PREVIEW CAPSULES

UCLA (3-2) vs. Oklahoma St. (4-1)

4:30 p.m. Channel 9, KXTA (1150)

* Oklahoma State: The 4-1 Cowboys like to argue they aren’t a purely defensive team, but recent victories over Marquette (57-54) and Hawaii (58-37) don’t help their case much. This is the school where Hank Iba once coached and the team adheres to time-honored concepts of deliberate offense and tenacious play when the opponent has the ball. That doesn’t mean, however, that Coach Eddie Sutton doesn’t look for easy baskets off his defense. Sutton has a lineup that is short on stars but boasts four starters from last season’s 22-7 club that lost to Duke in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Most of the scoring punch comes from the backcourt, where senior Adrian Peterson averages 18.6 points and junior Joe Adkins averages 13. Another junior, Tustin High alumnus Doug Gottlieb, is the Cowboys’ playmaker with 9.4 assists a game.

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UCLA: Forget the 109-67 thumping of Delaware State on Wednesday night, the 3-2 Bruins are looking to wipe out the less pleasant memory of recent losses to Maryland and Kentucky at the Puerto Rico Shootout. Coach Steve Lavin saw signs of hope in the Kentucky game. He saw a UCLA team that worked hard on defense and, when necessary, showed more patience on offense. With freshmen Dan Gadzuric and Jerome Moiso settling into their roles, the Bruins want to pass the ball inside more often, which could open up the outside shot for the guards and for freshman forward JaRon Rush. Baron Davis, continuing his comeback, may add a few minutes to the 16 he played in the last game.

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Key to the game: Can Oklahoma State slow down explosive UCLA? If so, the young and uneven Bruins must continue to show they can get points from Moiso and their half-court offense. Lavin will probably turn to sophomore guards Earl Watson and Ryan Bailey for a steadying influence.