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In the postgame interview session after UCLA’s 76-57 win over Xavier, Bruin players were asked about their feelings going to a third Final Four in succession:
Josh Shipp started off, noting, "We came close twice. It definitely left a sour taste in our mouth. We definitely have unfinished business and it would be great if we could accomplish our goal; this is what we worked for all year, and, hopefully, we can do that."
Forward Luc Richard Mbah A Moute said, "We put ourselves in a good situation, playing hard all year, winning the Pac-10, getting a No. 1 seed and now [advancing] to the Final Four for the third time. Obviously, the last two times we’ve been there, we were not pleased with the outcome. So, hopefully, we’re going to ... have a different outcome."
Junior guard Darren Collison got the last word, saying, "This one feels good, to make a third Final Four appearance. But we’ve been here before. That feeling coming back after our loss to Florida didn’t feel too good. I was just telling Luc, the whole season was just erased from last year. So we don’t want to ever experience that any more. We want to go back this time, we want to be focused. Definitely this win feels good, but we’re not satisfied."
Other highlights:
>> Collison added a tribute later in the session to Bruin Coach Ben Howland:
"We don’t make it to the Final Four three straight times for no reason. Obviously, there’s a lot that coaching has to do with it. You guys see us having a good time out there, playing to win, but you guys don’t see us behind the doors, how much preparation Coach Howland puts into this. He’s constantly on our case; his job is to make us better. Sometimes we don’t like it, but it’s for our own good and we understand that at the end of the day because when he’s speaking to us, he’s speaking for a reason. We don’t make it to three straight Final Four appearances without him.
"He’s been a great coach and he’s been striving [for] us to be the best players we can possibly be, and it’s not going to stop from here. I’m pretty sure it’s going to continue on in the future because of how he is. And the thing I like about him, he’s so competitive; he’s like one of us. There are some coaches out there who are worried about coaching, but you can look at him as a player as well because it’s almost like he’s out there with us on the court."
>> Bruin freshman center Kevin Love was asked about the impact he’s made as the "difference" this year, but he wasn’t too happy with the implication that he’s the reason UCLA is going to San Antonio:
"I don’t know if that’s necessarily the case. Coach did a great job the past two years as well; the guys have been [there] already. I’m just trying to get it where I fit in and do as best as I possibly can. I know that Coach Howland and the rest of the coaching staff is going to put me in the best position to succeed and I just have got to be coachable and go to the right spot. Also, you have to be a little bit lucky too and get the right breaks and get the job done."
Asked about how UCLA got its offensive working so well, he said, "If we’re going to touch on the offense, it all started on defense. We had the lead at half by about nine points; they cut it to five early and we just kept getting stops on defense. Everyone in the starting five and on our bench, we stepped up and hit big shots and that’s what really controlled the game for us. We used the clock to our advantage when we got up by 20 points, they cut it to 12 or 14, but we just [kept] knocking down our free throws and hitting big shots. At the end of the day, we’re going to the Final Four and we got a big ‘W.’ "
And, of course, Love was asked about the chants of "One More Year" from Bruin fans as the team cut down the nets: "I’m just having fun right now playing UCLA basketball, playing under Coach Howland with all my teammates. It feels great and they could have been mentioning it to all these guys here; it wasn’t just directed at me, so it feels great, but we got business to take care of next week and I’m not even thinking about the next level right now because I’m living in the now; I’m living in the present so we can win these games next weekend."
>> Mbah A Moute was asked about his tender ankle and said he felt good: "Definitely today I didn’t have any pain or anything like that. My ankle felt fine; actually yesterday it felt great. Just getting back into it, just getting back to playing again, that helped me a lot, and today I just wanted to come out and play better defense and help my team win."
>> Russell Westbrook, the Pac-10's Defensive Player of the Year, was asked what makes the UCLA defense so good and commented, "We’re playing great, with great togetherness. Our team is just great on the court and off the court, and it really shows when it gets down to crunch time; we all have trust in each other. It’s real different from last year.
