Game of the Week- Thursday

Our third “Game of the Week” segment features a familiar face- and a new one. After splitting the Washington road trip, Arizona (16-4, 5-2) still finds itself in second place in the conference standings. Right behind them? That would be the Wildcats’ Thursday night opponent: the UCLA Bruins (13-6, 5-2). The matchup between the conference’s two most storied programs tips of at 6:00pm from Tucson and will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.

We have detailed Arizona quite a bit in this space thus far. Once again, the Wildcats are led by one of the best forwards in the nation in sophomore Derrick Williams. Williams finished the Washington trip with 39 points and 30 rebounds, though his efficiency from the field was below his usual rate. Williams shot just 12-28 combined in the two games, but also gathered 12 offensive rebounds, 9 of which against Washington State.

UCLA counters with a solid core of talented players, who appear to be hitting their stride in recent weeks. Winners of four straight games, the Bruins have a quartet of players- Reeves Nelson, Tyler Honeycutt, Malcolm Lee and Lazeric Jones- averaging double figures on the season, with freshman center Joshua Smith just a touch below at 9.8 ppg. Meanwhile, Nelson, Honeycutt and Smith combine for 22.5 rebounds per game, almost two-thirds of Bruins’ boards.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

When one thinks of Pac-10 basketball in a historical context, UCLA and Arizona are the teams that come to mind. However, both programs have fallen on a bit of uncharacteristic times recently. That has changed this season in the first go around of conference play. One thing is for sure in this game, it is going to be a physical battle on the blocks. Derrick Williams is a tremendous rebounder, both offensively and defensively, but he is in for a challenge against UCLA’s blue chip posts. Williams and his teammates almost certainly will find rebounding against UCLA to be a much greater challenge than in their win Saturday at Washington State. However, while both teams are strong in the post, this game may well come to which team gets better guard play. Honeycutt and Lee give the Bruins two probable future-NBA players, but when on their game, Arizona’s Jordin Mayes, Jamelle Horne, Kyle Fogg and Brendon Lavender can be excellent three-point shooters. Whichever team supplements its inside game with its outside game the best will likely come out victorious and in sole possession of second place in the conference.

KEY PLAYERS

Tyler Honeycutt- When Honeycutt is on, he’s one of the premiere players in the Pac-10. Against Stanford on Saturday, Honeycutt scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds to go along with four blocks in leading the Bruins to victory.

Reeves Nelson- The fiery sophomore post from Modesto, Calif. can be a load himself on the offensive end. But in this game, he’ll likely find himself matched up against Williams on the defensive end. His ability to limit Williams’ easy looks and offensive rebounds may be a determining factor in the game.

Derrick Williams- While Williams is likely to get his points and rebounds- as he has done in just about every game this year- where he may play the largest impact in this game is drawing fouls and getting the Bruins’ bigs in foul trouble. Williams shoots more free throws than any other player in the country, so if he goes after UCLA’s talented posts, they may be forced to back off or risk fouling out.

Jamelle Horne- Williams garners all the attention for the Wildcats, but Horne’s three-point shooting prowess helped guide Arizona to their victory at WSU. If Horne can bring that same shooting touch to the court Thursday, it gives the Wildcats one more scoring threat off the bench.