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THE UCLA BRUINS
Head Coach: Ben Howland
Record: 29-6 overall; 14-4 in the Pac-10
2005/06 Summary: Howland has made it a habit of turning around programs in his first three years at an institution. First it was Northern Arizona, then it was Pitt, and now it’s UCLA. In fact, considering the amount of youth that’s on this year’s Bruin team, Howland is ahead of schedule. Howland has brought the physical style of his best Pitt teams to the west coast and has matched it with high level recruits who have offensive games with pro potential. The foundation of UCLA this season has been defense. It is what allowed them to win the Pac-10 regular season and postseason titles. And the defense just keeps getting better – they have now held 8 straight opponents to under 60 points per game. While the Bruins can struggle to score points at times, they are very offensively efficient as a team, shooting 48% from the floor. The best two offensive players are the sophomore backcourt tandem of Jordan Farmar and Arron Affalo. While those two guys are the go-to players, the Bruins have a series of long-armed big men who do a fantastic job of cleaning up the glass and clogging up the middle defensively. Their length and athleticism allow UCLA to get tons of high percentage shots near the basket.
Key Players:
#1 G Jordan Farmar (6-2, soph. 2005/06 = 13.6 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 5.2 APG, 42% FG, 34% 3PT, 73% FT)
#4 G Arron Afflalo (6-5, soph. 2005/06 = 16.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 1.9 APG, 48% FG, 37% 3PT, 81% FT)
#21 G Cedric Bozeman (6-6, senior. 2005/06 = 8.0 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 2.3 APG, 52% FG, 42% 3PT, 76% FT)
#23 F Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (6-7, freshman. 2005/06 = 9.0 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 56% FG, 73% FT)
#15 C Ryan Hollins (7-0, senior. 2005/06 = 6.5 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 62% FG, 61% FT)
#2 G Darren Collison (6-0, freshman. 2005/06 = 5.7 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 2.4 APG, 41% FG, 34% 3PT, 82% FT)
#12 F/C Alfred Aboya (6-8, freshman. 2005/06 = 3.8 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 63% FG, 51% FT)
#14 F Lorenzo Mata (6-8, sophomore. 2005/06 = 3.8 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 51% FG, 61% FT)
#20 G Michael Roll (6-5, freshman. 2005/06 = 3.7 PPG, 1.0 RPG, 38% FG, 40% 3PT, 71% FT)
Key Team Stats:
FG % Offense = 48%
FG% Opponents = 42%
3 PT% Offense = 36%
3 PT% Opponents = 34%
Points Per Game = 68.7
Opponent Points Per Game = 58.7
Turnovers Offense = 14.4
Turnovers Defense = 14.3
Rebounding Margin = +5
FT % = 70%