"We’re a defensive team. That’s what we do to start off the game. Our team did a great job of that, guarding everybody, rotating real well, getting out in transition. It was real good for us today."
UCLA's 76-57 win over Xavier sends the Bruins to their third straight Final Four for the first time since 1974-75-76 under John Wooden and Gene Bartow, the last three in a run of 10 straight Final Fours. For current Bruin Coach Ben Howland, he is only the third coach in the nation to take a team to three straight Final Fours since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985. Mike Krzyzewski of Duke and Tom Izzo of Michigan State are the other two. More:
>> The Bruins shot 52.3% from the field on 28-53 and were 15-28 (53.6%) in the second half, when they extended a nine-point halftime lead to 20 and won by 19. Xavier didn't win a game all season (0-3) when its opponent shot 50% or better.
>> UCLA won the rebounding battle, 37-28; the fifth straight game in which it has been even or better. The Bruins lost the turnover battle, 12-8, but maybe that's not such a bad thing: They are 12-0 this season when committing more turnovers than the opposition.
>> Xavier shot 36.2% from the field for the game, the third time in four NCAA Tournament games that the Bruins have held their opponent to less than 40% from the field. Only Texas A&M (43.1%) shot better than 40% from the floor against UCLA. In four NCAA games, opponents are shooting only 81-247 (32.8%) from the field and just 16-67 (23.9%) from three-point range.
>> Kevin Love and Darren Collison each had 19 points; Russell Westbrook scored 17; Luc Richard Mbah A Moute had 13; and Josh Shipp had five as only the four Bruin starters scored. Love had 10 rebounds, but Mbah A Moute had 13 to lead the team.
>> Westbrook broke out of his shooting slump with 7-11 from the field, and had his best all-around game since the California game at the end of the regular season, when he had 18 points (6-12 from the field). He had 17 today, plus three rebounds, three steals and three assists.
>> Love had his 23rd double-double of the season and scored in double figures again as he has in every game this season.
>> Collison scored in double figures for the 26th time this season and came back strongly from the four points he had against Western Kentucky. He had five assists, four turnovers and only one personal foul. He led (or co-led) the Bruins in scoring for the eighth time in the last 16 games this season,.
>> Howland now has a 13-3 record in the NCAA Tournament at UCLA (81.3%) and a 17-6 lifetime record in the NCAAs (73.9%).
>> The Bruins are on the way to the Final Four for the 18th time in school history. They have won the championship 11 times, lost in the championship game twice and lost in the semis four times. So they are 13-4 in national semifinals.
>> Let's talk about momentum: The Bruins have won 14 in a row and 19 of their last 20. They haven't lost since Feb. 10 at Washington.
UCLA outscored Xavier, 13-7, in the final 5:02 of the first half to take a nine-point lead into the second half, 33-24. Luc Richard Mbah A Moute has been the star, scoring nine points and grabbing eight rebounds. Kevin Love has eight;, Darren Collison, seven; and Russell Westbrook, six (and three rebounds).
Xavier put up 33 shots in the first half, but made only 11 for a 33.3% shooting percentage compared to 13-25 (52.%) for the Bruins. Xavier hasn't won a game this season when its opponent shoots better than 50%. After trailing early on the boards, the Bruins also have a solid 17-11 rebounding lead.
Alfred Aboya and James Keefe each have two fouls, as do Xavier's James Duncan and Drew Lavender.
>> How's this for defense: In four NCAA Tournament games, the Bruins are giving up an average of 22.3 points in the first half and have an average halftime lead of almost 13 points.
>> Xavier got the first two points in the second half, but Duncan is now on the bench with three fouls, Lavender appears gimpy and the Bruins have a 10-point lead: they are 27-0 this season when they have a 10-point lead in a game.
>> Westbrook got away with a push with the right arm on the way to the hoop, but made the bucket. Then the fun started. Westbrook's missed free throw turned into a Love rebound and Collison three-pointer. And then Love hit a turnaround bank at the right base, and it's 45-28 with 15:35 to go. Seven points in 37 seconds has this game in the verge of being a rout.
