UCLA vs. Memphis - Tourney Game Preview

By KS Wong
Bruin Basketball Report

UCLA faces off against Memphis in a Final Four semifinal contest in San Antonio's Alamodome on Saturday afternoon.

For the first time in NCAA men's basketball history, all four No.1 seeds earned a spot in the Final Four. North Carolina plays Kansas in the second game of the double-header on Saturday.

The Tigers (37-1) advanced to the NCAA Tournament Final Four with a victory over Texas in the South Regional final. Chris Douglas Roberts scored a game-high 25 and freshman Derrick Rose added 21 points and 9 assists as Memphis routed Texas, 85-67. The game was never close with the Tigers dominating the Longhorns on both the perimeter and interior.

Riding an eleven game winning streak into the semifinal contest, the Tigers have been playing excellent basketball in the tournament. Aside from its gaudy win over Texas, the Tigers earned wins over Texas-Arlington 87-63, Mississippi State 77-74, and Michigan State 92-74.

Memphis went 16-0 in Conference-USA action and easily won its conference tournament title.

The Tigers are one of five teams in NCAA Division I history to have 37 wins in a single season, an NCAA Division I record. Of course, if UCLA (35-3) wins out in the tournament, they would also finish with a record 37 wins.

Memphis and UCLA have played four common opponents in 2007-08. The Tigers were 4-0 versus the common foes, while the Bruins went 4-2 against the same opponents.

Memphis vs Michigan St., (N), 92-74, win
UCLA vs. Michigan St, (N), 68-63, win

Memphis vs. Texas ,(N), 85-67, win
UCLA vs. Texas (H), 63-61, loss

Memphis vs. USC, (N), 62-58, OT win
UCLA vs. USC, (H), 72-63, loss
UCLA vs. USC, (A), 56-46, win

Memphis vs. Arizona, (H), 73-63, win
UCLA vs. Arizona, (H), 82-60, win
UCLA vs. Arizona, (A), 68-66, win

UCLA brings its own 14-game win streak into the Final Four. The Bruins advanced with wins over Mississippi Valley State, Texas A&M, Western Kentucky and Xavier.

Against Xavier in the West Regional final last Saturday, four Bruins scored in double-figures with Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Kevin Love combining for 23 rebounds to help UCLA overpower a solid Musketeer team, 76-57.

Memphis has an high-octane offense that fast-breaks at will. In the halfcourt, they utilize a dribble-drive motion offense in which players try to breakdown their defender off the dribble for either a shot in the paint, a backdoor pass, or kick-out to an open three-point shooter.

In Derrick Rose, Antonio Anderson and Chris Douglas-Roberts, the Tigers have three excellent ballhandlers who can penetrate and breakdown defenses. A key to stopping Memphis is preventing dribble penetration by their guards who are proficient at creating high-percentage shot opportunities for their team.

Memphis averages 80.3 points per game on 46.9% shooting. Although not spectacular from beyond the arc, the Tigers shoot a respectable 35.1% on three-pointers. When the Tigers are hitting their outside shots in games, they are very difficult to beat.

One achilles for Memphis this season has been its free-throw shooting. For the season, they are making just 60.7% from the foul line, although against Texas on Saturday they made 30 of 36 free throws for 83%.

While most people pay attention to Memphis' impressive offensive statistics, its the team's defense and rebounding which has enabled the Tigers to advance so far in the tournament.

On the season, Memphis allows opponents just 61.6 points on a stingy 38.8% field goal shooting. The Tigers utilize primarily an aggressive man-to-man defense that pressures the ball and plays the passing lanes. The team averages 8.4 steals and forces teams into almost 16 turnovers a contest.

In the battle on the backboards, the Tigers dominate opponents with a +6.7 rebounding margin per game.

UCLA has some tough match-up problems against Memphis' over-sized backcourt.

A guaranteed top-five NBA pick later this summer, freshman Derrick Rose (6'3, 205, Fr) is a big key to the Tigers' high-scoring offense. A quick, yet muscular point-guard, Rose is averaging 14.6 points on 48.1% shooting. Although he can hit from three (34.7%), Rose's game is off dribble-penetration. His speed and strength allows him to overpower smaller defenders, including Texas' D.J Augustine last Saturday. Rose also averages 4.7 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game.

UCLA's Darren Collison will likely get the starting assignment against the bigger Rose. Collison needs to do a good job pressuring the ball while at the same time preventing Rose from getting by him and into the paint. UCLA's big men will likely rotate to help out Collison off Rose's drives to the basket but they need to be aware of Rose's ability to hit the open man underneath.

AP First-Team All-American Chris Douglas-Roberts (6'7, 200, Jr) leads the team in scoring with 17.7 points a game. The junior wing shoots 54.5% from the field and 41.6% from beyond the arc.

Excellent off the dribble, big and strong enough to create his own shot, makes Douglas-Roberts one of the nation's top players this season. Russell Westbrook will get the initial assignment against Douglas-Roberts. He needs to do a good job denying him the ball. If Douglas-Robert's size proves to be too much for the 6'3 Westbrook, then we may see Luc Richard Mbah a Moute have a turn in guarding him.

Swingman Antonio Anderson (6'6, 210, Jr) has the ability to drive and slash to the basket and has improved his three-point range. He is averaging 8.4 points and 3.5 assists per game.

Josh Shipp will get the inital call against Anderson. Shipp needs to do a good job checking him from going backdoor and closing out quickly on his three-point shot.

Veteran big man Joey Dorsey (6'9, 265, Sr) can be a dominant player inside, especially on the defensive end. He averages 7.1 points on 65% shooting - mostly baskets off the offensive glass, and a team-leading 9.6 rebounds per game while contributing almost two blocks per contest.

