UCLA Bruins Men's Basketball Trounces the Stanford Cardinal, 97-63

At half-time, the Bruins only had a lead of about 13 over the Cardinal, with the scores hovering in the 30's and 20's, respectively.

But while the major newspapers are touting the 40-14 run by the Bruins, which helped rout the Cardinal, what was more impressive about the game was Howland's vision of his bench and the development of his players.

So with a little more than 9 minutes left in the second half, and UCLA at a comfortable 30-point lead, Howland decided to rotate some of his younger players in. The second team. With James Keefe, who just lately got bumped from his starter position, who along with Michael Roll, were the two veteran players of the second team. Roll for his part continues to solidify his talent for sinking 3's. Then Howland began rotating even greener players like Jerime Anderson, Drew Gordon, Malcolm Lee and J'mison Morgan for significant minutes. To not just give them experience during the height of the season, but to more importantly deepen his bench for the March Madness Run.

There will be talk of the selflessness of passes, rather than driving for a basket, making the pass, but what really struck me watching this game was that for almost ten minutes during the second half, Stanford scored primarily through free throws. And while that can often be the difference between winning and losing, they were technically playing the second and third teams. And against them, the veteran players on Stanford's team should have been able to score more than they did.

Which proves the importance of the mental game. By the time Howland began rotating his bench in, the Stanford team had already begun losing in their minds. Granted, the 30-point lead can weigh heavily on the mind, but they were clearly much more experienced, and bigger, than the Bruins. And yet still, they couldn't seem to score. Again, highlighting the importance of the mental game. For all the fans who left early, you missed some great last minute plays.

Though in fairness, Darren Collison, my favorite, is a really exceptional athlete and I give him a lot of credit for energizing his team, playing solidly throughout the first and second halves until Howland began rotating other players in.

Go Bruins.