>> Xavier scored at 19:15 in the half to cut the Bruins' lead to six at 34-28, but it's been 13-0 since then with the Musketeers heading to the foul line, down 48-28.
>> The Bruins committed their seventh team foul with 13:07 to play, so Xavier is going to be shooting free throws the rest of the way. The Musketeers have committed four team fouls. And the press is on; Collison was fouled twice on the last drive, but Lavender was called for the last one, his third.
>> Xavier has cut six points off UCLA's 20-point lead, but the Bruins are ahead, 53-39, with 10:56 to play in the game. Love and Collison are back, however.
>>The Musketeers are playing aggressively in the second half, but they are only 6-16 (37.5%) in the half and just 1-6 from three-point shots. It's hard to catch up that way and the Bruins aren't giving up any cheapies either.
>> Love's second three-pointer of the game gives the Bruins another 20-point lead at 65-45 thanks to a 10-2 run over a 2:17 period. Note that Love's jumper came at the end of the 35-second clock as Coach Ben Howland is squeezing down the number of possessions remaining.
>> Just 3:57 to go and the Bruins are still up by 20, and UCLA is heading for its 18th Final Four. Critics will focus on the fact that the Bruins do not have a point off the bench, but they are shooting 53% and have 15 assists on 26 field goals. They also have a 30-20 rebounding edge in the game.
>> The Bruins are now 24-0 when scoring 70 or more points in a game this season and a 76-57 final sends the Bruins to San Antonio.
Final score: UCLA 76, Xavier 57
Want a key to the game? Xavier is winless this season when its opponents shoot 50% or better. UCLA, however, has shot 50% or better only once in its last nine games.
>> It's interesting that the Musketeers did not press Darren Collison from the start after his problems with Western Kentucky on Thursday. Maybe they feel they don't need to.
>> The Bruins are up, 7-6, with 15:55 to play. Kevin Love got a quick foul and looks quite unwilling to get a second; that's an advantage for the Musketeers.
>> Love has gotten a long rest — for him — on the bench, and the Bruins are still up, 16-13, with 10:46 to go. One problem is the Musketeers' rebounding: They have an 8-5 edge so far.
>> The Bruins lead, 18-15, with 7:38 to play, but they have been sloppy with the ball, with six turnovers compared to four for Xavier. But then again, UCLA is 11-0 when committing more turnovers this season.
>> If Alfred Aboya doesn't have bad luck, he has no luck. He picks up two fouls in just 46 seconds of play and has to go out of the game, including a clear charge by Xavier that he got called on anyway. The Bruins are still leading, 24-20, with 3:58 to play in the half, but UCLA has 10 field goals and eight turnovers.
>> Luuuuuc! After an indifferent performance against Western Kentucky, Luc Richard Mbah A Moute has been a force in the first half with a team-high six rebounds, terrific defense and seven points, including 3-4 from the foul line.
>> More Luc! His left-side follow of Josh Shipp's three-point miss has the Bruins up, 31-22, with 1:35 to go in the half.
>> Collison nails a pull-up jumper to give UCLA a 33-24 lead at the half. That's a good sign for the Bruins as Xavier has just not been able to shoot the ball in the first half and UCLA has made them pay.
Halftime score: UCLA 33, Xavier 24
The Bruins (34-3), champions of the Pac-10, are a six-point choice to move on to the Final Four by beating Xavier (30-6), champions of the Atlantic 10, in their game at 3:40 p.m. today in Phoenix. With an over-under line of 130, the final is supposed to be UCLA 68, Musketeers 62.
>> UCLA and Xavier have met only once before, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 1997. That was the first team playing under Steve Lavin, and UCLA defeated Xavier, 96-83, at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Michigan. Charles O’Bannon had 28 points and J.R. Henderson added 22 to lead the Bruins.
>> The Bruins have a good record in regional finals: 17-3. UCLA was 13-0 in such games under John Wooden and has been 4-3 since. UCLA Coach Ben Howland is 2-0 in regional finals, beating Memphis and Kansas as underdogs the last two seasons.