Dorsey has the size and physicality to give UCLA's Kevin Love a tough time in the paint, although, the Tigers big man tends to be foul prone and Love has an innate ability to get opposing players into foul trouble with an array of shot fakes and post moves underneath.

At the same time, Memphis has a stable of other good, solid frontline men who can switch off and utilize their fouls on Love in an attempt to slow him down.

Starting forward Robert Dozier (6'9, 215, Jr) is a very athletic and active big man. He averages 9.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. An excellent help defender and shotblocker, Dozier averages 1.8 blocks a game.

Off the bench Shawn Taggert (6'10, 230, So) and Pierre Niles (6'8, 310, So) give the Tigers additional depth along the front line.

Taggert averages 6.0 points and 4.1 rebounds in just 14.3 minutes a game. A long and athletic player, Taggert has improved his offense play over the course of the season. Niles gives the Tigers a very wide body to put in front of Kevin Love at moments during the game.

Memphis announced on Thursday that back-up senior point guard Andre Allen (5'10, 205, Jr) had been suspended for this weekend's Final Four in San Antonio for a violation of team policy.

His absence leaves just sophomores Willie Kemp (6'2, 175, So) and Doneal Mack (6'5, 175, So) in the backcourt off the bench. Both Kemp and Mack give the team excellent shooters from the perimeter with each hitting over 37% from beyond the arc.

Keys to a Bruin victory on Saturday will be winning the battle on the boards, controlling the game's tempo, and playing solid transition defense against Memphis. In addition, UCLA needs to do a good job defensively of pressuring the ballhandler on the perimeter while staying in front of him to discourage dribble-penetration into the paint.

It will be a tough game for both teams, but when there are still four No.1 seeds left in the tournament, nothing less should be expected.

Game Snapshot
NCAA Final Four Semifinal
April 5, 2008
UCLA vs. Memphis
Place: San Antonio, TX
Time: 3:00 PM PT
TV: CBS

(photo credit: AP)

UCLA vs. Memphis - Tourney Game Preview

Dribble Drive Motion offense

said, "as far as I know, neither has played a second of zone defense this year. They are both man-to-man teams. Both teams really guard you. The strength of both teams is defense and rebounding."

Floyd said one of the things he'll watch for in the game is defensive matchups.

"It will be fascinating," he said. "Does Darren Collison guard Rose or does Russell Westbrook? Will Josh Shipp or Luc Richard Mbah a Moute guard Douglas-Roberts? Matchups will be intriguing through the course of the game."

Memphis averages 80.3 points a game, and John Calipari's Tigers have gained a reputation as a fastbreaking, high-octane offensive team. "That won't happen against UCLA," Floyd said. "I don't see that happening, Memphis scoring 80 or 90 points."

While UCLA and Memphis play similar defensive styles and put a premium on rebounding, Floyd said offensively the Bruins and Tigers are different.

"Memphis beats teams off the dribble," Floyd said. "They don't set a lot of screens. They really don't even run a lot of screen and roll. They just try to drive at you and create opportunities to get high-percentage shots.

"So far they've been able to run through the tournament against teams that don't have the size, strength or rebounding ability of UCLA."

Keating said what he sees in UCLA this time is a different sort of emotional intensity from two years ago. Then the Bruins overcame a 17-point deficit and scored the final 11 points to beat Gonzaga 73-71.
As was the case two years ago, Keating said, UCLA will try to limit Memphis' transition baskets and not give the Tigers second-chance points. "One thing Memphis has now," Keating said, "is the ability to score at a high rate of speed because they have three ballhandlers on the court and that is difficult to defend."

The ballhandlers are Anderson, Douglas-Roberts and Rose.

"Rose is so dynamic and strong," Keating said. "The other guys have two years under their belts."

In the 50-45 loss the Tigers had only five assists on their 17 baskets. This year Memphis has five players with more than 60 assists.

And Keating noted that two years ago UCLA had two fierce perimeter defenders -- 6-5 Arron Afflalo and 6-6 Cedric Bozeman -- plus an active, athletic 7-foot center in Ryan Hollins. That combination quickly frustrated the young Tigers, who seemed to have no backup plan when their guards couldn't score or create off the dribble.

"It’s a unique way they play; they have that Vance Walberg -– who was the head coach at Pepperdine and a very successful junior college coach up in Fresno -– system and that system works really well when you have really good players, as most systems will. But it’s an unorthodox style of offense and very difficult to defend. There’s not a lot of screens and it’s all about penetration to draw and kick. There’s a lot of hand-offs, lot of pitches from behind and they also do like a moving screen; he’ll pass from guard to guard and then he’ll try to run and just clip the guy as he’s driving. Invariably, when you have a guy almost run to you, you kind of flinch and move, so there is no foul. But that’s what they do when you study them."

UCLA vs. Xavier - Tourney Game Preview

By KS Wong
Bruin Basketball Report

Top-seed UCLA faces a tough Elite 8 match-up when it faces No. 3 seed Xavier on Saturday afternoon in Phoenix.

UCLA (34-3) held on to beat Western Kentuky, 88-78, to advance on Thursday. Three Bruins recorded double-doubles; Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook, and James Keefe. Junior Darren Collison had one of his worst games of the season, scoring 4 points and fouling out with five minutes remaining in the contest.

The Musketeers (30-6) advanced to the West Regional Final with a 79-75 overtime win over West Virginia. Senior Josh Duncan led the way with a career-high 26 points and five rebounds.

Xavier was 14-2 in the 2008 Atlantic 10 Conference regular season race, winning its second straight Atlantic 10 Regular Season Championship.

