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: Sean Miller, four years at Xavier, three years in NCAA Tournament.
How they got here: At-large berth; West first round: def. No. 14 seed Georgia
73-61; West second round: def. No. 5 seed Purdue
85-78; West semifinals: fought off No. 7 seed West Virginia
79-75 OT.
They'll keep winning if: Taking down West Region top seed UCLA might be best described as a Love affair. If Xavier
can neutralize fabulous freshman forward Kevin Love and force UCLA to win without a big night from its big man, the Musketeers might soon
be loading up for San Antonio. The Musketeers are back in the Elite Eight for the second time in five years under Sean Miller (2004). They've
never been to the Final Four and, with two Elite Eight trips, hardly stack up to the UCLA tradition (21st Elite Eight appearance, two straight
final four trips). But Xavier does stack up rather well against this edition of Bruins from the paint -- Josh Duncan and Derrick Brown against
Love -- to the perimeter, where Stanley "Glove" Burrell has the ability to suffocate Darren Collison or Josh Shipp with his in-your-shirt
defense. Depth is also an advantage for Xavier as UCLA likes to stick with its starters who will likely go 30 minutes apiece barring foul
trouble. Xavier was 20-0 during the regular season when four or more players scored in double figures, including two games with seven
players in twin digits. UCLA had issues handling the pesky full-court pressure of Western Kentucky. Xavier will do more of the same and
hope UCLA responds with 19 turnovers as it did to keep the Hilltoppers in the West Regional semifinal.
Memorable moment: Freshman phenoms Michael Beasley (1-of-6 field goals) and Eric Gordon (4-of-12) flopped
against Xavier. The Musketeers upset then-No. 8 Indiana 80-65 in the Chicago Invitational Challenge final on Nov. 24 and handed Kansas
State its most lopsided loss (103-77) in nearly six years on Dec. 31.
Stanley Burrell
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Go-to guys: Pick your poison. Six players scored between 307 and 359 points during the regular season, with five
Musketeers averaging in double figures and four shooting at least 40 percent from 3-point range. Stanley Burrell was the A-10 Defensive
Player of the Year, Josh Duncan was Sixth Man of the Year and Drew Lavender earned second-team all-conference honors. There are four
1,000-point scorers on the roster.
Strengths: Scrappy. Pesky. Maddening. All those terms describe the Xavier defense. The Musketeers paced the
Atlantic 10 in field-goal percentage defense (40.6 percent) and scoring defense (62.2 points per game). The Musketeers were 22-1 when
holding teams to less than 70 points and 19-1 when outrebounding opponents in the regular season. They play team basketball and can
survive an off night. Five Xavier players average at least 10.1 points per game B.J Raymond, Duncan and Lavender all shoot higher than 81
percent from the free-throw line and above 40 percent from 3-point range.
Weaknesses: The Musketeers' balanced "one for all and all for one" approach could backfire if the clock is ticking in a
tight game and no one steps up to take the big shot. An ongoing concern is Lavender's sprained left ankle. The point guard averaged 5.2
points and 3.0 assists and shot 26 percent over the last six games of the regular season. His 18-point, nine-assist night against Purdue
should encourage Miller and Musketeers' fans.
