The UCLA Bruins look for a weekend road split on Saturday afternoon as they battle the Oregon Ducks at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene. The Bruins had their three-game winning streak snapped on Thursday night with an 87-84 loss to Oregon State in Corvallis.
Center Joshua Smith has been relegated to the bench for the Bruins (10-8, 3-3) thanks to a lack of defense, which was evident in Thursday's loss. "Right now, Josh has got to help us more than he’s doing right now defensively," Howland told Peter Yoon of ESPN LA. "He’s got to be more of a presence for us in there on the defensive end of the floor. We know when he’s in there and we’re trying to get him the ball offensively, but we need him to step up and play better defense for us."
Oregon (14-5, 5-2) beat USC at home 65-62 on Thursday night. The Bruins and Ducks split two games last season, with each team winning on the road. UCLA has beaten Oregon in 11 of their last 15 meetings, including five wins in their last seven games in Eugene.
Saturday's 1:00 p.m. PST game will be televised by Fox Sports West. For more news and information on UCLA hoops, be sure to read Bruins Nation.