SACRAMENTO “”mdash;The game was a lot tougher than No. 2-seeded UCLA would have liked, and in the end, the Bruins were barely able to escape the second round against No. 7-seeded Indiana.
Sophomore point guard Darren Collison had 13 second-half points, and junior guard Arron Afflalo drained four big free throws down the stretch as the Bruins (28-5) fought out a 54-49 victory against the Hoosiers (21-11).
“We’ve had some tough games,” sophomore forward Josh Shipp said. “A lot of guys have had that experience going to the Final Four and had many close games. I think that experience was key for us tonight.”
With UCLA up 13 points with just over five minutes to play, it seemed like the Bruins had already punched their ticket to the Sweet 16. UCLA’s defense seemed to be in control and the intensity that had filled the arena in Vanderbilt’s double-overtime victory over Washington State had been completely wiped out.
But that calm was very short lived.
A quick 12-2 Indiana rally tied the game at 49 with just over one minute left to play and all of a sudden, the Bruins had their backs against the wall.
That’s when Afflalo demanded the ball, drove to the hoop hard, got fouled, and made two big free throws to give UCLA a two-point lead. After Indiana turned the ball over on the inbounds pass and Collison knocked down two free throws, the Bruins could finally breathe easy.
“(Arron) made the plays,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said. “If we’re going to go down, it’s going to be with him at the helm.”
UCLA will take on Pittsburgh in the Sweet 16 in San Jose on Thursday. The Panthers, whom Howland coached for four years before taking the UCLA job, beat Virginia Commonwealth in overtime to advance to the Sweet 16.
“(Pitt) is a mature team, so it’s going to be a tough battle,” Afflalo said. “I’m looking forward to it.”