>> Xavier and UCLA are fairly similar statistically. The Musketeers score 75.1 points a game and give up 63.1 on average; the Bruins score 73.7 and give up 59.0. Xavier shoots 47.8% from the field and gives up 40.6% to opponents; UCLA shoots 47.5% and gives up 42.1%.
Xavier does shoot the three more than the Bruins, however, casting off from long distance on 36.7% of all field goal attempts, compared with UCLA’s 28.2%. The Bruins also are the better-rebounding team, averaging 9.3 more boards than their opponents; Xavier is getting just 5.5 rebounds a game more than its opponents.
>> Despite Western Kentucky’s 58-point outburst in the second half Thursday — the most UCLA has given up in a half this season — the Bruins have turned up the defense in the NCAA Tournament. Opponents are averaging only 52 points a game and UCLA is averaging 10.7 blocked shots, compared with a season average of 4.1. And the Bruins are giving up only 30.2% shooting to opponents in three games: 19.7% to Mississippi Valley State, 43.1% to Texas A&M and 34.7% to Western Kentucky.
>> One area in which UCLA uncharacteristically fell apart Thursday was fouls. The Bruins — one of the least-foul-prone teams in the country — were called for 22 against Western Kentucky, equaling a season high against George Washington and at Washington.
>> James Keefe was not just the unlikely star Thursday, but he had almost a career year in one game! He scored 18 points, as many as he has scored in his last nine games combined. And with his increased minutes in the tournament, he has had nine blocked shots in three games compared with five during the entire regular season and the Pac-10 Tournament.
>> Darren Collison’s foul-out against Western Kentucky not only was a first in his career, but it also meant that he played only 28 minutes in the game. Excepting his 23 minutes in the rout versus Mississippi Valley State, he hadn’t played so little in a game since Jan. 10, when he played 18 minutes against Washington at Pauley Pavilion.
>> Although a lot of has been made of Josh Shipp’s shooting problems, Russell Westbrook is also in a slump. He was 3-for-15 against Western Kentucky and is shooting only 8-for-32 (25%) in the tournament so far. In fact, he hasn’t hit 50% from the field since the first game of the Pac-10 Tournament against Cal (3-for-6). In his last five games, he is a woeful 16-58 (27.6%).
>> If you are worried sick about UCLA’s chances today against Xavier, take heart in this score from Dec. 15: Arizona State 77, Xavier 55, in Tempe, Ariz., not far from the site of today's game.
Bruin forward James Keefe was the focus of the postgame media interview session at the US Airways Center in Phoenix after his 18-point, 12-rebound — double career-high — performance.
He told reporters, "This is why I came back. In December, it was rough redshirting, see my team play and wishing I was out there and then coming back, but this is why I came back. We had foul trouble and you need depth to go far in this tournament, and it was great that it worked out.
"We have great big guys; we have five big guys who can play any amount of minutes depending on foul trouble. With that depth, we just trade off on who plays and who doesn’t."
He also spoke a little later with CBS-TV Channel2's Jim Hill:
"There was a lot of foul trouble, so I had to step up, the bench had to step up. But it was just one of those games; I was in the zone and I was feeling it. Usually I just come off the bench and play a decent amount, but with the foul trouble, I had to play some more minutes. But this is not the norm for me."
About the Hilltoppers’ frenzied second-half play, he noted: "They had a great run. You have to give it to them; they sped us up. Our press break wasn’t that great tonight. But there was no panic; you have to stay poised and composed. I think we took a step back and realized that we had to finish this off and we did. This was going to be their last game of the season if they didn’t come out and play after halftime. That was the speech going in, but they made a great run. We were able to finish it off in the end."
Keefe said the Bruins didn’t panic. "We have a great bond on the team, the second team is always rooting on for each other because we’re always sticking together, beating up the guys in practice. We have a tight-knit group here, so it’s good to have the support. We handled business when it counted like it was the end of the day."