The West Regional Final game will feature two teams that resemble each other in many ways.

Similar to UCLA, Xavier plays a tough man-to-man defense and has physical players up front and off the bench. They are not a gambling defense but do a good job preventing dribble penetration and staying in front of their opponent.

Xavier allowed just 63.1 points per game on 40.6% shooting. The Musketeers held a +5.4 rebounding margin per contest this season.

Offensively, Xavier features solid half-court sets and excellent three-point shooters, and have the ability and personnel to score in transition when the opportunity arises. They averaged 75.6 points per game while shooting 47.8% from the field and an efficient 39.6% from three-point distance.

Xavier is a senior laden team and has five players averaging in double figures in scoring and a sixth that is close: senior Josh Duncan leads the way at 12.4 points per game. Senior Drew Lavender is second at 10.9 ppg, followed by sophomore Derrick Brown (10.8 ppg.), juniors C.J. Anderson (10.8 ppg.), B.J. Raymond (10.1 ppg.) and senior Stanley Burrell (9.8 ppg.).

Josh Duncan (6'9, 238, Sr) has earned game MVP honors for Xavier in all three of its 2008 NCAA Tournament wins. In the three games combined, he has scored a team-high 20.7 points and grabbed 6.0 rebounds.

Duncan can post up inside and can step out and shoot effectively out to the three-point line. He is shooting 50.2% from the field and a team-high 42.9% on three-pointers.

6'8 junior forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute will get the starting defensive assignment against Duncan. This is a good match-up for UCLA to have one of its best defenders on Duncan. However, Mbah a Moute has been hobbled by a sprained left ankle and was wearing a boot yesterday. He states his ankle is fine and is ready to go 100% on Saturday.

At point-guard, Xavier has speedy Drew Lavender (5'7, 153, Sr). A dangerous three-point shooter, he leads the team in assists with 4.5 per game. UCLA's Darren Collison will need to keep Lavender in front of him and out of the paint on the offensive end.

Guard Stanley Burrell (6'3, 120, Sr) was the 2007-08 Atlantic 10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year and is a candidate for National Defensive Player of the Year honors. He averages 9.8 points and is also a threat from beyond the arc, shooting 39.1%. Burrell will likely shadow Collison on the defensive end since he usually guards the opponent's best perimeter offensive player.

Derrick Brown (6'8, 225, So) gives Xavier some size along the front line. He averages 10.8 points on 60.4% shooting. Brown is the team's leading rebounder at 6.6 per game, he has a good midrange game and finishes strong at the rim. Kevin Love will likely be matched-up against Brown.

C.J. Anderson (6'6, 220, Jr) is a rugged player who averages 6.0 rebounds and is a solid defender. He scores 10.8 points on 52.2% shooting. Anderson will likely lock up with UCLA's Josh Shipp for most of the contest.

The Musketeers get solid contributions from its bench of Jason Love (6'9, 225, So), B.J. Raymond (6'6, 226, Jr), and Dante Jackson (6'5, 205, Fr).

Love gives Xavier size and a physical player off the bench especially to help counter Kevin Love. He averages 6.0 points and 5.6 rebounds in just 18.0 minutes per game.

Raymond gives the team instant offense and is deadly from beyond the arc, shooting 41.3% on three-pointers, while Jackson gives another long-range shooter and solid defender on the wing.

The Bruins will not be able to play a 20 minute game against Xavier, as it did against Western Kentucky, and expect to come away with a win. The Musketeers are much too deep and talented at every spot on the floor.

With an excellent defense and a go-to-scorer in Josh Duncan, the Musketeers are a legitimate contender for the NCAA championship this year.

(photo credit: Xavier Athletics)

UCLA vs. Western Kentucky - Tourney Game Preview

By KS Wong
Bruin Basketball Report

Top-seed UCLA, playing in its third consecutive Sweet 16, takes on No.12 seed Western Kentucky on Thursday in a Western Region semifinal match-up in Phoenix Arizona.

The Bruins rallied behind freshman Kevin Love's 19 points and 11 rebounds to defeat a tough Texas A&M team, 51-49, on Saturday to advance to the next round.

One of the Cinderella stories of the tourney this year, Western Kentucky is making its first NCAA tournament appearance in five years. They upset No.5 seed Drake, 101-99, in the first round when guard Ty Rogers hit a 26-footer at the buzzer. In the second round, the Hilltoppers defeated No.13 seed University of San Diego, 72-63, to advance to the Sweet 16 behind senior Courtney Lee's 29 points.

The Hilltoppers (29-6) earned an NCAA bid after winning the Sun Belt Conference tournament championship. They had finished behind South Alabama during regular season conference play.

In nonconference play this year, the Hilltoppers narrowly missed a chance at signature wins earlier in the season, losing by three points to Gonzaga and bowing to Tennessee by six. They did defeat Michigan in Ann Arbor, 73-69.

Although known for its offense prowess this season, Western Kentucky is also an excellent defensive club. They will typically press full-court and double-team at almost every opportunity in order to create turnovers or pressure teams into speeding into a pace they're not comfortable with.

The Hilltoppers allowed just 66.1 points per game while holding opponents to just 42.1% field goal shooting. They average almost eight steals and force opponents into over 18 turnovers per contest. The Hilltoppers forced turnovers on 24 percent of opponents' possessions, 12th best in the nation.

It will be interesting if Western Kentucky employs its press against UCLA or if it'll be successful. The Bruins are difficult to press against since they have multiple good ballhandlers on the floor in Darren Collison, Russell Westbrook, and Josh Shipp, and a good passing big man in Kevin Love who can pass over the top of presses.

