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CORVALLIS, Ore. -- On a day when UCLA could have gained some ground in the Pac-12 Conference race, the Bruins instead fell flat on the defensive end in an 87-84 loss to Oregon State on Thursday night at Gill Coliseum.

UCLA (10-8, 3-3) gave up 80 points for only the third time this season and failed to capitalize on losses earlier Thursday by Stanford (15-4, 5-2) and Washington (11-7, 4-2), two of the four teams that were ahead of UCLA in the conference race at the start of the day.

Instead the Bruins dropped from a tie for fifth place into seventh place in the conference race and their title hopes are fading fast after they had gotten a glimpse of hope with a three-game win streak before Thursday.

Oregon State (11-7, 2-5) ended a three-game losing streak and improved to 9-2 at home while UCLA dropped to 1-3 in road games.

"It makes it hurt a little more," guard Jerime Anderson said. "I think this really could have helped us and given us a little momentum but this loss is on us. We did the things that put us in the position to win the game, but we had too many turnovers and too many defensive breakdowns."
Five observations from the game:

1UCLA's defense was not up to par

The Bruins allowed Oregon State to shoot 58 percent for the game, with the Beavers' guards continually getting penetration and the post players getting easy, point-blank layups.

"Our whole problem tonight was defensively we couldn’t get stops," coach Ben Howland said. "We just didn’t do the job on the defensive end of the floor and after having three good defensive efforts in a row, it’s disappointing and we have to bounce back."

UCLA had struggled defensively early this season, but appeared to have turned a corner by holding its past three opponents to 36, 48 and 36 percent.

The Bruins played man-to-man for most of Thursday, but switching to zone didn't help much. Howland called for the zone four times and Oregon State scored on three of those possessions, twice on 3-pointers.

"When we went to the zone, they scored three of the four times so we went away from it," Lazeric Jones said.

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LOS ANGELES -- UCLA is headed to Oregon and you can be sure the Bruins will be bringing along a zone defense, but they are hoping they don't need it.

Coach Ben Howland built his reputation on tough, man-to-man defense, but reluctantly installed a zone with this season's team when early-season defensive deficiencies forced his hand. But almost as suddenly as it appeared, the zone has disappeared from the UCLA playbook during UCLA's current three-game win streak.

The Bruins played entirely man-to-man Sunday against USC, all but about two possessions of man defense against Arizona State and played only about 10 possessions of zone against Arizona.

"I thought the last three games our man defense has done well for us," Howland said. "I think we’ve played about 10 or 12 possessions of zone in the last three games and our defense has improved, which is good. We’re getting better and hopefully we can improve on that."

The Bruins are plugging better, staying in front of the ball better and playing more physical man-to-man defense leading to the improvement, Howland said, but it's not as if the zone was faltering. In fact UCLA's switch to a zone after about five minutes spurred a comeback in a victory over Richmond and nearly spurred another in a one-point loss at Stanford.

UCLA's zone was effective in a victory over Pennsylvania and the Bruins alternated zone and man-to-man in victories against Eastern Washington, UC Davis and UC Irvine.

"We actually like to play whatever works for whatever matchups we have," center Anthony Stover said. "Some teams it’s better for us to zone, some teams it’s easier for us to man."

Lately, however, the man has been quite effective. The Bruins held USC to 36 percent shooting and held Arizona to 36.2 percent. The players say its just a matter of figuring out their defensive assignments and knowing how to react in certain situations when playing man.

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LOS ANGELES -- UCLA heads to Oregon State on Thursday night looking to keep alive its streak of three consecutive victories and its chances of winning the Pac-12 regular season title.

In order to do so, they will have to contain Jared Cunningham, the leading scorer in the conference at 17.6 points a game, and Ahmad Starks, who is 12th in the league with 13.7 points per game. In conference games, Cunningham and Starks are averaging 19 and 16.2 points per game, respectively, to rank first and fourth.

"This is going to be really challenging," said coach Ben Howland, whose team has won 13 consecutive games against Oregon State. "They have really good guards, I’m telling you. Starks and Cunningham are really good."

The Beavers (11-7, 1-5 Pac-12) have lost five out of six conference games, but are the only conference team to have defeated California and also had an overtime victory against Texas earlier this season. Oregon State is 8-2 at home this season.

