Lineup Switch Didn’t Help

PITTSBURGH — In an effort to keep 5-foot-5 point guard Jason Harrison from matching up against 6-6 Cedric Bozeman, Emmanuel Wade started for Mississippi instead of Aaron Harper and guarded Bozeman.

Like everything else Ole Miss tried, the strategy backfired.

Making only his fourth start of the season, Wade, a 6-3 guard, missed all five of his first-half shots, contributing to the Rebels’ abysmal 33.3% shooting. He made two three-point shots in the second half, but UCLA already had a huge lead en route to the 80-58 victory.

When Bozeman was replaced by 6-1 Ryan Walcott, Harrison defended him. But he was no more effective with the ball, missing all seven shots he attempted in the first half and all nine in the game.

“They played real good,” Harrison said. “They were on and we weren’t. We couldn’t make any shots and it really made us climb uphill.”

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Guard David Sanders scored career high totals of 23 and 26 points in his last two games, making 23 of 34 shots (68%) in the last three games and 10 of 16 three-point shots in the last four.

But against UCLA he was only three of nine for seven points, and he was as cold from long range as most of his teammates, making one of four.

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The Rebels pride themselves on tenacious man-to-man defense, but the unit of five UCLA reserves used a man-to-man, full-court press that startled Mississippi.

“We knew their bench was a force,” Harrison said. “But we couldn’t have predicted that they would do what they did. They took us out of our game.”

The Rebels, who committed 18 turnovers, were 2-7 in games they gave up more than 70 points.

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Coach Rod Barnes’ record is 86-46 in four seasons, including NCAA tournament appearances. The 38-year-old was the Naismith national coach of the year in 2001, taking the Rebels to the Sweet 16.

“He is a strong role model for other young coaches because of the way he lives his life,” UCLA Coach Steve Lavin said. “I have the utmost respect for him.”

Steve Henson