Beavers, whose second consecutive win after a triple-overtime thriller against Kansas State was never in serious doubt.
Less than a week later, taking on Hawaii (yes, Division I Hawaii) in Honolulu, John Jay’s squad dropped a heartbreaker, losing 70-67 on a 3-pointer with one second left in overtime. Stephens led Oregon State once again with 18 points while David Lucas added 14 points and 13 boards. It was the third overtime game of the season for the Beavers and the fourth if you include an exhibition season overtime loss to the E.A. All-Stars.
Up Next: Dec. 20 at Boise State
No. 9 Stanford (6-0)
The Cardinal has stayed hot since its upset of then-No. 1 Kansas, as Stanford followed its triumph over the Jayhawks with a pair of wins over UNLV and Florida International at Maples Pavilion.
Against the Runnin’ Rebels, who knocked off Cal earlier in the season, senior forward Justin Davis shot 9-for-10 from the field for a season-high 21 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Senior guard Matt Lottich had 17 points and six assists for the Cardinal and sophomore forward Matt Haryasz finished with a career-high 10, including eight straight in a 10-2 Stanford run midway through the second half to put the game out of reach.
Two days later, junior center Rob Little shot 8-for-11 to tie a season-high with 17 points and sophomore guard Dan Grunfeld added a season-high 13 points and four rebounds off the bench as Stanford pulled away from the overmatched Golden Panthers with a 16-6 run to open the second half. Already without the services of All-American candidate Josh Childress, who is out with a stress reaction in his foot, the Cardinal’s last two wins came with starting point guard Chris Hernandez on the bench with back spasms. Sophomore Jason Haas filled in admirably in the first two starts of his career.
Up Next: Dec. 20 vs. Gonzaga (Pete Newell Challenge in Oakland)
UCLA (3-1)
The Bruins followed their narrow loss to Kentucky in the John Wooden Classic with another nail-biter, working overtime to defeat visiting Loyola Marymount 69-66. Dijon Thompson played 42 minutes for UCLA and shot only 2-for-14 from the field, but Cedric Bozeman’s 16 points and 10 rebounds, along with freshman Trevor Ariza’s sparkling debut were just enough to save the Bruins from what would have been an embarrassing loss at home, despite the Lions’ 6-2 record coming into the game.
Ariza, who missed the first three games with a collapsed lung, scored 14 points and pulled down seven rebounds in 32 minutes. He was forced into extra duty when sophomore center Michael Fey left the game after getting poked in the eye. Fey suffered a scratched cornea but is not expected to miss significant time. The Bruins owned the battle of the boards, 50-32, but shot just 32 percent from the field and a woeful 3-for20 from beyond the arc.
Up Next: Dec. 17 vs. UC Santa Barbara
USC (3-3)
For the Trojans, like their Pac-10 pals in Corvallis, 40 minutes of basketball just doesn’t seem to be enough–to win or lose.
Against Cal State Fullerton last week, USC rallied from an 11 point deficit in the second half to force overtime, marking the first time in school history the Men of Troy played in three-straight overtime games. When all was said and done five minutes later, the Trojans had their second consecutive overtime win, 96-90. Junior guard Jeff McMillan, who transferred from Fordham, scored a team-high 22 points on 9-for-12 shooting for USC and junior center Rory O’Neil shot an impressive 9-for-11 from the field en route to 21 points. Henry Bibby’s squad overcame a career-night from Titans guard Bobby Brown, who scored 27 points, including five treys.
True to the roller coaster form of their season thus far, USC followed the win with an 85-61 loss at BYU. The Trojans trailed by 14 at the break and would get no closer than 11 as the Cougars shot 53 percent from the field and 12-for-24 from long range. Freshman guard Rodrick Stewart was the lone bright spot, scoring a career-high 14 points.
Up Next: Dec. 19 at Fresno State
Washington (3-2)
The Huskies haven’t been in action since losing badly at home to Wyoming on Dec. 6 but still suffered a loss this week. Second-year head coach Lorenzo Romar announced that sophomore center Ben Devoe will transfer at the end of this semester. Devoe has played just three minutes off the bench this season, sinking his only shot and grabbing a rebound in a 91-78 victory over UC Riverside on Nov. 24.
Up Next: Dec. 20 at Houston, 8:30
Washington State (5-2)
Sophomore guard Randy Green had a season-high 18 points and senior Marcus Moore added 17 as the Cougars raced past Montana 64-50 in their only game last week. Washington State jumped out to an 8-0 lead and never trailed. The Cougars shot 46.5 percent from the field and 8-for-18 from beyond the arc and out-rebounded the Grizzlies 34-19.
Up Next: Dec. 20 vs. Idaho
Pac-10 Player of the Week:
Hassan Adams, So. F, Arizona
The Los Angeles-native averaged 25 points in wins over Texas and Marquette, including a career-high 30 at Madison Square Garden in Arizona’s 91-83 win over the Longhorns in the Jimmy V Classic.