They use a pressuring 1-3-1 trap defense and are fourth in the nation with 331 turnovers created. That should be an interesting contrast with UCLA, which is 10th in the nation in fewest turnovers per game at 10.9.

"They’re much improved and they can beat anybody in our league," Howland said. "Obviously they already beat Cal, who is one of the best teams in our conference so it’s going to be a real challenge, especially playing on their home floor. They play well up there."

Getting road victories is no easy task in the Pac-12. Road teams are 9-23 so far in conference play, with Oregon, at 3-1, the only team with more than one conference road victory.

UCLA won its first road game Sunday at USC, but was swept in the Bay Area the last time the Bruins got on a plane.

"It’s a tough road trip," Howland said. "Oregon State and Oregon are both good teams and it’s a quick turnaround because the games are Thursday night and Saturday afternoon. We’ve just got to build on what we’re doing."

LOS ANGELES -- UCLA forward De'End Parker is exploring the option of transferring to a school closer to his ailing mother in San Francisco, Bruins coach Ben Howland said Tuesday.

Parker, a 6-foot-6 junior transfer from City College of San Francisco, played in the first two games this season for UCLA, but has not played since because of a knee injury. His mother had heart surgery last year and needs assistance in daily living.

"I think that’s something that’s weighed heavily on his heart so I’m in full support of that," Howland said. "She needs someone to help take care of her so I’m hoping we can get that worked out."

Parker is still enrolled in classes at UCLA, Howland said, but has not been with the team for the last three games. He stayed at home over the Christmas break to be with his mother and because he played only two games, he is hoping to petition the NCAA for a redshirt year so he can play two more years after transferring.

Parker had eight points and two rebounds in his two games with the Bruins. Last season, he helped lead City College of San Francisco to the state title.

LOS ANGELES--Winning on the road is always difficult in college basketball and winning a rivalry game isn't much easier, so it's no surprise the UCLA basketball team was full of smiles after accomplishing both in a 66-47 Pac-12 victory over USC Sunday night at the Galen Center.

It was the first road win of the season for UCLA, which has elevated its level of play in recent weeks and has now won eight of its last 10 games, including three in a row. The Bruins (10-7, 3-2 Pac-12) also avenged a 63-52 loss at the Galen Center from a year ago.

"Before the game we were saying that we got embarrassed out here last year so we’ve got a bad taste in our mouth and we’ve got to go out and win so that's what we did," center Joshua Smith said. "It just feels good to get a win here."

It gives the Bruins some needed confidence as they prepare to go to Oregon State and Oregon this week for a tough road trip.

"It means a lot to get a road win," Tyler Lamb said. "We try not to let that be a factor, but it always is. So for us to come out here and get this, it boosts our confidence for our road trip next week."

Five observations from the game:

1It was a special win for UCLA

Forget that USC is in a rebuilding mode and is the lone Pac-12 team without a conference victory, anytime UCLA plays USC, it means something.

It appeared early on that the game would be a dogfight as they were tied, 9-9 midway through the first half, but UCLA took control with a 26-7 run that pretty much silenced the USC home crowd.

"We lost here last year and it was really embarrassing," guard Lazeric Jones said. "That stuck with me. That was all I thought about last night and this morning. To get the win with the crowd on your back, it felt really good."

Jones, a junior college transfer from Chicago, acknowledged that he didn't quite understand the scope of the rivalry last year, but it felt much different this year.

"After losing that game here, I really felt it," he said. "I feel like I’m part of the rivalry now. Every time we scored I was excited and every time they scored, I was really mad. So I feel it now."

2The Bruins dominated the glass

UCLA simply out muscled the Trojans down low, winning the rebounding battle by a staggering 44-19. The 25-rebound margin was the largest of the Ben Howland era at UCLA and the largest since the Bruins out-rebounded Northern Arizona by 30 in 2002.

Not only that, but UCLA actually won the battle of the boards on their own end of the floor, getting 13 offensive rebounds while USC had only 11 defensive rebounds.

"Obviously the board play was huge for us," coach Ben Howland said.

Travis Wear had eight rebounds, David Wear had seven, Norman Powell had six and Jerime Anderson and Joshua Smith each had five. Powell said the team mindset coming in to the game was to dominate the glass.

"Coach hounded in on us that this was going to be the battle of the boards so we had to crash the boards hard and that’s what we were trying to do," Powell said. "We came in looking to be aggressive."

