It was one of the more thrilling games of the young season, an up-and-down affair featuring great individual performances, scoring in bunches, and little of that pesky defense that can serve just to ugly things up. No, this was a track meet, a sprint. And one that needed some extra distance to decide a winner.

Three Key Takeaways.

1. This is What The Buzz Was About. We spent much of the offseason hearing about how great this UCLA recruiting class was and just how high the ceiling was for this team, but for much of the first month and a half of the season, the Bruins just didn’t live up to the hype. But quietly over the last couple weeks, UCLA has gotten on an offensive roll, racking up efficient offensive performances against questionable competition. Leading the way has been Shabazz Muhammad, one of the top two recruits in this year’s freshman class, depending on whom you ask. Tonight was his, and really, the entire UCLA team’s chance to show the strides that they have made. Muhammad poured in 27 points, including seven of UCLA’s nine points in overtime, and flashed the athleticism and killer instinct that was long rumored about him. While there is still plenty of room for improvement (case in point, he grabbed just one rebound in 34 minutes of play), we’re starting to see what we expected to see. And in proximity to the rumors that had been swirling about Ben Howland’s job being in jeopardy, this win may have come at just the right time.
2. Phil Pressey. He Good. Phil Pressey, on the other hand, was a guy who had been largely living up to the high standards that he had previously set for himself. Tonight, he found himself facing a team with an up-tempo, minimal defense in which he can thrive. And thrive he did, wowing Tiger and Bruin fans alike to the tune of 19 points and 19 assists, setting a Missouri record for dimes in a game. The assists are the big story, and they came in a variety of ways: whip-aheads on the fast break; drive-and-dish jobs creating easy looks for big guys like Alex Oriakhi and Laurence Bowers; and crisp passes to spot-up shooters for threes. And when he wasn’t handing out assists, he was creating for himself. He knocked down a late three (one of three on the night) in the face of Larry Drew II, he got into the lane and flipped in runners, and he knocked down pull-up jumpers. Just looking at the 8-for-22 effort in the box score could give one pause, but he was everything for the Tigers, accounting for 67 of their 94 points on just his shots and assists alone.
3. Defense? What Defense? Much of the talk during the game on Twitter was about the lack of defense being played. And, yeah, there is little arguing that this was not exactly a fine example of defensive basketball. When all was said and done, the two teams combined to give up 1.18 points per possession. But you know what? At least for UCLA, that’s something to be okay with — at least there were signs of improvement. While they allowed far too much dribble penetration, at least it was to a point guard the quality of Pressey. And UCLA forced 17 turnovers (five from Pressey) which led to 36 points, quite possibly the difference in the game. At no point is this UCLA team going to be a shining example of Howland’s great defensive coaching, but if the Bruins can bolster its already potent offense by forcing turnovers and creating fast break opportunities, at least that can help to mitigate some of the easy points they give up.

Stars of the Game. The Wear Twins. Yeah, this should probably go to Pressey. Or maybe if you really want to hand it out to a player on the winning team, Muhammad. But I’ve already talked plenty about those two. How about the Wear twins though? Though they are a pair much maligned by large fan bases on both coasts, they were both excellent tonight. Travis Wear set a new career high, knocking in 22 points, grabbing nine boards and swatting a couple of shots. His brother, despite some early foul trouble, made all seven of the shots he attempted from the field on his way to 16 points and six boards. And, while a guy like Alex Oriakhi will get more attention as the big athletic dude in the middle, the Wears outplayed him, frustrated him, and, frankly, out-toughed him. Now there’s a sentiment I never thought I’d have. And, finally, with the game on the line, it was not Muhammad, it was not Jordan Adams (who was on the bench with leg cramps after being the guy called on at the end of regulation), it was not Kyle Anderson to whom the Bruins turned in the final moments of overtime. It was Travis Wear, who responded with a nice turnaround jumper to put UCLA up three with 13 seconds remaining.

Sights & Sounds. A crowd of 11,854 came close to filling Pauley Pavilion. And, unlike some years where the Bruin fans have been known to sit on their hands a bit, tonight it was loud at all the right times. Check out the response below, when Travis Wear knocked down his turn-around jumper after nearly 45 minutes of action.

Quotable:

• Laurence Bowers: “UCLA is a great team. They got off to a slow start, but we are definitely seeing how great of a team they can be. Shabazz is so multi-dimensional. He can shoot it from the outside or he can post up. He just played an all-around great game. I think he is going to have an incredible season.”

Wildcard. Kyle and Shabazz Meet A Bruin Great. About an hour prior to the game, Bill Walton, who was making his return to television announcing for the first time in three years, was milling around on the court, chatting with Don MacLean and others when the UCLA team came on the court for warm-ups. Anderson was among the first out, and he stopped to shake MacLean’s hand, then MacLean offered an introduction to Big Red and disappeared. After they talked for a few minutes, Muhammad came out of the locker room, and shyly walked past the duo, sort of waiting to be called over into the discussion. Walton quickly obliged and the trio spent another five minutes or so talking before heading on over to take part in the warm-ups.

Bill Walton Meets Kyle Anderson and Shabazz Muhammad Prior To The Game

What’s Next? UCLA is done with non-conference play and after tonight, they have that resume-enhancing win they desperately needed. They’ll open Pac-12 play by hosting California on January 3, followed by Stanford on January 5. Missouri, meanwhile, has one last non-conference date against Mike Muscala and Bucknell on January 5.

AMurawa (999 Posts)

Andrew Murawa Likes Basketball.

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 29th, 2012 at 12:24 am by AMurawa and is filed under rushed reactions. Tagged: alex oriakhi, ben howland, david wear, feature, jordan adams, kyle anderson, larry drew II, laurence bowers, missouri, phil pressey, shabazz muhammad, travis wear, ucla. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.