Coach: Ben Howland, five years at UCLA, four years in NCAA
Tournament
How they got here: Automatic bid (Pac-10 champion); West first round: def.
No. 16 seed Mississippi Valley State 70-29; West second round: def. No. 9
seed Texas A&M 51-49; West semifinals: held off
Western Kentucky 88-78; West final: dominat
ed No. 3 seed Xavier 76-57.
They'll keep winning if: Ben Howland tabbed the 2008 Bruins by far the best of his last three
teams. All three reached the Final Four. The 2006 and '07 teams failed to win the national title. Why will this
year be different? The Bruins tangle with Memphis, which means UCLA doesn't have to see Florida. But these
Tigers bring a new set of challenges, starting with defense, depth and overall athleticism, to the degree that coach
John Calipari can present enough lineup combinations to make the Bruins dizzy. Memphis boasts far more depth
than UCLA and the Tigers are eager to push the ball in transition, whereas the Bruins are possession-conscious
but don't operate with the parking brake engaged. The battle-tested Bruins have a bevy of players on the roster who
have something Memphis lacks -- Final Four experience. Hardened by losses in the Final Four each of the past two
years, the likes of point guard Darren Collison, Josh Shipp, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute -- all juniors -- are integral
core players with extensive big-game, NCAA Tournament seasoning. Collison is steady at the point. His size isn't an
asset, but his quickness and cool under pressure have been. He's the team's most accurate 3-point shooter and
has come up big in tight moments, including a game-winning score against Texas A&M. Shipp has been fighting it
recently, hitting just one shot against Xavier and 9 of 27 shots in the NCAA Tournament. He'll need to get it going for
UCLA to bring a well-rounded offense to San Antonio. UCLA's centerpiece is freshman Kevin Love, who put up an
average of 21.8 points, 10 boards and 4.3 blocks in four tournament games preceding the Final Four.
Memorable moment: The Bruins clinched their third straight regular-season Pac-10 title with
a 77-67 overtime victory over Stanford at Pauley Pavilion. The game featured a controversial climax when Stanford's
Lawrence Hill was called for a foul on a seemingly clean block of a shot by Darren Collison with 2.5 seconds left.
Collison made both free throws and the Bruins won in overtime.
Kevin Love
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Go-to guys: Arron Afflalo was the best pure shooter on the Bruins' back-to-back Final Four teams. But UCLA's current starting unit features as many as four players willing to take the big shot. Freshman center Kevin Love, for instance, hit a difficult, double-clutch 3-pointer with 17 seconds left to set up the comeback win over Cal in March, which was secured when Josh Shipp made an even more difficult -- likely illegal -- basket by floating a shot over the top corner of backboard with 1.5 seconds left. Shipp struggled all the way to the Final Four with his stroke, but he and Love scored big baskets down the stretch against Western Kentucky and Darren Collison made a tough one under pressure to beat Texas A&M.
Strengths: Love is becoming a matchup nightmare. He doesn't often force it but is now hitting from 17 feet and beyond with consistency. The Bruins are balanced offensively, run an efficient fast break that can produce points in a hurry and play tough defense. They have a mix of experience and youth and a battle-tested coach. And they are motivated to not only reach the Final Four for a third straight season, but to add their 12th national championship banner.
Weaknesses: UCLA does not boast great depth, especially in the backcourt. Darren Collison
and Russell Westbrook play heavy minutes and the Bruins cannot afford either to become injured -- Collison in
particular has been injury-prone -- or get into serious foul trouble.
Coach: Darrin Horn, fifth year at school, first year in NCAA Tournament
How they got here: Automatic bid (Sun Belt tournament champion); West first round: def. No. 5 seed Drake 101-99 in OT West second round: def. No. 13 San Diego 72-63
Memorable moment: Ty Rogers hit a desperation 26-foot 3-pointer with three defenders in his face and no time on the clock, giving the Hilltoppers the biggest upset of the tournament.
Tyrone Brazelton
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Go-to guys: Senior guard Courtney Lee is the Sun Belt Player of the Year after finishing the regular season ranked second in the Sun Belt and 25th nationally with 20.9 points per game. He also finished fourth in the conference with 1.77 steals per game, sixth in free-throw percentage at .816 and 13th in field-goal percentage at .494. Senior guard Tyrone Brazelton, a second-team all-conference selection, finished 16th in the Sun Belt with 13.1 points per game, third in assists with 3.73 per game, sixth in assist-turnover ratio at 1.4 and ninth in 3-point percentage at .408.
They'll keep winning if: One of two "12s" in the Sweet 16 -- Villanova, seeded 12th in the Midwest, is still alive -- the Hilltoppers are going into a Pac-10 den (Phoenix) for a third NCAA Tournament game. Everyone loves an underdog, though, and Western Kentucky needs a strong start to avoid stage fright and get the crowd on its side. The Hilltoppers get great guard play from senior point man Tryone Brazelton (33 points, five assists vs. Drake) and Courtney Lee (29 points, seven boards vs. San Diego). Will they get enough from the supporting case, specifically interior players, to contend with Kevin Love and UCLA's balanced offense? Sophomore Jeremy Evans leads WKU in rebounding but carries just 190 pounds on his 6-foot-9 frame.
Strengths: A team with good senior guards is a threat in the postseason -- the Hilltoppers have three in Lee, Brazelton and Ty Rogers. Sophomore forward Jeremy Evans and freshman forward D.J. Magley have shown progress late in the season. The Hilltoppers can go nine deep most of the time and sophomore guard A.J. Slaughter has averaged more than 10 points off the bench over the last six games of the season.
Weaknesses: The Hilltoppers lost senior forward Mike Walker late in the season and no one else has provided the combination of toughness and production he was bringing in the second half of the season. While the Hilltoppers are capable of getting the job done, they're just as capable of getting beat inside, especially when it comes to defense and rebounding.