3Travis Wear continued his solid play

Travis Wear led the team with 19 points and eight rebounds, marking the third consecutive game he has had 16 or more points and five or more rebounds. Wear made seven of 12 shot attempts and is shooting 19-of-28 (67.9 percent) over the last three games.

"I’m just trying to take my time now and be more patient and just letting the game come to me and it’s been helping me," said Wear, who was averaging 9.8 points and 4.5 rebounds before his current three-game tear.

"I think running fewer sets and this pin down action we’ve been doing, it’s been easy for me to get to the rim and get easy passes from our guards and easy put backs. I'm getting used to the game now and I’m really happy with the way I’ve been playing. I think now I’m just more comfortable."

Not to be outdone, brother David Wear is also playing at a high level. He had 13 points and seven rebounds Sunday and is averaging 13 points and seven rebounds over the last four games, and the two have provided an excellent compliment to Joshua Smith inside.

"We're all starting to click a little more." Smith said. "The Wears are playing well and that helps everyone play well."

4UCLA executed its offense well

The Bruins shot 51 percent from the field, including 64 percent in the first half, getting an array of open layups and easy shots inside because of good offensive execution against an excellent defensive team. Their 66 points equaled the most allowed by USC this season.

"We’ve spent a lot more time on it than we had early in the year," Howland said. "That’s been our main focus since the Cal and Stanford games is trying to get better at the offensive end."

One of the big offensive changes was moving Jerime Anderson to the point guard full time and letting Lazeric Jones focus more on getting open and it's helped open up things all over the court as the offensive sets have become more fluid.

"Jerime is really under control and running our offense," Howland said. "Zeek [Jones] is getting good opportunities, which is why we made that move and it’s really been good for us now. There are a lot of people stepping up and playing important roles for us."

5Norman Powell has emerged from his slump

Powell, UCLA's freshman guard, has been electrifying at times this season, made three of five shots, including a three-pointer and finished with seven points. It was the second consecutive solid game for Powell, who had nine points on four of nine shooting Jan. 7 against Arizona State.

Prior to that, Powell had gone through a rough four-game stretch in which he made only four of 22 shots (31.8 percent).

"It was just getting back in the gym and getting my repetition back," Powell said. "The ball was slipping and when I would miss shots, my confidence was down. Knowing that, I had to get back in the gym and keep working on my shot. I feel like since I’ve put overtime in the gym, it really showed."

Powell said that during the slump he was overthinking his shots instead of just letting them fly. Now that a few have fallen, he said, he's beginning to regain the confidence to just shoot.

"When I was open, I would force it," Powell said. "I’m a shooter, I know I can make open shots. I was just trying to get in the groove and not think about it."

LOS ANGELES -- When Joshua Smith dunks, it’s electrifying.

It also has been a bit too rare for those who want UCLA to succeed.

Smith’s two-handed power jams often send home crowds into a tizzy. At 6 feet 10, 300-something pounds, Smith has the type of rim-rattling dominance that pulses enough energy through his team to get walk-ons and assistant coaches to jump out of their chairs and spark game-changing rallies and runs.

But those types of dunks have been few and far between this season for UCLA’s sophomore center, who is slowly working his way back into game condition as the season progresses after showing up for the season sorely out of shape.

He showed his first flashes of sustained dominance last Saturday when he threw down three dunks in an 18-point performance against Arizona State and hopes to turn that into a trend as the Bruins face USC on Sunday night at the Galen Center.

He made 8-of-12 shots against the Sun Devils, displaying the type of interior dominance that had been expected of him since the season began and one he will have to repeat with consistency if the Bruins are going to make a run at the Pac-12 Conference title and an NCAA tournament berth.

“We need Josh to play how he did Saturday,” coach Ben Howland said. “He seemed very inspired. He played very well and played very hard and with a little animation, which was good.”

Smith’s lack of conditioning early in the season wasn’t so good. He and the team keep his actual weight a secret, but there was no hiding the fact that Smith was dragging trying to run up and down the court.

His lack of production early on -- averaging only 7.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 16.4 minutes through seven games --was among the biggest disappointments of UCLA’s 2-5 start that dropped the Bruins from a No. 17 preseason ranking to off the national radar.

Even opposing coaches noticed, with USC coach Kevin O’Neill this week calling out Smith, but Smith said his increased production in recent games is a good sign.