While the Hilltoppers will attempt to speed up the pace of the game, UCLA Coach Ben Howland will counter by controlling the tempo with a disciplined halfcourt set.

In addition, the Bruins have a huge advantage in the low post with Kevin Love and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute underneath. No doubt, UCLA will try to score in transition when the opportunity arises, however, they will attempt to get the ball inside as often as possible for the high percentage shot.

Mbah a Moute had an MRI on his left ankle Monday and the test results came back negative yesterday.

Western Kentucky is pin-point accurate from three-point distance. As a team, they shoot 40% on three-pointers, and four players shoot over 40% from beyond the arc. The Hilltoppers score 77.3 points per game on 47.6% shooting from the field.

The team is led by an experienced, senior backcourt of Courtney Lee, Tyrone Brazelton, and Ty Rogers.

The Hilltoppers' offense usually culminates in a spectacular play by senior star Courtney Lee (6'5, 200, Sr). A superb shot creator who's polished his game over the past four years to become a probable NBA draft pick this summer, Lee was named the Sun Belt Conference player of the year

Lee leads the team in scoring with 20.5 points on 49% field goal shooting and 40.4% from beyond the arc. He also knows how to get to the foul line often where he's a deadly 82.5%.

UCLA's Russell Westbrook will get the opportunity to lock down Lee first, although Mbah a Moute will likely get the opportunity as well. Perhaps the best way to defend Lee is to deny him the ball, since once he gets it in his hands, he is very difficult to stop.

Coach Ben Howland calls WKU's point guard Tyrone Brazelton (6'0, 180, Sr) the quickest guard the Bruins have faced all season. He is usually the one getting the ball to Lee, but he also has a solid pull up jumper out to the three-point arc.

Brazelton averages 13.9 points and hits on 41.7% of his three-pointers. He is also very good scoring or dishing out to teammates off the dribble. Darren Collison will have a tough challenge keeping Brazelton in front of him. Collison has been burned by quick, physical penetrating guards at times this season.

The Hilltoppers will no doubt spread the floor with their three-point snipers, and if Collison is unable to control Brazelton's dribble penetration, the Bruins will have a difficult time on the defensive end tomorrow. Recall, Washington's Justin Dentmon did a similar number on Collison in the Huskies' upset win against UCLA in Seattle this season.

The team's third senior guard is Ty Rogers (6'3, 195, Sr). He is another deadly shooter from the perimeter, hitting on 37.4% on his three-pointers. Rogers is the type of player who always finds himself around the ball and is a solid defender.

Josh Shipp will be matched-up against Rogers. Shipp is recovering from a strep throat infection. He worked hard earlier this week with Coach Howland to improve his three-point shot. Shipp was held scoreless in the last game against Texas A&M and the Bruins will definitely need production from him on Thursday.

Jeremy Evans (6'9, 190, So) starts at one forward spot, a long, rail-thin player, he is effective out to the three-point line. Evans shoots 42.1% from beyond the arc. He also leads the team in rebounding with 5.2 a game and averages 1.5 blocked shots.

At the other forward position is D.J Magley (6'9, 260, Fr) who will likely start off guarding UCLA's Kevin Love. However, Magley tends to be foul prone ,and unfortunately for the Hilltoppers, they are very thin up front. They only have Boris Siakam (6'7, 225, Sr) in the rotation to back-up Magley.

While Western Kentucky lacks depth in size, they have no shortage of three-point shooters coming off the bench with A.J Slaughter (6'3, 180, So) and Orlando Mendez-Valdez (6'1, 180, Jr). Slaughter, the team's third leading scorer at 7.8 points, shoots 44% on three-pointers and Mendez-Valdez hits on 39.4%.

Not surprisingly, a third of the Hilltoppers' shot attempts are three-pointers. UCLA will need to do a solid job closing out on shooters since almost everyone on the floor for Western Kentucky will be proficient long-range shooters. In addition, the Bruins will need to do a good job stopping dribble penetration by Brazelton who is very good at kicking out to the open shooter on the perimeter.

UCLA has the obvious size and talent advantage over Western Kentucky, however, the key to the game will be tempo. If UCLA is able to control the tempo of the game with its defensive pressure, and on the offensive end, getting the ball inside to the bigs, they should win. But this is a very talented and experienced Western Kentucky team, and as it showed against Drake, they know how to win.

Game Snapshot
NCAA Tournament Sweet 16
UCLA vs Western Kentucky
Time: 6:40PM
Place: U.S. Airways Center, Phoenix
TV: CBS
Radio: AM 570

(photo credit: WKU Athletics)

UCLA vs. Texas A&M - Tourney Game Preview

By KS Wong
Bruin Basketball Report

After easily disposing of its opening round opponent, top-seed UCLA gets its first test of the tournament when it faces No.9 seed Texas A&M on Saturday night at the Honda Center in Anaheim.

UCLA (32-3) downed Mississippi Valley State, 70-29, on Thursday to advance to the second-round. Freshman Kevin Love scored 20 points and grabbed 9 rebounds as the Bruins held the Delta Devils to an anemic 19.7% field goal shooting.

The Aggies (25-10) advanced to the second-round by defeating No.8 seed BYU, 67-62. Texas A&M junior Josh Carter led the Aggies with a career-high 26 points and making 6 of 10 three-pointers. Senior center Joseph Jones added 10 points and 12 rebounds.

UCLA and Texas A&M have faced two common opponents this season. The Aggies beat Washington at home, 77-63, and lost to Arizona, 78-67, in Tempe.

