As is the case every Tuesday, except for USC week, UCLA head basketball coach Ben Howland meets with the media to discuss everything brewing with the Bruins. The following are Howland's highlights.

Howland: "Luc is practicing (Tuesday). He had a CT scan (Monday) done, just for precaution. It's all negative. He worked out for about an hour yesterday and felt fine afterwards. Lorenzo [Mata-Real] obviously played on Saturday and he should be fine.''

Is Michael Roll still pretty far away from returning?

Howland: " "Uh, yeah. He's at least a few weeks.''

Did the Oregon AD (athletic director) call you?

Howland: "Yeah, he called (Monday). He called for me and I wasn't in, but it was nice of him to do that. That's behind us now. We're not worried about that. And they have a first-class university, and the AD and I met last year, and he's a great guy. He's a great person. They've already handled it. I guess in the next game, after ours, Ernie Kent addressed the crowd. So they're on it."

Can you talk about facing Arizona State?

Howland: "They're really good. They're an outstanding team. Like many teams in our league, we included, they're fighting for an NCAA berth. They're coming off two tough losses at home where they had a chance to win.

"James Harden is one of the best players in the conference. Just look at his numbers and what he's been able to do as a true freshman. It's really astounding.

"Jeff Pendergraph is playing great. Ty Abbott's an outstanding shooter. He really played well on the road in their last road trip to Northern California. So it will be a very, very tough challenge for us.''

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