“I know what I have to do to become a better player,” he said. “It’s obvious. It doesn’t bother me when people ask, it’s just kind of like, ‘I’m working on it.’”

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The UCLA basketball team has this week off, which should give the Bruins plenty of time to figure out the answer to a question that has eluded much of the Pac-12 this season: How do you win on the road?

Pac-12 road teams are 5-17 in conference games this season, and last week became roadkill Thursday as conference title leaders Washington, Stanford and California all lost road games at Colorado, Oregon State and Oregon, respectively.

It's never easy to win road games, but this year seems especially difficult as the .227 road winning percentage through the first two weeks of Pac-12 play is well below the .355 road winning percentage in conference games from last season.

And that isn't good news for UCLA, which has lost both of it's road games so far this season and will embark on its longest road trip of the season with games at USC, Oregon State and Oregon during a seven-day span from Jan. 15-21.

"At this point it feels like the Pac-12 is up for grabs so we need all these wins, especially the road games," guard Tyler Lamb said. "Those are going to very important for us."

Last season, UCLA went 5-4 in conference road games en route to a second place finish. League champion Arizona also went 5-4. Bruins coach Ben Howland predicted the the conference champion would have four or five losses this season, so UCLA (9-7, 2-2) will need to pile up some road wins in order to reach that goal.

Judging by early league results, that won't be an easy task as there appears to be quite a bit of parity among the conference teams and home court advantage seems to have played a role in determining the outcomes of games and might very well decide the conference race.

"If we can take care of our home court and then go on the road and get some wins we can be a contender for that top spot," forward Travis Wear said. "It’s big to be able to go on the road and get a couple of W's in the conference. That could be a determining factor in the end."

The Bruins don't have much experience on the road this season. They played at Stanford and California on Dec. 29 and 31 and that's it. Their one-point loss at Stanford in their road opener really stings because it was a chance to get over the road hump early. UCLA played three neutral-court games in the Maui Invitational, but otherwise hasn't left the state of California.

"We’ll have a big test coming up soon," guard Lazeric Jones said. "We play SC there but it doesn’t feel too much like an away game because we’re still in L.A. It’s a bus ride. But when you have to take a plane, two planes to get places and stay on the road, that’s when it’s kind of different. We’ll have a big test when we go to Oregon with all the traveling and having to keep together mentally."

This whole season has been a test to keep it together for UCLA. The Bruins are playing all of their games off campus as Pauley Pavilion undergoes a yearlong renovation. Most of UCLA's home games are at the Sports Arena, but some were at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Because of the way the schedule worked out, UCLA is in the middle of a month-long stretch away from the Sports Arena adding an even more vagabond-like feel to the season.

But having played seven games at the Sports Arena will help the Bruins feel a bit more at ease as they head to the Galen Center Sunday for their game at USC. The Sports Arena is just a stone's throw from the Galen Center and the Bruins will be staying at the same hotel they have been staying at the night before Sports Arena games.

"That should help us a little," forward David Wear said. "It’s just right across the street from the Galen Center where we’ve been playing and it’s not going to be that difficult staying in the hotel the night before. Obviously the atmosphere of the crowd is going to be much different, but nothing that we haven’t seen this year."

Tight end Cory Harkey, wide receiver Taylor Embree and safety Tony Dye have accepted invitations to play in college football all-star games, the school announced Wednesday.

Harkey (6-4, 270) is headed to the East/West Shrine game Jan. 21 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. A top-notch blocker, Harkey started all 14 games this season after starting 12 last season. He had one reception for 12 yards this year.

Embree (6-3, 207) and Dye (6-0, 216) will play in the NFLPA All Star Game Jan. 21 at the Home Depot Center in Carson. Embree was third on the team with 228 yards receiving this season after leading the team in receptions in 2009 and 2010.

Dye, a team captain, was UCLA's leading tackler last season, but played in only five games this season as he battled injuries all year.

ANAHEIM -- Apparently all it takes to wake up Joshua Smith is a game against Arizona State.

Smith broke out of an early-season slumber against the Sun Devils, scoring a season-high-tying 18 points with three powerful dunks and led the Bruins to a 75-58 victory Saturday night at the Honda Center.