The teams are familiar with each other and the arena setting. The Bruins edged the Aggies, 65-62, last season in the Wooden Classic at the Honda Center.

Texas A&M has undergone some changes since last season, although much of its roster remains the same. Head Coach Billy Gillispie left the Aggies after last season to join Kentucky and Mark Turgeon from Wichita State was hired in his place. Acie Law, now in the NBA, was the team's captain and leading scorer.

The 2007-08 Texas A&M team misses the leadership and point-guard play of Law, however, its a team with more size and depth on the front line.

Similar to last season, the Aggies are a very physical team, like the Bruins, they bump cutters and hedge screens aggressively and play a tough man-to-man defense. In addition, they are an excellent rebounding club, out-rebounding teams by +7.2 margin per game.

UCLA's 6'9 freshman star Kevin Love should expect to get a lot of attention from the Aggies who sport four players taller than 6'9 in its regular rotation. Its expected they will expend all their fouls to battle Love underneath.

Center Joseph Jones (6'9, 255, Sr) has not had the type of senior season some expected of him. Inconsistent most of the season, he's averaging 10.4 points on 48.9% field goal shooting, both well off his career numbers. Jones is averaging just 5.3 rebounds in 24.3 minutes. However when his game is on and he's active, Jones can be difficult for an opponent to defend. He possesses a good short-range jumper and can finish strong around the basket.

Starting at power forward is another 6'9 big man, Bryan Davis (6'9, 250, So) who is averaging 8.7 points on 52.6% shooting and 5.0 rebounds. One of the team's top shot blockers at 1.1 per game in 22.7 minutes, Davis is a good help defender who will work to keep Kevin Love in check.

Off the bench, the Aggies bring in two even longer players in DeAndre Jordan (7'0, 260, Fr) and Chinemelu Elonu (6'10, 235, So).

Jordan, a high school phenom, was expected to be an impact player this season, however, he has fallen out of favor recently with Coach Turgeon, averaging just 5 minutes over the last three games. At 7'0 and wide wing-span, he can change shots in the paint. He's averaging 8.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks a game. Jordan and Kevin Love are good friends and often faced each other in AAU play.

UCLA's 6'8 forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute sat out his second straight game on Thursday due to a sprained left ankle. He has been working out at full speed in practice and will be in the starting line-up against the Aggies. The Bruins will certainly need his size, along with Lorenzo Mata-Real, Alfred Aboya, and James Keefe, to help Love manage play underneath.

Texas A&M's leading scorer Josh Carter (6'7, 200, Jr) is averaging 12.3 points and hits on 37.9% from beyond the arc. He's a streaky outside shooter who can carry his team offensively, as he did against BYU with 6 of 10 three-pointers. Carter can also slash and get into the paint to finish around the basket.

UCLA's Russell Westbrook will likely get the tough assignment of shadowing Carter. Despite giving up four inches in height, Westbrook has the physical skills to keep the ball out of Carter's hands and strength to prevent him from getting into the key. If Westbrook is unable to deal with Carter's size advantage then perhaps Coach Howland could use Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, but his gimpy ankle may challenge him to keep up with Carter.

In the backcourt the Aggies sport two combo guards in Donald Sloan (6'3, 205, So) and Dominique Kirk (6'4, 185, Sr). Kirk averages 8.6 points and 3.5 assists. He is the team's top three-point percentage shooter at a solid 42.2%. Sloan averages 9.4 points and 3.5 assists. Both players take good care of the ball although not stellar playmakers. Darren Collison's pressure on the ball will be a key to UCLA's success tomorrow.

This will be a defensive slugfest similar to last year's Wooden classic. The Bruins need to check the Aggies best offensive skilled player, Josh Carter. Usually as Carter goes, so does the Aggies' offense.

It will be extremely physical underneath, and Kevin Love is expecting it.

"Coach Howland said last year was an all-out battle, all-out war against them," Love said. "So I'm just going to have to go in there, and even if I get fouled hard, whether it is a flagrant foul, I'm just going to have to keep my mind on the game and not feed into that stuff."

UCLA will need to bring its "A" game tomorrow from the start with tough defensive pressure on the perimeter and good rotations down low.

Texas A&M's defense-alone can keep the Aggies in contention all game long, and if it's offense comes together then they can become a very tough match-up for the Bruins tomorrow.

Game Snapshot
Second Round NCAA Tournament
UCLA vs Texas A&M
Time: 6:15 PM PT
Place: Honda Center, Anaheim CA
TV: CBS
Radio: TBA

(photo credit: Aggies Athletics)

UCLA vs. Mississippi Valley State - Game Preview

By KS Wong
Bruin Basketball Report

Top-seed UCLA (31-3) opens NCAA tournament action against No.16 seed Mississippi Valley State (MVS) in a West regional first-round contest in Anaheim.

The Bruins won the Pac-10 tournament championship last week defeating Stanford 67-64. Darren Collison scored 28 points to help UCLA to a three-game series sweep over Stanford.

In the championship game, UCLA center Kevin Love strained his back which limited his action during play. Love has practiced the past couple of days and although the back is still sore he is expected to play on Thursday without any limitations.

Forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute sat out the championship game against Stanford. He re-injured his left ankle in the semifinal game against USC. UCLA Coach Ben Howland said Wednesday afternoon that he thought Mbah a Moute's ankle had recovered enough and stated he might start against MVU. If Mbah a Moute does play on Thursday, one would expect it would be in a limited role.

The Delta Devils (17-15) hail out of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The 3,767-student school in Itta Bena, Miss., is best known as the alma mater of Jerry Rice, the NFL's career leading receiver. They earned an NCAA tournament bid after defeating Jackson State, 59-58 to win the SWAC conference tournament and automatic NCAA postseason bid.