Guard Russell Westbrook also spent some time with Hill on the "Sports Central" postgame show:
"Man, that was real crazy," Westbrook said. "It was tough for us in the second half; they got a big run. We had to withstand the run, but we pulled out the victory. We played real passive to start out in the second half, but we picked it up in the last five minutes or so and we pulled out the victory.
"That was a great team we faced tonight. They were everywhere, they were trapping and getting steals and just speeding us up a little bit. We didn’t panic a bit; we knew we could pull out the victory. We knocked down our free throws toward the end of the game and pulled it out. It’s a sense of relief."
Hill asked about the contributions of Keefe and Josh Shipp, and Westbrook said: "James Keefe has been playing great for us all year long and he really stepped up today and helped us pull out this victory. The crowd was really happy for Josh for making that three; he was scoreless last game, but he was real big for us today."
What about Saturday? "Xavier is a great team. I saw them win their last two tournament games and I know that’s a great team we’re about to face. So we’ve got to start getting prepared to play. They probably saw [Western Kentucky’s press], so we’re going to work on that tomorrow, probably with coach during practice, so we’ve got to be prepared to play."
Freshman center Kevin Love also spoke with Hill. "I thought we had it in the first half. We were up 21 points; we handled their pressure very well. We slowed down and played our tempo, but in the second half it was a different story. Western Kentucky is a very good team and we didn’t handle it as well as we did in the first half. We played to their tempo, and we took quick shots in the shot clock and did some uncharacteristic things and not play UCLA basketball in the second half.
"We just sped up. We were taking pull-ups with 25 seconds on the shot clock, taking threes when we should have pounded it inside and got something better or maybe an open three on the outside, but we made our free-throws down the stretch and Josh hit a big three to put us up nine and that was it for us."
Hill asked about Western Kentucky’s attempts to slow Love down, which didn’t work. "I just had to take advantage of my size inside," Love said, "because they really didn’t have anybody who could match up with me. So we just took advantage of what we had, but in the second half we had a little bit of a letdown. We can’t keep doing that to ourselves because that’s going to bite us in the end.
"They were shooting wide-open shots [in the first half] and just missing them. In the second half, they weren’t missing them as much. Courtney Lee stepped up, their point guard stepped up and had 26 in the second half, so they were no joke. They were very well-coached and they were a very talented team."
What about Saturday? Love said, "I wasn’t as happy as you’d think winning the game here and advancing to the Elite Eight because we made some mistakes that weren’t acceptable for this team, and we have to come and play a lot better on Saturday if we want to win. I’m going to talk to a couple of teammates and we’re going to watch a little bit of film and we’re going to have to get real serious on Saturday.
"Xavier is very good. They are a three-seed and they play up to their billing. They’ve got some big men inside that are very good as well. [Drew] Lavender is a little point guard, but he can hit the three, get inside and get to the free-throw line as well. We’re going to have to be at our best when our best is needed on Saturday."
Bruin Coach Ben Howland had a lot to say after the Bruins hung on to beat Western Kentucky, 88-78, in the second game of the NCAA West Regional semifinal Thursday night.
In the postgame interview session, he told reporters that "Western Kentucky did a great job of speeding up the game in the second half. We did a poor job, in the second half, at times, of shot selection when we were up 15, up 17, up 18 and gave them the ball back when they were able to come down and score. We got in foul trouble there and they got to the line early, but I thought at the end we showed some poise, even with Darren [Collison] fouling out and with two of our starters with four fouls each in [Russell] Westbrook and [Josh] Shipp. We did make some silly fouls that we would like to avoid in the future.
"I thought James [Keefe] really had a great and a career game tonight thus far. We’re expecting more, James [sitting to his left]. But 18 [points] and 12 [rebounds] is a nice game and for those of you who don’t know, he had shoulder surgery this past — what was it, August? — so he was out for four or five months with his shoulder. He came back in mid-December and I decided at that time because we were healthy with [Michael] Roll to redshirt this guy. Then when Roll went down, we brought him off his redshirt year, so it was really a kind of roller-coaster ride emotionally for James. But his parents were supportive and he was supportive because he wants to do what’s best for the team. So it’s kind of fun to see a guy who does the right things get rewarded by having the game of his life here and helping his team get along to the next round, the Elite Eight.
