UCLA's Tough Love
Bruins Storm Into 3rd Straight Final Four Behind Freshman Center: UCLA 76, Xavier 57

By Eric Prisbell
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 30, 2008

PHOENIX, March 29 -- UCLA players saluted their boisterous fans and cut down a net Saturday, performing the usual acts of a team that just earned a berth in the Final Four. But freshman Kevin Love noticed a different demeanor among the veterans who had already played in consecutive Final Fours.

"Some of the guys weren't as excited because they had a sour taste in their mouths" after the last two years, Love said. "Hopefully, we can take it all the way this year."

Top-seeded UCLA beat third-seeded Xavier, 76-57, to advance to a third consecutive Final Four and lift the program to a rarefied perch in college basketball. Only Duke, Kentucky and Michigan State have also reached three straight Final Fours since the NCAA tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985. But each of those schools won a national title during their respective tournament runs. UCLA lost to Florida in each of the past two Final Fours, and, as Love reminded reporters Saturday, national championship banners are the ones cherished in Westwood.

When asked whether the season would be a bust if UCLA did not win the national title, Love said, "That's a really hard question to answer."

UCLA Coach Ben Howland believes this year's team is "by far" better than his last two because of the presence of the Love, who was named the West Region's most outstanding player after scoring 19 points and grabbing 10 rebounds against Xavier. After the game, the crowd serenaded Love with chants of "One more year! One more year!" imploring Love to postpone a jump to the NBA. Love declined to speculate on the future, instead choosing to talk about a dominant defensive performance by the Bruins, who held Xavier to 36.2 percent shooting and dominated the rebounding battle, 37-28. The Bruins went on a 14-0 run early in the second half, holding Xavier without a field goal for six minutes.

UCLA basketball is not always aesthetically pleasing, but it is effective. At one point in the first half, UCLA had as many turnovers (eight) as field goals. Instead of overpowering Xavier with glitzy, fast-paced offense, the Bruins took control of the game largely because of deflections, blocked shots and critical baskets.

The game's defining sequence occurred early in the second half when Xavier's Derrick Brown made an errant pass. UCLA's Russell Westbrook jumped into the passing lane to grab the ball, streaked up court, scored a layup and drew a foul. He missed the free throw, but Love corralled the rebound and flipped a pass out to Darren Collison, who sank a three-pointer. Collison finished with 19 points.

"They had a way about them as if they had been here before," Xavier Coach Sean Miller said. "Very patient on offense, they don't crack easily."

Western Kentucky rallied in the second half of Thursday's game against UCLA with the help of its pressing defense, which turned the game into a scramble. Xavier, the Atlantic 10's best defensive team, does not typically press, but the Musketeers were forced to employ full-court pressure facing a 20-point deficit.

Xavier closed to within 12, but UCLA turned to Westbrook and Collison to put the finishing touches on the victory. Westbrook sank a three-pointer from the corner to extend the lead back to 17 points with a little less than nine minutes remaining.

Xavier's three starting seniors -- Josh Duncan, Stanley Burrell and Drew Lavender -- left the game in the final minutes to a standing ovation. Burrell and Lavender bowed their heads and embraced teammates as they marched toward the bench.

Xavier initially put Duncan, the team's best offensive player, on Love, but quickly doubled him with Brown when Love caught the ball early in the game. Love committed an early foul on the perimeter, leaving him vulnerable defensively. Brown easy drove the baseline on Love for one of his four dunks in the first half.

Xavier remained close early because of 10 points from Brown in the first half and nine offensive rebounds.

The Bruins extended their lead to 31-22 when Luc Richard Mbah a Moute scored a put-back following Josh Shipp's errant three-point attempt. But Xavier quickly answered when Burrell lobbed an above-the-rim alley-oop pass up for Brown, who converted the dunk.

UCLA made playing in the Final Four an annual rite four decades ago, when the Bruins won nine national titles in 10 years between 1964 and 1973.

The Bruins are making a Final Four trip a tradition this decade as well, but the school's 12th national title remains elusive.

Addressing the partisan UCLA crowd at U.S. Airways Center after the game, Howland twice reminded the Bruin faithful: "There is still work to be done."