UCLA got a win and some rest.
The sixth-ranked Bruins dominated Oregon State from the start Thursday night and beat the Beavers 84-49 in a game where coach Ben Howland was able to go to his bench early.
“It’s always good to get a rest, especially coming down the stretch,” said Bruins guard Nick Collison, who had 14 points and nine assists.
Freshman Kevin Love had 11 points and nine rebounds in 21 minutes, just missing his 16th double-double for the Bruins (23-3, 11-2 Pac-10).
“That’ll keep me with fresh legs for Saturday,” he said.
Love was looking ahead to the game with Oregon, his father Stan’s alma mater, where their family was targeted with ugly treatment by Ducks’ fans in UCLA’s 80-75 victory last month.
It’s OK Love was looking ahead, so was Howland.
“We have a huge game on Saturday,” Howland said. “Everyone is fighting now for NCAA tournament berths and seedings. We know Oregon is going to come in here and give us their very best game. They’re right on the edge of making it or not.”
In other games involving ranked teams on Thursday, it was: No. 10 Xavier 75, Duquesne 48; No. 17 Washington State 59, Arizona State 47; and No. 21 Notre Dame 82, Pittsburgh 70.
Russell Westbrook scored 17 points for UCLA on a night none of the Bruins played 30 minutes. Howland went to his bench with 7 minutes left, giving rare time to freshman Chase Stanback and sophomores Nikola Dragovic and Mustafa Abdul-Hamid.
Josh Tarver scored 10 points for Oregon State (6-20, 0-14), which lost its 16th in a row overall and seventh straight to the Bruins.
The Beavers barely surpassed their lowest point total of the season, 44 against Southern California on Jan. 24. They shot 34 percent, an opponent’s season-low for the Bruins.
UCLA shot 55 percent from the field, its best effort since hitting 57 percent against Arizona on Feb. 2. The Bruins had shot no better than 34 percent in their previous two games against Washington and USC.
They dominated the boards 43-24, went 15-of-19 from the free throw line and piled up a season-high-tying 20 assists to Oregon State’s six.
UCLA took a 10-4 lead, helped by Collison’s 3-pointer and five straight points by Love.
“They got away really fast,” Oregon State interim coach Kevin Mouton said. “I would not be surprised if they make it back to the Final Four.”
The Beavers got within one on a 3-pointer by Omari Johnson before UCLA ran off 14 consecutive points for a 24-9 lead.
“There were a couple times where we lost focus and they got a couple easy baskets,” Collison said. “We can’t afford that.”
No. 10 Xavier 75, Duquesne 48
Derrick Brown had 13 points and 11 rebounds and C.J. Anderson had 13 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Musketeers (23-4, 11-1 Atlantic 10) to their ninth straight victory. B.J. Raymond scored all 13 of his points in the first half as Xavier took a 45-26 lead.
Reggie Jackson had 12 points for the visiting Dukes (16-9, 6-6), who hadn’t scored fewer than 59 points in a game this season.
No. 17 Washington St. 59, Arizona St. 47
Derrick Low scored 15 points and the Cougars 21-5, 9-5 Pac-10) won their fourth straight by holding Arizona State 21 points below its average for the season.
Freshman James Harden, who averages 18 points per game, had 10 points to lead the visiting Sun Devils (16-9, 6-7), who shot 33 percent, including 6-of-25 from 3-point range.
No. 21 Notre Dame 82, Pittsburgh 70
Luke Harangody had 23 points and 12 rebounds and Tory Jackson added 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Fighting Irish (20-5, 10-3 Big East), who rallied from an 11-point deficit with just under 14 minutes left to win their 35th straight home game, three shy of tying the school record.
Sam Young had 20 points for the Panthers (19-7, 7-6), who lost two straight for the first time since December 2006.
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