That's why UCLA denied Bill Self and Kansas a Final Four berth — and also why
the Bruins have a better shot of winning it all this time around.
Sure, Ben Howland has a quick and talented point guard in Darren Collison
(he's better for this team than Jordan Farmar). He also has Josh Shipp back in
the fold after the talented wing had to sit and watch this time last season
because of a hip injury.
Most of the players also maintain this group is closer than the one that
featured Farmar, Ryan Hollins and Cedric Bozeman a year ago. They hang out with
one another rather than go their separate ways.
But this UCLA group already knew what it felt like to cut down the nets.
If the Bruins do it again, it's certainly not going to be because of their
scoring punch down low.
The Bruins' low-post scoring was virtually non-existent in the win against
Kansas that put UCLA back into the Final Four. In fact, when wing Arron Afflalo
posted up Sherron Collins with 13:23 remaining in the game, it was just the
second time that Howland was able to get a bucket off a low-post entry pass.
"No," Kansas coach Bill Self said after being asked if he had ever
seen such a guard-dominated offensive attack (or futile inside production).
"Probably not. Our whole deal was to defend the 3-pointer — and we didn't
do a very good job."
"That is amazing," Afflalo said of his team's lack of low-post
scoring. "But sometimes the game just flows that way."
Give Howland a ton of credit. This guy is a future Hall of Famer. He's
getting it done with a frontline of Lorenzo Mata, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and
Alfred Aboya. The trio combined for 14 points and 15 rebounds and is basically
inept offensively down on the block.
"I'll still take it," UCLA assistant coach Kerry Keating said of
the Bruins frontline.
If Florida can get past Oregon on Sunday, the Bruins will get a rematch of
last year's national championship game — one in which the Gators won fairly
easily, 73-57.
"Revenge," Afflalo said.
There's a reason why Afflalo and Collison form the best backcourt in the
entire nation. The duo hit the two most critical shots of the game.
Afflalo nailed a 3-pointer with one second left on the shot clock that
extended UCLA's lead to 49-40 midway through the second half. Collison's was
even more crucial — his trifecta came not only as the shot clock expired, but
with two defenders in his face.
That put the dagger in a Kansas team that had just managed to cut the margin
to a handful with five minutes left in the game.
Bill Walton was going crazy in the stands. The UCLA fans, who filled most of
the arena in San Jose, were also on their feet. Howland was jumping around.
Who would have figured that the Bruins would still come out on top despite
committing 25 turnovers?
"It was a tough night," Kansas sophomore forward Julian Wright
said. "We were getting in the paint, but we missed a lot of easy bunnies
— and Afflalo made some big shots down the stretch."
"Afflalo's the best player in the country," Collins added.
Afflalo has also been in this situation before — as have all of the Bruins
starters except for Shipp.
"We know what to expect," Collison said. "We're excited about
this win, but our goal is to win the championship."
"We know what we're capable of," Mata added. "And we know what
we have to do. This is a team capable of winning the whole thing."
Believe it or not, Mata is right. Despite its lack of interior punch, the
Bruins could run the table.