There were times one might think UCLA basketball coach Ben Howland thought zone was a four-letter word.

Not on Friday night.

Howland had his team rely mostly on a zone defense that steered them to an impressive 71-63 victory over visiting Richmond on Friday night at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. The zone helped UCLA slow down a Richmond offense that made six of its first eight shots but only 18 of 54 for the game.

"We wouldn't have won the game without playing zone," Howland said afterward. "It's been good for us in the times we have to go to it. I'd rather play man, but the zone (worked)."

The zone defense not only helped UCLA defend, it helped them rebound too as the Bruins (7-5) finished with a dominant 42-30 advantage on the glass. On the offensive side, Howland said the team's motion offense made an impact, particularly in the second half when the Bruins shot nearly 62 percent from the field. Five Bruins scored in double figures for the second straight game and third time this season.

Senior guards Lazeric Jones and Jerime Anderson both had big games. Jones scored a team-high 16 points and finished with a career-high six rebounds. Anderson finished with 13 points, a career-high seven rebounds and six assists.

"I was able to pick my spots and attack aggressively," Anderson said. "We were able to get better shots as our motion offense gave us good looks against their matchup zone."

Anderson's dribble penetration opened things up for the Bruins big men, particularly Travis Wear, who scored 14 points. Joshua Smith added 11 points and five rebounds. David Wear had 12 points and seven rebounds, and Howland touted this as the twins' best game yet. Both looked more physical, particularly Travis, who scored 10 points in the last 5:03 to help put the Spiders (7-6) away.

"Post guys do a lot of their work down low, and I need to get used to that," Travis Wear said. "I need to work on sealing and being more physical every day."

Using more zone defense, moving to a three-guard lineup, the growth of twins David and Travis Wear and the dismissal of Reeves Nelson are all critical developments to this season. Friday's win over the defending Atlantic 10 champions required UCLA to show progress on the court. Richmond's Darien Brothers scored a game-high 25 points, making five 3-pointers and providing an example of why Howland recognized the value of beating a well-respected Richmond team that plays tough defense and runs the Princeton offense as well as any team in the country.

"That was a very important win against a good team," Howland said. "They're well-coached and hard to play against. Their style of play and strategies, you don't see that often."

It's particularly important as UCLA takes some time off for the Christmas holiday and returns to action on December 29 when it opens Pac-12 play at Stanford.

"We were definitely in a tough spot," Anderson said about the team's 2-5 start. "It was an adverse situation or the whole team.

"The difficulty and adversity helped us get stronger - we came together. Now we're really clicking out there."

Tonight's game against Richmond probably won't be an especially memorable one for the UCLA men's basketball team. Barring an abnormally exciting game, it's just a final nonconference tune-up tonight at 7:30 at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.

But if the Bruins are able to play well and move forward, it could be seen as the turning point in a season that's been anything but tedious.

UCLA (6-5) can't turn the corner by beating Richmond, but if the preseason Pac-12 favorites do go on to win the conference, this game could be seen as the moment they turned the corner.

Coach Ben Howland told reporters during his pregame teleconference that the Spiders might run the Princeton offense as well as anyone in the country. Now, it's up to the Bruins to show the discipline and determination to shut it down.

THE LOWDOWN

There are a few remaining questions before we ring in Pac-12 play and the New Year.

How much better can the Wear twins get - and how fast can it happen?

• David and Travis Wear have both been hampered by injuries, so their progress, while quite impressive, could actually be better. Both are critical to the Bruins' goals this season but have room for improvement, especially on the glass. David is currently averaging six rebounds per game, while Travis averages 5.2 rebounds. Both should strive to be grabbing at least seven per game.

Should UCLA just accept Joshua Smith's conditioning will prevent him from being the dominant force he could be if in better shape?

• It's hard for me to question anybody's conditioning, but until Smith commits to a healthier diet and training regimen that helps him improve his stamina, he won't approach his immense potential. That means his teammates must understand he can't be relied on to be a scoring force. It also means the coaches must prepare accordingly. Give Howland and his staff credit for recognizing it and using a zone defense at times to give Smith (and his teammates) a chance to catch their breath on the defensive side of the court.

Has UCLA figured out what was going on with its perimeter defense earlier this year?

• If the Bruins have officially stopped giving up so many good perimeter looks, it means teams will have a much more difficult time scoring. Credit Tyler Lamb for getting healthy and stepping into the role of defensive stopper. Howland has pointed to him as a defense-first guard but that's not it. Norman Powell is making a great rebounding effort, while both seniors, Jerime Anderson and Lazeric Jones, are playing with urgency.

