Glass cuts Bramlett after he shatters a backboard

Karen C. Tully Arizona Daily Wildcat Junior center A.J. Bramlett injured his left arm in practice yesterday when he was cut by glass from a shattered backboard. Bramlett will play against Oregon tomorrow.

Bramlett was cut by the flying glass and had to be taken to University Medical Center, where he received stitches in his left arm.

He will make the trip to Oregon on Thursday.

Through 12 conference games, the Arizona men's basketball team currently sits just one game out of first. While the team is not surprised with their position, they are a little bewildered as to how they arrived there.

The Wildcats currently rank first in the Pacific 10 Conference in rebounding, scoring and turnover margin, while holding up the defensive end with a conference-high 11.6 steals per game.

"The two areas I was most concerned with when the season began were rebounding and defense," UA head coach Lute Olson said. "But right now, those two areas are our strengths."

Olson's lack of confidence in both areas was due to the team's youth and lack of size. With Arizona's front-court consisting of two sophomores, a freshman and a junior college transfer, the Wildcat coaching staff was just hoping for a solid effort on the backboards.

"With such an inexperienced front-line, we weren't really sure how the team would perform on the boards," Olson said. "I think we've used our quickness and jumping ability to keep balls alive so we can capitalize on the loose balls. We also have been able to rotate four guys in those two spots to try and keep guys fresh."

The only category that Olson is disappointed in is the team's field goal percentage currently at 45.8 percent, fifth in the conference.

"With our defensive pressure and steals, you would think that our shooting percentage would be much higher," Olson said. "But, I think the fact that we take so many three-pointers tends to drop our overall shooting (percentage)."

UA junior forward Bennett Davison has had trouble breaking into the scoring column lately.

He has been held to just five points and three rebounds per game in the last five.

"I think when you get into the heart of conference play, teams' scouting becomes a lot better and people tend to find your weakness," Olson said. "Bennett's strength is his ability to run the floor and use his jumping ability, and I think teams are adapting to that."

While Davison has been held at bay in scoring, he is still a vital part of Arizona's defensive pressure.

"Some games you just don't have good offensive nights," Davison said. "So then I have to concentrate on playing hard defense and hitting the boards."

When Arizona travels to MacArthur Court on Thursday to face Oregon, they will try to continue their streak of five-straight wins in Eugene.

While MacArthur Court is considered one of the toughest places to play in the conference, Arizona has had little trouble with the Ducks in recent years.

"The first thing that sticks out with that statistic is that we had Damon Stoudamire for four years, and he wouldn't let us lose," said Olson regarding Stoudamire's ability to perform in his home state. "But overall, I think that our guys really enjoy playing in the rowdy, loud environment. I think that's why we sometimes don't do well in USC, because of their quiet arena."