Pathetic

UCLA loses to a bunch of kids who can run and jump, but can't think their way out of a paper bag, which is why they've ended up at Thug Central. Note to the Bruins: The other team just isn't going to quit when you take the lead.

This is the most embarrassing loss of the Howland era. There is no excuse for crap performance that the Bruins put on the floor today.

And not to pin the blame on one player, but Russell Westbrook played BY FAR the worst game of his season. He's ahead of schedule, so a game like this was due, but he was flat out awful. Balls going off his feet, an inability to maintain possession, shots that barely cleared the rim at their highest point, and he's clearly fallen in love with the highlight reel, as his botched dunk demonstrated. 2-11, 0 three pointers, and fortunately ESPN's box score doesn't list his many turnovers yet. And as well as he did on defense in the first half, his man still ended up with 16 points.

You have to feel bad for Kevin Love. He didn't shoot well, but he finished with 18 and 12, outplaying Mayo. But in the end, all that matters is that his team lost. You can say the same for Josh Shipp.

As for LRMAM, well, he apparently needs another off-season to work on his jump shot. And someone can add shot selection to his lessons.

I don't mean this to sound like a shot at Howland, but until a few years ago, this game would have been on Wednesday night. It would not have come after a week layoff. I don't know if the layoff had an effect, but in the past, it wouldn't have been an issue. It would have been midweek, and the Bruins would have been playing a non-conference game today. I love 99% of what Howland brings to UCLA, but I don't care for his scheduling, and I never have.

All you can do is hope they use this as a learning experience.