"Now it will be go home, digest [the scouting report on Xavier], but this is kind of typical of a Pac-10 weekend now, where you’ve got to get it all done in one day, and that’s hard, especially since we have to come back and spend an hour and a half with you guys [media], it makes it even more difficult. But we’ll do our best.
"I know [Xavier coach] Sean Miller because he’s a graduate of Pitt University; I knew his father when I was the head coach at Pitt, out at the high school — Blackhawk, I think it’s called. Sean’s a great guy. Sean was a great point guard at the University of Pittsburgh; he’s worked for some great coaches along the way. They [Xavier] are very well coached. I recruited [point guard] Drew Lavender; he visited Pitt when I was head coach there. I know him, I know how good he is. They are very sound, they play great man-to-man defense. We’ve got our hands full, we understand that."
A few minutes later, Howland visited with CBS-TV Channel 2's Jim Hill:
"I was just really glad we were able to hang on there. They made a great run at us in the second half after an unbelievable first half, where we had a 21-point lead. It’s hard not to let your guard down, even though we talked about that specifically in the halftime talk, and once again, Western Kentucky is a very good team. They made a lot of plays on the ball, forced some turnovers, hit some threes, but we made our free-throws down the stretch and to win without Darren [Collison] in the game was incredible.
"I thought James Keefe was really special today — 18 and 12 — I’m so happy for him. Kevin Love, with 14 rebounds and 29 points, did a great job around the basket, keeping us going when they were making their run. I thought Josh [Shipp] had a big game for us today. Luc [Richard Mbah a Moute]’s defense was outstanding; he was on their best player [Courtney] Lee a lot. Lee was 7-for-29 from the field. The one guy we had problems with was [Tyrone] Brazelton; he hit some threes and had a big second half. But, at the end of the day, we do get to advance and that’s great. We try to make it exciting for our fans, Jim, we don’t want them to get bored out there on TV."
Asked about why the Hilltoppers were able to pressure the Bruins and close to within four points, Howland said, "We got tentative and you have to be able to finish at the other end, and we were doing that, at times. I thought where we made some poor mistakes is where we took some quick shots in the half-court with an 18-point lead, 17-point lead, 16-point lead and we’ve got to be smarter than that."
Hill also inquired about what Howland told the team right after the end of the game. Howland said he told the Bruins "that we’ve got to do better in the second half and make better decisions. But I was proud of their effort, the way they hung on when they made their run and the way we were able to get the win."
Hill also asked about Xavier; Howland said, "You don’t get to this point in the NCAA Tournament without being really good. Sean Miller and I were both connected to the University of Pittsburgh, he’s a former player and he’s from that area and I know Sean, he’s a great coach. They’re very talented; Drew Lavender is a point guard I actually had visit the University of Pittsburgh when I was coaching there six years ago, and he’s a very talented point guard. He causes a lot of problems because he’s really quick, he’s hard to stay in front of. We know we’ll have our hands full; we’re just glad to have that chance."
UCLA defeated Western Kentucky, 88-78, but was badly outplayed in the second half, when the Hilltoppers scored 58 points to UCLA's 47 to nearly upset the Bruins. In the first 14 minutes of the second half, Western Kentucky outscored the Bruins, 37-20.
>> It's the most second-half points UCLA has given up this year; only one other team even scored 50, and that was at Pauley Pavilion when Washington State narrowed a big Bruin lead (18 at the half) into a tight game at the end.
>> Western Kentucky shot a modest 19-41 in the second half (46.3%) compared to UCLA's 50% on 14-28, but the Hilltoppers got up 13 more shots than the Bruins. For the game, Western Kentucky's 72 shot attempts is easily the most UCLA has given up this season in any game; teams only got 60 or more attempts in five other games.
>> UCLA had 17 turnovers; the last time that happened was 21 games ago against Washington at Pauley Pavilion. The season high is 18, three times in the preconference season.
