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It must be March. You know how you can tell? In front of a hostile sold-out crowd, the UCLA Bruins held a Nationally-ranked team to 45 points and knocked them out of the race.
In this case, it was March 1st, and the Bruins were at #13 Washington State, to play the best Cougar team in decades, in front of one of their biggest crowds ever.
The Bruins showed no jitters, taking an early lead, but then went cold, against a tenacious WSU Defense. The Cougars showed one of the best man-to-Man D's that the Bruins have seen all year. They suddenly had trouble getting good shots, and after scoring 11 points in the first few minutes, it took them until Halftime to get another 11. They trailed 22-23 at the Intermission, despite leading for most of the first half.
But as is often the case, Coach Ben Howland must have said the right things to his players in the locker room, and he must have made the right adjustments, because the Bruins TOOK OVER right after the break. UCLA opened up with a 9-0 run, and held an 8-10 point lead until the closing minutes.
WSU did have one run in them, but the Bruins showed poise with the lead, made their free throws, used the clock wisely, and won the Conference Championship.
They say that Championships are won with Defense, and this one is no exception. The Bruins have one of the best, if not THE best, Defensive systems in the Country, and when they turn up the heat, they can really put a stranglehold on the opposition. Derrick Low, WSU's Star player, can attest to that after his 1-for-8, 2 point performance.
The Cougars, who led the League in Fewest Turnovers, exceeded their per game average before Halftime. The Bruin Big Men took charges, and the Guards just took the ball.
Darren Collison had two Steals, and on Offense, put on a Point Guard Clinic, making several highlight-reel passes on his way to 8 Assists. He penetrated when he needed to, and he ran the Offense so that they were constantly exploiting mismatches or WSU's weaknesses.
Howland and staff must have found something at Halftime, because after, the Bruins were able to get inside for a lot of easy buckets. Luc and Alfred were both solid with the ball, showing soft hands and good alertness to capitalize on Magic-like passes.
And finally, Arron Afflalo showed why he was just named one of six Finalists for a National Player of the Year Award, by taking clutch shot after clutch shot. He led the Bruins with 14 big points, and led them even more with his hard-nosed desire to win.
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Beware a letdown against a frustrated Washington Husky team that just spanked sc, but has underachieved dramatically this season. Washington, despite choking this year, still has an excellent HOME record, it will be their LAST home game of the year, and the Bruins will have "nothing" to play for, having already clinched the Title. Of course there are seeding issues, but it's just not the same without the Pac-10 Title being still in doubt.
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