Xavier-UCLA: pregame

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.

Comments

[PJ]

In regards to the foul trouble UCLA got in against WKU. Did anyone notice that one of the officials was Curtis Shaw. Does the name sound familiar? He ejected Trent Johnson last week, and he leads all referees in such categories as most fouls called, most technicals, and most ejections.