UCLA and MVS have had one common opponent this season in Washington State. The Delta Devils were pummeled by the Cougars at Pullman, 71-26. One MVU player, Carl Lucas, scored 18 of his team's 26 points. Moreover, Washington State starters only played half the game with no starter logging more than 22 minutes.

After losing 11 of its first 13 games of the season, MVS settled down and won 15 of its last 19 contests including its last nine games of the season.

MVS is a patient team in the offensive halfcourt and will fastbreak when an opportunity arises. The Delta Devils are shooting just 40.6% from the field and 34.6% on three-pointers while averaging 62.7 points per game. In conference play, their interior size game them an advantage in the paint, however don't expect Delta Devils to do the same against UCLA, MVS will be out-sized and out-talented in the interior against the Bruins.

On the defensive end, MVS plays primarily a man-to-man defense. They allowed 65.8 points on 44.2% shooting. Opponents have outrebounded the Delta Devils by a +1.7 margin.

MVS has a veteran line-up of upperclassmen including three seniors and two juniors.

The team's leading scorer is Carl Lucas (6'5, 210, Sr) who is averaging 12.7 points per game on 44.3% shooting. He is the team's best three-point threat averaging 41.5% from beyond the arc. Lucas was named most valuable player in the SWAC tournament.

Center Larry Cox (6'10, 225, Sr) gives MVS a serious low-post threat. The senior is averaging 12.4 points on 51% shooting. Cox leads the team in rebounding with 8.0 per game.

UCLA has way too much going for it in this opening round game. Not only do the Bruins have an overwhelming talent and statistical advantage over MVS at every spot on the floor, it also has some serious history on its side.

No. 1 seeds are 92-0 against No. 16 seeds in the NCAA tournament.

The winner of this game will play the winner of No.8 BYU versus No.9 Texas A&M. The second round game will be played on Saturday.

Game Snapshot
First Round NCAA Tournament
UCLA vs Mississipi Valley State
Time: approx. 6:50PM PT
Place: Honda Center, Anaheim CA
TV: CBS
Radio: AM 1150

(photo credit: MVS Athletics)

UCLA vs. USC - Pac-10 Game Preview

By KS Wong
Bruin Basketball Report

Amid questions about whether they deserved their win over California last Saturday, UCLA came out yesterday afternoon against the Bears with a mission, leaving no doubt who was the better team.  The Bruins hit a season-best 14 of 25 three-pointers to easily dispose of the Bears, 88-66, to move on to the semifinals against the Trojans of USC on Friday.

Darren Collison scored 19 points and Josh Shipp added 18.  Perhaps the most important piece from yesterday's game was Shipp breaking out of his shooing funk.  The red-shirt junior wing was 6 of 10 from the field and 3 of 6 from beyond the arc.  He was once again shooting with confidence and a bit of a swagger.  If UCLA is to go deep into the tourney, they'll need Shipp hitting consistently from the perimeter to open up the inside and to balance the offense.

Their Friday evening opponent at Staples, the USC Trojans, beat the Arizona State Sun Devils, 59-55, in their second round match-up.  Freshman O.J. Mayo scored a game-high 23 points and handed out 6 assists while the Trojan team dominated the glass outrebounding the Sun Devils, 32-19.

USC's Davon Jefferson and Taj Gibson each had 11 points and nine rebounds.  The Trojan defense stiffened at the end, holding the Sun Devils without a field goal the remaining 9:35 of the game.

The game ended on a controversial play, and once again it centered around a questionable call by a Pac-10 official.

With 17 seconds remaining in the contest and Arizona State trailing by just two points, 57-55, James Harden drove and missed a lay-up, but teammate Jeff Pendergraph was there for the putback slam.  However, the official called a foul on Pendergraph for going over the back of Davon Jefferson for the rebound  Replays show it was perhaps a non-call at best.

The foul call was crucial.   Davon Jefferson converted his two free throw attempts for the final score of the game.

UCLA and USC split their Pac-10 series this season with each team winning on the visitor's floor.  In the first game at Pauley Pavilion, Jefferson poured in 25 points to upset the Bruins, 72-63.  In the game,  both Lorenzo Mata-Real and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute only played in the first half due to concussions they suffered during the contest.

The two teams met again later in February at the Galen Center with UCLA winning in a defensive contest, 56-46.  Kevin Love scored 13 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in the victory.

In each game, the Trojans were effective in spreading the floor offensively and taking the Bruins off the dribble on the perimeter.  UCLA players were somewhat slow to rotate, giving Trojan players, especially Davon Jefferson's, open lanes to drive to the basket.  In the second game, UCLA did a decidedly better job rotating due to the presence of Mbah a Moute on defense.

The Bruins need to make sure they pressure the passer aggressively on the perimeter to prevent easy passes inside, as well as rotate quickly down low.  Teams this season have taken advantage of UCLA's defense when they haven't been as aggressive.

USC's triangle and two zone defense has bothered the Bruin offense.  The Trojan's defensive scheme is geared towards crowding Kevin Love in the paint while closely guarding Darren Collison and Josh Shipp on the perimeter, and leaving Mbah a Moute and Russell Westbrook to make the shots to beat them from the perimeter.

The Bruins did a better job in the second game penetrating and hitting the open shot.  No doubt they will see the same defense from Tim Floyd's Trojans again on Friday.

