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Bruins set to take on red-hot Hofstra

Pride come into first round holding longest winning streak in country

AJ Cadman
Published: Thursday, March 15, 2001

DAVE HILL/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Junior Billy Knight goes up against a Washington defender in Saturday's loss in Seattle, the final game of Pac-10 play. MEN'S BASKETBALL vs. Today 11:55 a.m. Greensboro Coliseum TV - CBS Radio 1150 AM Internet - uclabruins.com

By AJ Cadman

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

UCLA (21-8) embarks upon its mission for its twelfth national championship banner today. The Sons of Westwood are in Greensboro, N.C., for a date with America East conference champion Hofstra (26-4).

“Our team is looking forward to the challenge in playing Hofstra,” said Bruin Head Coach Steve Lavin, who was named the 2001 Pac-10 Conference coach of the year on Monday. “They are the hottest team in the country in terms of their 18-game winning streak.”

“They know how to win and when teams know how to do that, that’s the toughest thing to contend with,” senior guard Earl Watson said of Hofstra. “Every first round game is a war. We just need to stay patient. If we play within ourselves, then good things can happen.”

Both teams are riding high entering March Madness.

The Pride boast the nation’s longest win streak. The last victory came in a 68-54 victory over Delaware in the America East tournament title game.

The Bruins, meanwhile, are licking their wounds from a 96-94 loss to Pac-10 doormat Washington on March 10. The Bruins, however, have won eight of their last 10 and have high RPI and strength-of-schedule ratings to back up their credentials. They are not looking for sympathy, but just to get back on the floor and play up to their ability.

UCLA may have a tougher road than most to get to the Final Four in Minneapolis, with Ohio State or Utah State awaiting them in a possible second-round matchup Saturday. With a win there, they could possibly face Duke in the Sweet 16 in Philadelphia.

However, the Bruins are taking it one game at a time.

“It comes down to playing basketball for 40 minutes and forgetting about our seedings or being sent out East,” sophomore forward Jason Kapono said. “We just have to go out and play to win.”

DAVE HILL/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Junior forward Matt Barnes and the rest of the Bruins are looking to beat the Hofstra Pride in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Hofstra will challenge UCLA to play at a pace suitable to their liking.

“They said that they wanted to run with us,” senior guard Ryan Bailey said. “I hope so. That will be good for us because that’s the type of tempo we like to push. Hopefully, we can let our athletic ability take over the game.”

Lacking size in the frontcourt – with starting center Greg Springfield listed at 6-foot-9 – the Pride get offensive production from their guards.

Point guard Jason Hernandez drops 12.1 points and dishes almost four assists per contest. His trusty sidekick at off-guard, sophomore Rick Apodaca, has a 12 point-per-game average. Lavin’s comparison of Hofstra to a team like Gonzaga – one that can creep up on teams – is not farfetched.

“They play the whole game,” Lavin said. “As far as I could see from their last game in their conference championship against Delaware, they shoot the ball pretty well. They are pretty athletic, quick and have a good balance on their team.”

But the focus of UCLA’s defense should be on senior forward Norman Richardson. His team-leading 16.8 points per night and six-rebound clip will be under the watchful eye of Bruin junior forward Matt Barnes.

Barnes is versatile in beating opposing frontline players off the dribble, but it will be his defensive intensity in the halfcourt against Richardson, as well as in the full court press, that decides whether the Bruins go one and out or live to see another day.

“Defensive energy and intensity is something we need to always bring even when our shots aren’t falling,” Bailey said. “That mind-set will create easy offense for us.”

“We need to learn from our setbacks,” Lavin said. “We need to get defensive stops and shutouts if we want to survive in the tournament."

STARTING LINEUP UCLA Bruins (21-8) Position Name YR PPG RPG Small Forward Jason Kapono So. 17.7 5.9 Power Forward Matt Barnes Jr. 11.9 7.2 Center Dan Gadzuric Jr. 11.6 8.2 Shooting Guard Billy Knight Jr. 7.4 1.7 Point Guard Earl Watson Sr. 14.6 3.4 Hofstra Pride (2-4) Position Name YR PPG RPG Small Forward Norman Richardson Sr. 16.8 6.0 Power Forward Roberto Gittens Sr. 10.7 6.9 Center Greg Springfield Sr. 5.6 7.4 Shooting Guard Rick Apodaca So. 12.0 3.4 Point Guard Jason Hernandez Sr. 12.1 2.2 SOURCE: Sports Information Original by VICTOR CHEN/Daily Bruin Web adaptation by MONICA KWONG/Daily Bruin Senior Staff UCLA POSTSEASON HONORS Five members of the UCLA men's basketball program were honored for their achievements during the 2000-01 season. SOURCE: UCLA Sports Information Original by VICTOR CHEN/Daily Bruin Web adaptation by MONICA KWONG/Daily Bruin Senior Staff