this is it
In just three hours, UCLA tips off against Memphis in a brutal Final Four matchup. I feel like I've been waiting for this game the entire year. UCLA needs their biggest and best game of the year, and who knows what will happen? Memphis is athletic and long enough to give UCLA fits, just like every athletic team has done to them all year (see, e.g.: USC).
But whatever happens, I'm proud of my Bruins for getting this far. For winning the most games in one season of any UCLA basketball team; for getting to the Final Four for a third straight year in a row. I will be very disappointed if UCLA doesn't get another shot at playing for Banner No. 12, but by any measure this season has been a resounding success.
It all begins in three hours.
Gaaah!
UPDATE: I am disappointed not so much that UCLA lost. What worries me more is the possibility that they just aren't ready to play with the big boys - the very top teams in the country - at least in terms of athleticism and talent. The end to the Kansas-Memphis final was amazing, and it was Memphis's game to lose. But what a finish. Could anyone on UCLA's team hit a 3 pointer at the buzzer like Mario Chalmers did to send the game into overtime? With Howland's structured, defense-first mentality, I'm not so sure.