Go home, Grimace!
Tonight I watched UCLA in the Sweet Sixteen at McCormick & Schmick's in downtown with some friends (okay, with a friend and some random people I met in the bar). Great atmosphere, packed with UCLA fans, and a good time were had by all.. in the first half.
Unfortunately, after putting on a UCLA basketball clinic and getting up 41-20 at the half, UCLA took its foot off the gas and the West Kentucky Hilltoppers whittled that 21 point deficit down to 4. The situation looked dire when Collison fouled out with 5 minutes to play, and Westbrook and Shipp, both with 4 fouls, were on the verge of joining him on the bench. But a clutch 3-pointer by Josh Shipp, who got his groove back; a monster breakout game from James Keefe (18 points and 12 rebounds); and yet another gigantic game from Kevin Love (29 points on 10/14 shooting, 14 rebounds) kept the Bruins afloat to win it, 88-78.
So what happened there? I think KS Wong over at Bruin Basketball Report nails it on the head. UCLA just thought they could take it easy after halftime; and their guards got in foul trouble not because of bad officiating, but because they were getting lazy and reaching in. They also got caught up in the up-tempo game and the press that WKU threw at them, which was a bad idea. But hey, what's that saying again? Survive and advance. UCLA does both with this win.
I think UCLA will continue to get more flak in the media -- this game against a #12 seed should have been a blowout; WKU was the weakest team in the Sweet 16; UCLA is in trouble; blah blah blah. The truth is that WKU came out and played its best game; they are experienced and press well; and hey, tournament sweetheart #5 Drake didn't just beat itself in the first round. And while UCLA continues to show more vulnerabilities than I would like (a thin guard rotation, for one), it's also true that they are a balanced team that keeps finding ways to win, whether they are ahead, behind, in foul trouble, whatever. So all you haters can just suck it.
Bring on Xavier and the Elite Eight!