USC's Daniel Hackett, who was key to the Trojan's first victory, was
injured and did not play in the second match-up.  Since then, he has
returned to the line-up and has been an important part to the Trojans recent play, in particular providing them depth in the backcourt.  Hackett scored 6 points in 35 minutes against Arizona State

As usual against their crosstown rival, this will be a very tough game.  The Trojans are athletic on the perimeter and have 6'8 Taj Gibson down low who seems to always play his best against UCLA.  Nevertheless, if the Bruins come out as aggressive as they did against Cal on both the offensive and defensive ends, they have too much talent and coaching  to be denied a victory and trip to the championship game.

Game Information

No.1 seed UCLA vs No.4 seed USC
Time: 6:00PM PT
Place: Staples Center
TV: FSN
Radio: AM 570

(photo credit: USC Athletics)

UCLA vs. California - Pac-10 Tourney Game Preview

By KS Wong
Bruin Basketball Report

You want them?  You got them.

No.9 seed California rallied to defeat No. 8 seed Washington, 84-81, in the first round of the Pac-10 tournament at Staples Center to earn a Thursday afternoon grudge match against UCLA.

Cal's Patrick Christopher scored a game-high 25 points and All-Pac-10 performer Ryan Anderson added 22 points and 16 rebounds as the Bears rallied from a 12 point deficit to beat the Huskies.  Washington played without injured star Jon Brockman.

Five days ago at Pauley Pavilion, Josh Shipp's miraculous and completely legal shot from behind the backboard with 2.5 seconds propelled UCLA to an 81-80 come from behind victory over California.

Controversy over Shipp's shot has raged for days both locally and nationally about whether the shot should have been allowed. 

Pac-10 coordinator of officials, Bill McCabe criticized the call shortly after the game and said the shot should not have counted since it passed over the plane of the backboard  However, Hank Nichol, the NCAA coordinator of officials, weighed in recently and said the shot was legal since the NCAA ruling prohibiting the ball from going over the backboard only pertained to "passes" and not "shots".

Seemingly the Cal Bears players have chosen to continue to believe they were cheated on the call and have been eagerly awaiting their opportunity to revenge their loss.

Perhaps the Bears should be careful what they wish for.

No.1 seed UCLA (28-3, 16-2) is riding a seven-game winning streak into the tournament.   After sweeping both Bay area schools last week, both victories have been subject to second-guessing of the officiating at the end of the games. Some of the UCLA players are very anxious to answer those critics.

"All that does give us a little extra incentive," Pac-10 Player of the Year Kevin Love said. "We're always looking out for something else to keep us motivated, especially now when it comes to crunch time. Anything we can get, anything that we can dig up and post around the locker room would be good for us."

In addition, the Bruins are still smarting from an early exit from the Pac-10 tournament last year when the same Cal Bears upset the No.1 seed Bruins in overtime costing UCLA a top seed in the NCAA tournament.

"Losing to Cal last year hurt us bad with the seedings," UCLA's Darren Collison said. "We got back to the Final Four, but the fact was we could have had a No. 1 seed and we got a No. 2 seed after losing to Cal."

Regardless of how the game ended in UCLA's favor on Saturday, the Cal Bears led the Bruins for over 37 minutes of the contest and put up 80 points against a UCLA defense which had allowed conference opponents just under 61 points per game.

California effectively spread the court against UCLA's halfcourt defense, negating the Bruins infamous help defense, and opened up backdoor scoring opportunities.  In addition, the Bears effectively used a  high pick and roll to create easy shots down low, especially when the Bruins were slow to rotate and cover.

UCLA's Head Coach Ben Howland acknowledged Cal's wrinkles on offense at Tuesday's press conference and said that the Bruins will be ready to counter.  Mostly, the Bruins need to pressure Cal's guards aggressively on the perimeter to prevent the Bears from getting into their offense easily, in addition UCLA defenders need to rotate more quickly down low than they did on Saturday.

Cal's DeVon Hardin did not suit up against UCLA on Saturday due to a sore hip but he did play against Washington, scoring 7 points and grabbing 8 rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench. 

Hardin's presence on the floor will definitely change the complexion of the game.  In some ways, Cal was perhaps more effective spreading the floor against UCLA without Hardin on the court.  Their spread offense in part negated UCLA's advantage in the paint.  It will be interesting how Cal's Coach Ben Braun plays it on Thursday.

Both UCLA's Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Russell Westbrook are playing on sore ankles but they are expected to start in Thursday's second-round match-up.

California Golden Bears Player Roster

PLAYER	POS	PTS	REB	AST
*Ryan Anderson	F	21.5	9.9	1.3
*Patrick Christopher	G	15.7	3.6	2.1
*Jerome Randle	G	11.9	2.5	3.9
DeVon Hardin	C	9.6	7.7	0.7
*Jamal Boykin	F	7.7	4.1	1.3
*Eric Vierneisel	F	5.3	2.6	2.1
Harper Kamp	F	4.7	2.6	1.0
Nikola Knezevic	G	2.8	1.3	2.2
Jordan Wilkes	C	1.8	1.2	0.7
Nican Robinson	G	1.1	0.4	0.5
David Liss	G	0.8	0.2	1.0
Patrick Armstrong	G	0.7	0.3	0.0
Eddie Miller	G	0.3	0.4	0.3
Thomas Fang	F	0.0	0.0	0.0

(photo credit: UCB Athletics)

UCLA vs. Florida - Tournament Game Preview

By Bruin Basketball Report

UCLA continues its quest for a 12th national men's basketball championship on Saturday when it meets the Florida Gators in the semifinals of the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.

It is the Bruins second consecutive trip and seventeenth overall appearance in a Final Four.

Standing in their way of advancing to the title game are the Florida Gators led by Coach Billy Donovan.  The Gators trounced the Bruins, 73-57, in last year's championship.