UCLA entered the season talking about its front court. Reporters and bloggers (including this one) wondered how teams could cope with the Bruins ability to put a massive front line on the floor.

Even after the dismissal of junior forward Reeves Nelson, the front court continues to drive attention. But while teams worry about the Bruins and their size in the post, it is their backcourt making people pay attention.

Freshman Norman Powell and sophomore Tyler Lamb both set career highs in points scored as UCLA defeated visiting UC Irvine, 89-60, on Tuesday night at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.

Powell scored a game-high 19 points with seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.

"He has so much potential," Lamb said of Powell. "He's learning more and more every day and works very hard"

Lamb finished with 17 points, four steals, three assists and three rebounds.

"Tyler Lamb is really playing well for us," Coach Ben Howland said. "And the stats don't always indicate it because he guards the other team's best player."

It was both shooting guards sharing time with seniors Jerime Anderson and Lazeric Jones, often with three of the four on the court at once, that led the Bruins to a dominant victory and has helped UCLA (6-5) during its four-game win streak.

Jones added 11 points and six assists while Anderson had eight points and five assists. The four helped UCLA finish with 22 assists against seven turnovers.

"Starting three guards helps that," Howland said. "We're getting use to each other and getting some experience. We're a fairly young team."

Howland said the team will continue to use the 3-guard lineup but also said he'll play some zone and go back to three big men lineups when the timing is right. Howland wants to make sure the team can be versatile with its lineup, which means he'll continue to mix and match.

The guards might have gotten most of the attention but the big men also played well. David Wear played well and had 12 points, nine rebounds and three steals. Center Joshua Smith had 12 points and seven rebounds as both helped UCLA outrebound UC Irvine, 40-26.

"I'm pleased with the rebounding and the margin there," Howland said. "I'm just glad we're playing well. Our guys are coming together. We have good chemistry and we're pulling for one another. That's fun. I enjoyed that."

Well this wasn't the outing the Bruins had in mind.

Coming into tonight's game against Louisiana State, the UCLA women's basketball team had plenty to feel bubbly about: the addition of a veteran presence in the return of Markel Walker; a rendezvous with former Bruin coach Nikki Caldwell and her coaching staff; and ultimately, a chance to build upon its last game, a 41-point victory against Loyola Marymount. But turnovers-galore was the tale of this game, and the Bruins just couldn't find their stride, falling 58-41 to the Tigers at the Pete Maravich Center.

UCLA has gone up against some Paul Bunyans already this season (see: Brittney Griner and the Baylor Bears, San Diego State), and tonight was no different. With a roster wielding eight 6-footers, LSU disrupted a usually-high-octane UCLA offense, denying entry passes into the post and forcing the Bruins into 24 turnovers (the Tigers actually had more miscues with 29 of their own).

"LSU played really high with its size. If you don't get the ball behind their zone, you're struggling with trying to get it through their zone," coach Cori Close said after the game. "We wanted to pull those forwards out high, get into the short corners, and attack from behind the zone defense, but we weren't able to get into that rhythm. Ball movement just didn't happen for us tonight."

LSU's LaSondra Barrett led all players with 18 points for the game. The Bruins had just one player scoring in double figures, and it was none other than Walker, who made her season debut after undergoing thumb surgery in the offseason. She may have started off slow, but Walker showed some signs of promise, scoring most of her 11 points on jumpers and grabbing six rebounds. And it's a point to be noted; if the junior forward can emerge as a third scoring threat besides Atonye Nyingifa and Rebekah Gardner, it figures to spread the floor and open up the Bruins' three-point game.

"A lot of teams know that I can drive to the basket and that I like to pass the ball, so I've been working on my jump shot and just gaining more confidence," Walker said.

Up next for the Bruins? Certainly some rigorous practice and film sessions, as No. 6 Tennessee rolls into Collins Court on Saturday.

UCLA men's basketball takes their Bruin Road Show to the Honda Center in Orange County today at 4pm to face Pennsylvania. It's the first of four games at the splendid OC venue. 

UCLA should get on the horn and see what they need to do to have newly-signed Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim player Albert Pujols make an appearance at one of the Bruin games at Honda Center.

It's been a rough start for the Bruins, so who can blame me if I'm thinking Pujols might help the Bruins snap out of their funk during a 2-5 start?