Last year, Smith had a monstrous two-handed jam -- one of his most aggressive moves of the season to that point -- against Arizona State and it propelled him to a strong second half. Saturday, he displayed the same type of aggressiveness after playing passively for most of the season so far and finally displayed the type of skill that had him pegged as one of the top centers in the country going into this season.

"It was funny, Jerime [Anderson] and Coach [Ben Howland] reminded me in the walkthrough saying 'Josh, last year this was a turning point with the dunk at ASU,' " Smith said. "The guys were like 'You got to get at least one of them' and I was like, 'All right.' "

With the victory, UCLA (9-7, 2-2) evened its conference record and got back into the thick of what seems early on will be a wide-open Pac-12 race. It also improved UCLA's record to 4-0 at the Honda Center as the Bruins wrapped up the Orange County portion of their schedule, which included Thursday's Wooden Classic.

"It was great playing down here," Howland said. "We really loved playing down here. We loved the fan support, it’s a great venue. It was great to have it in Coach's name on Thursday."
Five observations from the game:

1Joshua Smith looked like a different player

Smith took the ball to the basket aggressively, showed some signs of quickness and energy was able to finish around the basket -- something he has struggled to do most of this season. He was a dominant force inside, especially on the offensive end, and not just a big body clogging up space.

"Josh had his best game of the year," Howland said. "He was very aggressive and when he was going to score he was going to dunk it and not just lay it in. He was aggressive and it was fun to watch."

Smith sat out Thursday against Arizona and was questionable to play Saturday because of a concussion, but was cleared to play Saturday morning after returning to UCLA to take a computerized test that is part of the UCLA concussion protocol. He did not start the game, but took over once he got in.

"I’m just trying to be aggressive," Smith said. "I really wanted to play that Arizona game, so I felt like I owed my team one."

2The Bruins dominated the paint and the glass

Led by Smith, UCLA had 46 points in the paint and out-rebounded Arizona State, 31-23. David Wear had eight points and nine rebounds and Travis Wear had 16 points and seven rebounds. Travis Wear was especially efficient on the offensive glass, getting five offensive rebounds and scoring 10 second-chance points.

"I try to be consistent in my effort on the offensive glass because if you are there most of the game you’re going to have a couple of them bounce to you if you are in a good position and you can get a couple of easy buckets that way," Travis Wear said. "Especially against a zone, you can sneak in there sometimes and not get boxed out."

Howland said it was part of the strategy to crash the offensive glass against Arizona State, which was playing without three suspended players and had only six scholarship players suited up.

"We really made an effort to try to get second shots because being short-handed the way they were they weren’t looking to push the ball at all," Howland said. "So we felt like we could rebound real aggressively and not get hurt in transition defense."

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UCLA may be facing a short-handed Arizona State team in their Pac-12 game Saturday night at the Honda Center in Anaheim, but coach Ben Howland is taking nothing for granted.

The Sun Devils are traveling with only six scholarship players because starting point guard Keala King, starting forward Kyle Cain and reserve guard Chris Colvin have been suspended for unacceptable conduct, but that didn't stop them from defeating USC, 62-53, Thursday night at the Galen Center.

"Arizona State proved real clearly last night that maybe this thing has brought them together more," Howland said. "We’re going to have to play really well tomorrow to beat them. I know that and I think our team knows that."

King is averaging a team-high 13.7 points while Crain averages 8.5 points and Colvin 5.4. In their absence Trent Lockett moved to point guard and junior forward Carrick Felix had a career-high 22 points as Arizona State used a starting lineup of players that measured 6-6, 6-7, 7-0, 6-5 and 6-4. Sophomore Jordan Bachynski, a 7-2 center, is the only other scholarship player available for the Sun Devils.

"They’re really big right now," Howland said. "They have those three kids that are going to miss tomorrow’s game as well. So they’re huge and really have great length. It makes it different because our matchups are so hard."

The other thing that makes Arizona State difficult is their zone defense. The Sun Devils (5-9, 1-1) are holding opponents to 40.1 percent from the field which ranks second in the Pac-12.

"They do a good job contesting every shot," Howland said. "They’re matching up. They have man to man principles within the zone. It’s a hard defense to play against."

UCLA (8-7, 1-2) is coming off of a 65-58 victory over Arizona, which defeated a full-strength Arizona State, 68-51, last week. The Bruins are looking to even up their conference record, which would actually get them right back into the thick of the conference race.

