Washington vs. UCLA

2/19/09

Oh how the mighty have fallen in the Pac-10 conference as the once sixth ranked team in the country UCLA Bruins continue to plummet in the Top 25 rankings and their conference standings.

It was just about a week ago at this time that Darren Collison and his UCLA Bruins were looking like one of the best college basketball teams in the nation as they were atop the Pac-10 conference and were supporting the sixth rank in the Top 25.

Well, after a very disappointing road trip to Arizona the Bruins hopes for a Pac-10 title and a good seed going into the NCAA tournament may have all but disappeared as they have dropped all the way down to the number 20 spot in the nation’s top teams poll and are tied for fourth with Cal in their conference standings.

The Washington Huskies on the other hand are as hot as can be as they have taken the lead in the Pac-10 and have moved up to the number 19 ranking in the country just above the Bruins.

There really couldn’t be a better time for these two teams to go head to head then right now. With the Bruins struggling to get grip on their season as it quickly slips away after two straight disappointing losses to Arizona State and Arizona, the Huskies are in prime position to take total control of their conference with a win against the Bruins. The boys from Westwood will be playing in desperation mode as a loss to the Huskies would be devastating to their season.

UCLA will be trying to regain their dominant ways on the floor after just getting hammered by a Wildcats team that hasn’t been that impressive this season. After an embarrassing 12 point loss to the Wildcats in Arizona the Bruins will have to stop the bleeding as quickly as they can with a big win over the conference leader in the Huskies from Washington.

The Huskies will come into this match up winning three straight against conference opponents and are playing their best basketball of the season.

Although the Arizona State Sun Devils are playing as good as anyone in the country and aren’t far behind the Huskies in the Pac-10 standings with only a one game separating the two teams, Washington can make a huge statement by taking down the Bruins before heading into their rematch with Arizona State on February 26th.

The Bruins will definitely put a good fight against the Huskies in their Pac-10 showdown, but UCLA has just not played the same since their defeat to the Sun Devils last week. Coach Ben Howland may have whipped these boys into shape since their back to back losses, but I really don’t see them rebounding against a motivated Huskies squad looking to prove that they can play with any team in the country. BetJamaiaca opened this game UCLA -8 and we'll take the points here with the Huskies. Wasington +8