I was home in San Jose this weekend when the UCLA men’s basketball team finished off a sweep of Utah and Colorado by trouncing the Buffaloes, 77-60, on Saturday afternoon.

Something about going home is always energizing, which is a bit ironic considering most of my time this weekend was spent engorging.

Debating which of her favorite son’s favorite meals to make for dinner, my favorite mom couldn’t make up her mind and just made both. It was quite the welcome. And I’m not even prodigal.

The Bruins were similarly productive in their return to the home white jerseys after what was nearly a three-week hiatus. Victories over Utah and Colorado put UCLA at 4-0 at home in conference play, which is an easy statistic to chuckle at given that two of those wins came at the Honda Center in Anaheim and the other two came at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, closer to Westwood but not exactly where the heart is.

Sometimes, though, the idea of home transcends the tangibility of it. Maybe the white jerseys are lighter and thus the players can run faster and jump higher. I don’t know.

I do know that over the last few weeks, two of UCLA’s most productive players have been the Wear twins, both now fixtures in the starting lineup and looking more and more comfortable in the wake of transferring to Westwood from North Carolina to be closer to home.

Whatever added boost they get from being back in Los Angeles, I can relate to on practically an identical scale. There’s been a basketball hoop in my driveway for as long as I can remember, and I have never lost a game of HORSE there, though there have been a few too-close calls. The home factor, though, tends to win out. The day I lose in HORSE on that driveway is the day I move to Canada and pick up curling.

The year hasn’t been easy on the UCLA program by any stretch of the imagination, but this group can find some satisfaction if it begins to cultivate a mind-set of being tough to beat at home.

With the move back into renovated Pauley Pavilion on tap for the 2012-2013 season, establishing a don’t-lose-at-home reputation would generate some awfully positive momentum heading into the new digs.

Finishing this season in that way would be even more impressive given how unenthusiastic people still are about the L.A. Sports Arena.

Asked just last week in advance of the Utah game if he had missed the place, coach Ben Howland knowingly grinned and responded with:

“I’m really excited with how well the new Pauley is progressing.”

That’s been Howland’s modus operandi all along. Keep a long-term perspective on the gym situation and avoid dwelling on the fact that his temporary home is an outdated facility that doesn’t excite too many people.

Still, despite a hiccup here and there, the Sports Arena has done a decent job of filling the void.

And even if students are unwilling to commit to a five-hour round trip on a Thursday night, they’ll start to notice if the Bruins can continue to string together wins at their downtown dwelling.

And when Pauley reopens, they’ll be that much more excited about the prospect of going to basketball games.

Sometimes just the knowledge of something being “home” is enough.

Sometimes seeing familiar faces is enough to establish a particular comfort level.

Sometimes you don’t appreciate home enough until you’ve got the white jersey on or until you’ve got a combination of fettuccine and chicken wings double-teaming your stomach.

If you want to be the next HORSE victim at the Eshtate, email Eshoff at reshoff@media.ucla.edu.