On Thursday, California, Stanford, Washington and Arizona all lost, leaving Colorado as the lone undefeated team in the conference and the league title race very much wide open. Those teams all lost on the road and Howland, whose team lost two road games last week, said that will be the challenge in the conference this season.

"There are home games and road games," Howland said. "Every team at home won last night except USC and so that’s not that big of a surprise. And now you’re going up into the mountains and you’re going to Utah and Colorado, take the oxygen."

Howland said the Pac-12 title winner could be a team that finishes 13-5. Washington in 1984-85 and California in 2009-10 are the only teams to win the conference with five losses since the conference expanded to 10 teams in 1978.

"Yeah, I do," Howland said when asked if he thought a five-loss team could win the Pac-12 this season. "It wouldn’t surprise me in the least. I don’t think it’ll happen. I still think it’ll probably be four, but who knows?"

The Bruins have a pair of very winnable games coming up with Arizona State and then a game at USC (5-11, 0-3) before a difficult road trip to Oregon State (11-4, 1-2) and Oregon (11-4, 2-1) Jan. 19 and 21 which will likely determine if the Bruins can stay in the conference title race.

Presuming, of course, they don't take a short-handed Arizona State for granted.

Other tidbits:

• Forward De'End Parker is on an excused absence to be with his ailing mother in the Bay Area. She had open heart surgery earlier this year and has had some complications, Howland said. Parker has a knee injury and has not played since Nov. 15. "Because he’s not healthy and not playing I just decided it was OK for him to stay at home and be with her," Howland said. "He’s supposed to be back in school on Monday."
• Freshman Norman Powell has had some acrobatic dunks over the last couple of games, but his shooting percentage is way down after scoring a career-high 19 points Dec. 20 against UC Irvine. Powell was one for six Thursday against Arizona making him four of 22 (18.1 percent) over the last four games. He was shooting 47.1 percent before his current slump. "For him typically, it’s just good shot, bad shot and recognizing when he’s open," Howland said. "When he’s open, he’s a good shooter."
• Lazeric Jones will continue to play more minutes at shooting guard than at point guard, Howland said. Jones, the team's leading scorer at 13.5 points a game, is also leading the team with 149 shots attempted and Howland feels that Jones is a better fit at off guard. Jones played there for the first time on Thursday against Arizona and had 13 points on a team-high 16 shots. Jerime Anderson ran the point most of the game. "We executed a lot better offensively than we have been," Howland said.

UCLA center Joshua Smith sat out of practice Friday and was scheduled to undergo testing to determine if his concussion has cleared.

Smith, a 6-10 sophomore, sat out Thursday's victory over Arizona after suffering a concussion during a collision at practice Wednesday afternoon. Coach Ben Howland called the concussion "mild," but wasn't holding his breath about the chances of having Smith available Saturday night against Arizona State at the Honda Center in Anaheim.

"I would say less that he will than he won't [play]," Howland said. "But I'm just guessing."

Smith is averaging 9.4 points and 5.4 rebounds for the Bruins (8-7, 1-2 Pac 12). He was riding an exercise bike during the team's practice Friday in Anaheim and trainers were going to evaluate him after that. Howland said that if everything checks out, Smith will return to UCLA Saturday morning for computerized testing and that if he passed that test, he would be able to play.

"I’m not giving up hope," Howland said. "There’s a chance maybe he’ll play."

ANAHEIM--UCLA finally has a victory it can brag about.

The Bruins defeated Arizona, 65-58, in the Wooden Classic Thursday night at the Honda Center, posting their first Pac-12 win and also their first win against a major conference opponent.

Despite playing without center Joshua Smith, who sat out with a concussion, the Bruins (8-7, 1-2) controlled the paint against the smaller Wildcats (10-5, 1-1) and got an all-important victory after getting swept by Stanford and Cal in their Pac-12 openers last week.

"It’s a big win," guard Lazeric Jones said. "It’s our first Pac-12 win. I said before that you have to win games to learn how to win and hopefully we can learn from this and continue to get wins."

Five observations from the game:

1The Wear twins turned into the wonder twins

Travis and David Wear, who have played inconsistently and passively most of this season, were completely different players Thursday when they combined for 34 points, 10 rebounds. They were 13 of 16 from the floor and eight of eight from the free throw line while also playing passable defense against Arizona's post players Jesse Perry and Solomon Hill.

