The UCLA men’s basketball team advanced to the Sweet 16 of
the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002 after defeating
Alabama 62-59 at the Cox Arena in San Diego.
Second-seeded UCLA (29-6) will now face third-seeded Gonzaga in
the semifinal of the Oakland Regional next Thursday. The Bruins
have won nine games in a row, holding their opponent to under 60
points in each of them.
After cruising through the Pac-10 Tournament and drubbing
Belmont in the opening round, UCLA was squared off in a tight ball
game with Alabama (18-13) seemingly from start to finish.
Sophomore guard Jordan Farmar hit a pair of early 3-pointers to
give his team an 8-0 lead within the first few minutes of the game
as it appeared the Bruins were off to another easy win. That proved
not to be the case when the Crimson Tide stormed back with a 7-0
run, and the game was tied 30-30 at the end of the first half.
Sophomore guard Arron Afflalo, who finished with 13 points and
two rebounds, had a performance that was truly a story of two very
different halves. He was shut out in the first half completely,
scoring his first points six minutes into the second half, but he
came back strong in the tail end of the game. With UCLA up only one
point with 35 seconds remaining, Afflalo hit a 3-pointer to make
the score 60-56. That would barely hold up.
Alabama’s Ronald Steele, who had a game-high 21 points,
had an opportunity to win the game with UCLA up 61-59 with eight
seconds left.
However, Steele missed the shot and senior swingman Cedric
Bozeman grabbed the rebound to end any chances of an early exit for
UCLA.
Farmar led the team with 18 points, while Bozeman had an
understated quality game with five points, seven assists, three
rebounds and two assists.
The biggest discrepancy in the game was the free throw shooting,
which allowed Alabama to keep within one or two possessions of UCLA
in the second half.
The Crimson Tide made 19 of 25 free throw attempts, while the
Bruins made just 5 of 13 and missed 7 of their last 8 in the waning
moments of the game.
In the end, UCLA’s depth prevailed over a club that
featured seven active scholarship players due to injury.
The Bruins will now play Gonzaga for a chance to make the Final
Four for the first time since winning the title in 1995.
Coincidentally, Alabama coach Mark Gottfried started his coaching
career as a UCLA assistant and was a member of that national
championship team under coach Jim Harrick.
Compiled by Bruin Sports senior staff. For more in-depth
NCAA Tournament coverage, look for the Daily Bruin on
Monday.