UCLA (+7.5) at Arizona State - 5:30pm Pacific - Game #519-520

The Bruins are quietly having a strong season.  Head coach Ben Howland is doing a tremendous coaching job.  This teams play is a far cry from the Steve Lavin years.  UCLA started Pac-10 play with a hard fought loss at Oregon State in which they led in parts throughout the game before falling by 5.  They rebounded with a big road win at Oregon in following game.  They are the only team to win in Eugene all season.  Last week UCLA rallied for two come from behind wins over Washington State in OT and over #12 Washington.  The win over the Huskies was a real head turner as the Bruins trailed by as many as 20 points in the first half.  Freshman point guard Jordan Farmar continues to make big play after big play regardless of who he is up against.  Senior forward Dijon Thompson is playing the best basketball of his career.  Reserve guard Brian Morrison has snapped out of a early season shooting slump to provide a nice scoring punch off the bench.  The Bruins are well coached and have proven themselves on the road and vs one of the conferences best teams.

 

Arizona State is coming off two misleading wins in northern California last week.  The Sun Devils won at Stanford but the Cardinal were without guard Tim Morris (ruled academically ineligible the day before) and more importantly were without point guard Chris Hernandez (back) who is their second best scorer and glue of the team.  The Sun Devils then won at Cal who played almost the entire game without their starting point guard and leading scorer Richard Midgely.  He tried to play with an injured shoulder but only lasted 6 minutes and did not score.  ASU has had a relatively easy non-conference schedule.  They were blown out by Arizona in Pac-10 opener and then won the two games described above.  I believe they are a bit overrated coming into this and still have a lot to prove.

 

The Bruins are playing well, both physically and mentally.  They are going to be a tough out for just about anyone and are improving steadily every week.  I expect this to be a close game either way.  Take the points.

 

Official Play:  UCLA +7.5  1 UNIT