UCLA 63; OSU 54

For the second time this season, the Bruins went on the road and swept their Pac 10 opponents. That's something that you might expect to do once in a season, but twice out of four opportunities, let alone your first two trips, well, that's pretty special. I'll grant you, only one of those sweeps came while playing a very good team (Arizona, who admittedly is down a bit this year), and I'd be shocked if they swept the Bay Area schools and/or the Washington Schools. But they've beaten teams who have generally held their own at home (OSU beat U of A by 10 at home).

The key word for today's game was 'balance'. Four Bruins scored in double figures, and none of those four had more than 14 points (LRMAM). Three Bruins had seven or more rebounds, Aaron Afflalo leading the way with 10 as LRMAM failed to lead the team in boards for only the second time this season. And once again, the Bruins completey took their opponent out of their offense, holding the Beavers to only 24 points in the second half. Chris Stephens and Nick Dewitz, who normally combine for about 26-27 points combined for only 8 this afternoon. And although Sasha Cuic, who quite frankly acted like a little bitch after fouling Ryan Hollins, had 24 points, he was pretty much their only offense.

The second half of the Pac 10 season gets a lot harder for the Bruins. They travel to the Bay and to Washington in what will be their toughest road trips of the season. It's not outside the realm of possibility that they could lose all four games, though I think a split is more likely. Also, they play in the dark jerseys against U$C, which I hesitate to call a road game. They're 7-2 in the conference, and I think the team that wins the regular season will have to be 14-4, or possibly 13-5 at worse. That's a tall order, but these guys are road warriors, and with Bozeman working his way back in, they're certainly capable. Perhaps the biggest key will be Ryan Hollins, who had 11 and 7 today. He's had three straight games now where he has made significant contributions, which I think matches his entire Bruin career to this point. If he keeps it going, they will be tough to beat.