>> The Bruins did some things very well, however. UCLA made 11 of 12 foul shots in the final minute and a half to seal the win.
>> UCLA had three players with double-doubles tonight: Kevin Love had a career-high 29 points on 10-14 shooting and 14 rebounds; James Keefe had career highs in points and rebounds with 18 and 12, respectively; and Russell Westbrook had 14 points and tied his career high with 11 rebounds. Josh Shipp added 14 points on 5-9 shooting and 2-3 from the three-point line.
>> After helping save the Bruins against Texas A&M in the second round, Darren Collison fouled out for the first time this season and the first time in his career at UCLA. He had four points, one assist and four turnovers. The one assist and four turnovers matched his totals against Texas A&M, but he had 21 points then.
>> The Bruins are now 34-3; no UCLA team has ever won that many games. UCLA will play Xavier on Saturday at 3:40 p.m. Pacific time; it will be only the second meeting with the Musketeers (the Bruins lead, 1-0).
The Bruins' 41-20 halftime lead over Western Kentucky (29-6) is much more impressive than the 40-16 edge they had over Mississippi Valley State (17-15) a week ago. After an indifferent start, UCLA ended up shooting 15-30 for 50% in the half compared to 19% (6-31) for the Hilltoppers. Western Kentucky had eight turnovers and only six baskets, and the Bruins led in rebounding, 23-17.
Kevin Love led UCLA with 17 points, followed by Josh Shipp and Russell Westbrook with eight each. James Keefe had a great half with five points, five rebounds and three blocks in just nine minutes! For Western Kentucky, guard Courtney Lee shot 49% from the floor this season, but he is just 2-12 in the half with five points.
>> Is this game over yet? The Bruins are 27-0 when building a lead of at least 10 points and is 10-0 this season on Thursdays. You be the judge.
>> The Hilltoppers came out hard in the half and the Bruins weren't quite as intense, so Western Kentucky has outscored UCLA, 12-7, in the half so far with 15:53 to go. But Keefe's follow dunk gives him a career-high nine points.
>> Keefe now has 11 points and nine rebounds, both career highs! But the Bruins are still sloppy, so Coach Ben Howland calls timeout with the Bruins up, 51-36, with 13:37 to play in the game.
>> Darren Collison had to leave with his fourth personal foul at 13:06 to go and the Bruins up 53-36. Now it's 56-45 with 10:02 to go and the Bruins need to pay attention without their point guard.
>> Collison, Westbrook and Shipp now each have four fouls with 9:47 to go, and Western Kentucky is within nine points at 56-47. The Bruins are having a lot of problems with turnovers and are up to 14 in the game.
>> It's 35-20 in the second half for the Hilltoppers and they have sped up the game to where the Bruins are now rushing and playing too wildly. A 21-point lead is now down to six and the crowd in Phoenix is squarely behind Western Kentucky as they smell a possible upset.
>> Now Collison has fouled out with 5:39 to go, with the Bruins up 63-57 and three foul shots coming to Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers have one turnover in the second half to UCLA's 11.
>> All sins forgiven? Shipp's buzzer-beater, lean-in line drive for three from 22 feet with 4:30 to play has the Bruins suddenly up, 68-59. That could be the difference.
>> Defense does it: a turnover leads to a Keefe layin — he has 18 points and 11 rebounds — and the Bruins suddenly have a 13-5 run that gives them a 74-62 lead.
>> It's a foul-shooting contest now. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute made one of two with 2:12 to go, Love lasered a long pass to Shipp for a basket and, with 1:25 to go, Mbah a Moute will shoot some more. Two more gives the Bruins a 79-71 lead.
>> Keefe was named the player of the game for UCLA, a nice honor for him. He has set career highs of 18 points and 12 rebounds in this game, his first career double-double.
>> The Bruins survived and advanced with an 88-78 final in a game that exposed most of UCLA's weaknesses, but also showcased the possibilities for Keefe as a Bruin.
Final score: UCLA 88, Western Kentucky 78
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