"I was especially pleased with both the Wears," coach Ben Howland said. "I thought they made a step forward this week in practice and it carried over to the game which you like to see as a coach. Being more aggressive. Getting to the line more."

Travis Wear had a career-high 20 points with five rebounds and three blocked shots. He also made six of six free throws. David Wear made six of seven shots, mostly from close range, and finished with 14 points.

"A big emphasis was making sure everything was going toward the basket," David Wear said. "No fadeaways, no shying away from contact. We really emphasized trying to get to the basket. We got in foul trouble and couldn’t be as aggressive as we would have liked to be but we set the tone early that we were going to play hard and hold it down down low."

2Lazeric Jones played more shooting guard than point guard

Jones has been the team's point guard all season, but played off guard for most of his 36 minutes Thursday in an effort to take more advantage of his scoring punch. He's the team's leading scorer at 13.6 points per game and had 13 points again Thursday.

Jerime Anderson ran the point most of the night and though he had only three assists, he did a nice job of orchestrating in the half court.

"I’ve never played off the ball in my life," Jones said. "I’m just trying to get used to it. If it’s going to help us get wins, I’ll do whatever coach tells me to. It helped us get a win tonight so I guess we’ll probably stick with it a little bit."

3Joshua Smith's concussion may have been a blessing in disguise

You never want to lose a 6-10 center, but when Smith banged his head against Travis Wear's leg in practice Wednesday, it forced him out of the lineup against Arizona and gave the Bruins a better matchup with the Wildcats.

Smith is dominant down low, but can be a defensive liability against smaller, quicker teams because he gets beat off the dribble and picks up a lot of fouls because of his lack of mobility. Against Arizona, which starts 6-6 Solomon Hill and 6-7 Jesse Perry at the post positions, Smith might have had trouble.

"It probably helped us defensively against Arizona because Josh would have a hard matchup whether he’s guarding Perry or Hill," Howland said. "Both Hill and Perry can step out and shoot and that would have been a hard matchup."

4Team defense was greatly improved

The Bruins got back to their defensive ways Thursday night, holding Arizona to 36.2 percent from the field--a far cry from the 65.4 percent they gave up in their last game at California.

The surprising part was that the Bruins did so using mostly a man-to-man defense, which has been a weakness for the team for the most part this season.

"That was the reason we won," Howland said. "We played good team defense and man was better for us today looking at the overall possessions. We were a little quicker and we had good practices leading up to today and now we have to build on this."

Howland made a concerted effort to stop Arizona's transition game by sending only to rebounders to the offensive glass and having three players fall back on defense after UCLA shots. That helped slow the quicker Wildcats and gave the Bruins a chance to set up their defense.

"I think we had a sense of urgency tonight to help a teammate if they were beat," Travis Wear said. "Just recover to anyone who got beat or who helped. We closed every gap and contested every shot, didn’t allow open shots. Our team defense was excellent."

5The bench played a vital role

The statistics won't blow anybody away as Anthony Stover, Brendan Lane and Norman Powell combined for only five points and 11 rebounds in 54 minutes, but those were valuable minutes as the Bruins were playing with an eight-man rotation.

With Smith out Lane played a season-high 24 minutes and had a very good first half with five rebounds. Stover played 12 minutes, the third most he's played all season, and had some crucial defensive stops late in the game against Hill, who led Arizona with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Stover also got to the free throw line six times, making three. They were the first free throws he made this season after going 0-5 through the first 14 games. His three points were a season high and the UCLA bench erupted in cheer when he made the first.

"He's been talking about making his first free throw for a while," Jones said. "And he made some big free throws, too. It was a tight game and it showed a lot about his character."

The John R. Wooden Classic, to be played Thursday night at the Honda Center in Anaheim, is a yearly tribute to UCLA's legendary coach, but Bruins fans will soon have a place to pay homage to the iconic coach year round.

When Pauley Pavilion re-opens next fall, it will include an exhibit called "Wooden Way" to showcase memorabilia from Wooden's life and tenure at UCLA and outside the arena will be an eight-foot tall bronze statue of Wooden, a recently announced addition to the new Pauley.

"I wanted this to be a destination point for people all over the world to come to when they visit UCLA," athletic director Dan Guerrero said. "When visitors come, they all go to Ackerman Plaza and take pictures next to the Bruin bear. People are going to come and they are going to say let’s go take a picture next to Coach Wooden."