Entering the NCAA tourney as the defending champions and No.1 overall seed, the Gators are a formidable and experienced team, returning all five starters from last year.  They aim to become the first repeat college basketball champions since the 1991-1992 Duke Blue Devils.

After playing well for most of the season, the Gators struggled towards the end, losing three of their last four regular season games.  However, they
rebounded to sweep through the SEC conference tournament and victories through the first four rounds of the NCAA tourney.

Florida averages 79.8 points a game while shooting a nation's best 52.7% from the field.  They also shoot an impressive 40.5% from three-point distance. The Gators have a balanced offensive attack.  All five of their starters average in double figures, yet all
are within 2.4 shot attempts of each other and none attempt more than
10 field goals a game.

The Gators have a formidable front line of big athletic players in 6'9 Corey Brewer, 6'10 Al Horford, and 6'11 Joakim Noah who are difficult match-ups for any team.  In addition, they have an effective backcourt tandem in Taurean Green who is excellent off the dribble and Lee Humphrey, a deadly three-point shooter averaging 45.5% from beyond the arc.

While teams have to be concerned with Florida's offense, they have an equally tough defense.  The Gators allow just 62.2 points a game while allowing just 40.6 field goal shooting.  The are excellent on the boards, out-rebounding teams by a margin of 8.2 a game (4th best in the nation).

PLAYER	POS	HT	WT	YR	MIN	PTS	REB	AST
Taurean Green*	G	6-0	177	Jr.	33.1	13.3	2.3	3.6
Al Horford*	F-C	6-10	245	Jr.	27.7	13.2	9.2	2.1
Corey Brewer*	F	6-9	185	Jr.	28.4	13.1	4.7	3.1
Joakim Noah*	F-C	6-11	232	Jr.	25.8	12.2	8.5	2.3
Lee Humphrey*	G	6-2	192	Sr.	30.0	10.1	1.3	1.3
Chris Richard	F-C	6-9	255	Sr.	18.3	5.9	3.6	0.4
Walter Hodge	G	6-0	170	So.	18.0	5.8	1.2	1.5
Dan Werner	F	6-7	235	Fr.	9.1	1.8	1.3	0.8

*denotes probable starter

UCLA returns a different team that faced the Gators last season.  Gone are starters Jordan Farmar, Cedric Bozeman, and Ryan Hollins, and in their place are Darren Collison, Josh Shipp, and Lorenzo Mata. This year's Bruins are quicker on the defensive perimeter, score more points in transition, and tougher defensively in the paint.

The point-guard match-up will be one of the keys to the game.

Last year UCLA Coach Ben Howland assigned 6'6 Cedric Bozeman to handle point-guard Taurean Green, but Florida cleverly spread the court on offense which allowed the quicker Green to dribble drive past Bozeman for a game-high eight assists with many of the baskets resulting in slams by Horford and Noah.

The Bruins will benefit from having speedy Darren Collison, their best on-ball defender, to put on Green on Saturday.  Collison needs to aggressively pressure Green on the perimeter to make it difficult for him to set-up the offense or make post-entry passes. 

Against Kansas, Collison's defensive pressure on the Jayhawks' guards forced them to set-up their offense further out than they were normally used to, he'll need to do the same against the Gators in order to slow their attack and negate their size advantage inside.

With Florida's Lee Humphrey sizzling from beyond the arc, Josh Shipp needs to do a good job closing out on Humphrey at the three-point line.  Shipp has been playing well on the defensive end during the tournament and the Bruins will need another solid effort.   

Offensively, he gives UCLA the third scoring option they lacked last year.  Shipp is shooting 42.5% from three-point distance and has been excellent in transition.  In addition, his ability to drive to the basket and finish will make him a difficult match-up for Florida, especially for the smaller Humphrey.

Last year Corey Brewer used his size and length to hound Arron Afflalo into a sub-par 3-10 shooting performance.  But with Afflalo scoring more effectively off the dribble, as he showed against Kansas, and Shipp available as another scoring option, Florida will be more challenged on the defensive end.  Can Humphrey guard the more physical Shipp? Or does Florida switch Brewer onto Shipp instead of Afflalo?   

Along the front line, Al Horford has been a beast in the low blocks all season.  He is averaging 13.2 points and 9.2 rebounds per game while shooting 61.8% from the field.  He is the team's best low-post scorer and has overpowered opponents throughout the tourney.

UCLA's Lorenzo Mata and Alfred Aboya are as tough a pair of players down low as they come. If they both can stay out of foul trouble, their combined minutes and physicality might be able to wear Horford down by game's end.

Florida's Joakim Noah ran wild on the Bruins in last year's game.  On defense his shot-blocking intimidated the Bruins inside, while his ability to run the floor and pass to the open man keyed the Gator offense.  Luc Richard Mbah a Moute will likely guard Noah for most of the game and needs to match Noah's intensity on the floor, at least on the defensive end.  He'll also need to keep Noah off the offensive boards

Last year Coach Ben Howland's defensive strategy of doubling the post was ineffective against Florida, but it was mostly due to the Bruins' slow rotation from the weak side.  Expect UCLA to double down on the lost post again, especially against Horford, but do a better job this time of mixing the coverage and timing of the double.

Its not very often two teams get the opportunity to face each other in two consecutive Final Fours.  While Florida will be seeking a place in history with back-to-back titles, the Bruins will not only be seeking a chance to play for the championship again themselves but some redemption from last year's game as well.

This is what March Madness is all about.  Let's tip it off. 

BBR Notes: The UCLA-Florida game is scheduled to start at 5:45PM PDT.

(photo credit:AP)