Of course, Angel fans will have to wait until Opening Day of baseball season to celebrate their new addition. In the meantime, Bruin fans who are travelling to Anaheim shouldn't be faulted if they make a quick stop to Disneyland to find Tinker Bell.

For those who think spinning Tea Cups and slam dunks don't mix, here are a few other ideas of how to enjoy the OC.

* Skip Splash Mountain and head to Downtown Disney, which includes loads of entertainment and shopping. Plus, there's three hours of free parking, so you'll have some fun before watching the Bruins take the court.

* Bring your credit card and patience before braving the holiday crowds at OC shopping mecca South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa (and just off the 405 freeway).

* Not ready to break the bank? Then go hit up the Orange County Market Place and people watch while finding something unusual and cheap to bring back after the game. 

If there's one thing we know after this week, the Bruin Road Show is a dramatic series.

Coach Ben Howland now faces the stiff challenge of making sure there's a heart-warming finish.

Howland dismissed Reeves Nelson from the team on Friday, setting up a new challenge for the Bruins (2-5) as the Road Show heads south to Orange County and a home game at Honda Center against visiting Pennsylvania (5-5). 

There were several strong reports on this, including Beth Harris of the Associated Press and ESPN.com blogger Diamond Leung. It's hard to not see this break-up as a necessary one. Hopefully Nelson can learn from his difficulties and mature as a person and player from it.

UCLA will definitely miss his toughness and potential on the court, but Howland told reporters he also thought it could be a good opportunity for the team to overcome adversity and come together.

"Honestly, I think it will be a positive for our team, because the distraction of all this has not been a positive for our team," Howland said to media during a teleconference. "The negativity is not a positive for your team. When I suspended him the first time, the two practices we had very that were the best two practices of the year that we've had. Hopefully, this is going to be a unifying thing for our team."

Nelson's dismissal might be the main storyline for this Road Show, but its not the only one. Freshman Norman Powell suffered an allergic reaction to something he ate and was hospitalized for two days before returning to practice on Friday. 

Losing is never fun, but losing like this is an entirely different matter.

UCLA squandered an early 11-point lead and turned what looked like a breakthrough performance into arguably its most frustrating effort as Texas turned the tables with a 69-59 nonconference victory on Saturday at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.

This loss should nag UCLA (2-5) and the coaching staff like a flu that just won't go away. The Bruins looked like a new team early, playing aggressive on defense and looking ready to capture their first marquee win of the year with a 34-23 lead with 1:54 remaining in the first half.

Instead, the Bruins watched Texas bull rush by them with a 15-4 run during a span that lasted nearly four minutes at the end of the first half and start of the second.

It was an act of aggression that the Bruins couldn't effectively respond to and recover from. Texas guard J'Covan Brown, who led the Longhorns (5-2) with 22 points, said his team showed its physical side with lots of screens on the offensive end.

"We just wore them down," Brown said, despite limping out of the media conference room. "Coach told us to keep hitting them with screens and they'll stop trying to run through it. I know I hate it in practice when you have to hit screens constantly. It just wears your body down."

Texas freshman guard Myck Kabongo finished with 13 points and eight assists in the win. He said Texas made it a point to push UCLA into a corner.

"I could tell you one thing - basketball is not a physical sport. No one wants to get hit and we were hitting them," Kabongo said.

Bruins forward Travis Wear admitted Texas used a lot of clock on their offensive possessions, which made things more difficult for the Bruins.

"They were taking a lot of time off the shot clock, wearing us down," said Wear, who had 13 points and four rebounds in the loss. "You play defense for 25-35 seconds and your fundamentals break down."

That helped Texas shoot better than 70 percent in the second half, which they outscored UCLA by 16 points.

"Texas got behind in the first half and they were patient and kept running their stuff," Wear said. "We when we got down, we really didn't bounce back."

That's why this loss shouldn't be treated like UCLA just has to wash it clean. If the Bruins really want to rebound from their slow start this season - this should be a scar to remind them of what's necessary to prevent it from happening again.  

The Bruins started three guards - Lazeric Jones, Tyler Lamb and Jerime Anderson - with 6-foot-10 forwards David and Travis Wear. The "small ball" approach paid off as the Bruins blasted off to a 17-6 lead, making their first six field goals as all five starters scored.

It was a good look, especially against an athletic Texas team that finished the first half on a 7-2 run to leave UCLA leading 34-28.