The statue will stand at the north end of Pauley Pavilion, along Bruin Walk, which will be the new arena's main entrance. Noted sculptor Blair Buswell, the lead sculptor at the NFL Hall of Fame, has been commissioned to create the statue.

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It's always special when UCLA meets Arizona on the basketball court, but this year will be even more so for two of the most storied programs in the Pac-12 because their game Thursday night at the Honda Center is serving as this year's John R. Wooden Classic.

The Wooden Classic is an annual tribute to UCLA's legendary coach that has been played each year since 1994, but this is the first time it will feature the Bruins playing a conference game and the first time the Wooden Classic will be only one game.

In the past, the event featured back-to-back nonconference games on a Saturday, but because UCLA is playing all games away from campus this season during the renovation of Pauley Pavilion, concessions had to be made for this year's version.

"It’s different, but I’m glad that we’re honoring Coach and keeping that alive," coach Ben Howland said. "I think it’s important."

Perhaps the struggling Bruins can use the occasion to help turn around their season. Last year, the Bruins did exactly that when they entered the Wooden Classic against Brigham Young with a record of 5-4 and no significant victories on their resume. They handed then-No. 16 and previously undefeated BYU an 86-79 loss. UCLA won 16 of its next 21 games and made the NCAA tournament.

This year, the Bruins enter at 7-7 and again without a signature victory. UCLA also lost its first two conference games last weekend, so it's looking to get into the Pac-12 victory column as well. Because of that, the players say their focus in more on the game.

"It’ll definitely start to feel like that more as we get closer to the game because Coach will definitely make sure we know it’s something big for us and something we want to win for Coach Wooden," guard Lazeric Jones said. "The fact that we’re playing a conference team is kind of different, but right now it’s just a game we need to win."

It won't be easy. Arizona is precisely the type of team that has given UCLA problems this season: Small, quick and good shooters.

The Wildcats (10-4) use a three-guard lineup and have no starters over 6-feet-7. They like to run the ball, which could serve as a problem for the Bruins, who tend toward the big and slow side. Center Joshua Smith, for example, will have to match up against 6-7 forward Jesse Perry.

"Arizona is a very hard team for us to match up with because it’s basically like playing against five guards," Howland said. "They just push it at you. Made or miss, they really come at you and see what they can get early in their offense with those guards. It’s like five guards coming at you full speed. It’s different."

Arizona has won three in a row and four of its last five after a 78-72 overtime loss at No. 12 Florida on Dec. 7. Their attack is balanced offensively with four players averaging in double figures scoring. Forward Solomon Hill leads the team in scoring and rebounding at 12.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. Perry is not far behind with 11.8 points and 7.6 rebounds.

The Wildcats also shoot 37.9 percent as a team on three-pointers with Kyle Fogg leading the way at 46.4 percent from beyond the arc. That's not good news for a Bruins team that is allowing opponents to shoot 39.3 percent on three-pointers this season, but Jones said the key to slowing down Arizona's attack will to play solid team defense.

"We all just have to step up and accept the challenge," Jones said. "I feel like I’ve seen some of the players on this team really play defense so it’s all effort. I feel like if everyone is motivated and really wants it, we can get it done."

The Jim L. Mora era at UCLA will open Sept. 1 at Rice and features home games against Nebraska and Houston in nonconference games, the school announced Wednesday, but the big news is that the USC game on Nov. 17 will not be the season-ending game for the first time since 2002.

UCLA will play Stanford in its regular-season finale Nov. 24.

The Bruins also do not have any Thursday or Friday games next season and also catch a break again by not having to play Oregon or Washington.

All games will be broadcast live nationally by the Pac-12 television partners of FOX, ESPN and the new Pac-12 Conference Network. Exact broadcast schedules and game times are still to be determined.

The complete schedule:

Sept. 1 at Rice
Sept. 8 Nebraska
Sept. 15 Houston
Sept. 22 Oregon State
Sept. 29 at Colorado
Oct. 6 at California
Oct. 13 Utah
Oct. 20 BYE
Oct. 27 at Arizona State
Nov. 3 Arizona
Nov. 10 at Washington State
Nov. 17 USC
Nov. 24 Stanford
Nov. 30 Pac-12 Championship