SAN JOSE “”mdash; Big East basketball moved 2,000 miles west.
At least it seemed that way Thursday night.
In a matchup of two extremely physical, defensive-minded teams, No. 2-seeded UCLA beat No. 3-seeded Pittsburgh (29-8) at its own game in a gut-wrenching 64-55 victory at HP Pavilion.
The victory advances the Bruins to their second consecutive Elite Eight for the first time since 1980.
“When we hold a team to below 40 percent, we outboard them, usually we’re going to have a good chance to win,” Howland said. “I don’t care if you are from the East Coast, Midwest or Pac-10, good teams are going to come out on top.”
The Bruins (29-5) this season have proven they have the ability to beat any style of team, whether it’s Arizona’s run-and-gun offense, or Washington State’s grind-it-out style.
That ability was on full display as the Bruins played aggressive, all-out defense against the Panthers’ All-Big East senior center Aaron Gray, holding him to 10 points and outrebounding Pitt 33-27.
So don’t get caught telling the Bruins that teams from the West Coast are soft.
“People were saying they have a 7-footer, we are at a disadvantage,” junior center Lorenzo Mata. “I don’t pay attention to any of that stuff, because we have stopped the big, physical teams, and we did it again against Pitt.”
The Bruins built an early lead Thursday, going up 8-4 as Mata scored four of the Bruins’ first six points.
UCLA spurted out to a 32-26 halftime lead and kept the margin about the same on the way to victory. Pitt got to 56-51 with 1:22 left, but never any closer.
The Bruins knew they didn’t want a repeat of last Saturday’s game against Indiana, when the Hoosiers came back to tie the game.
“We looked at ourselves and said this is enough,” junior guard Arron Afflalo said. “Even when we had a six-point lead, we decided that it was way too close.”
With the victory, the Bruins move on to face No. 1-seeded Kansas, who defeated No. 4-seeded Southern Illinois 61-58 in the earlier game in San Jose.
UCLA and Kansas have met previously four times in the NCAA Tournament, with the Bruins taking all four of the contests.
None of the current Bruins has played against the Jayhawks, but they know there is a reason Kansas is the West Region’s No. 1 seed.
“They are extremely athletic, with a deep bench, and they like to run,” sophomore point guard Darren Collison said. “But that’s our game too, so we’re ready.”
On Thursday night, the Bruins used their depth to keep the score close in the first half. With sophomore forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Mata in foul trouble, freshman forward James Keefe and sophomore forward Alfred Aboya were able to come off the bench to limit Gray and Pittsburgh’s other senior big man, Levon Kendall.
Keefe, in fact, was able to score only his 28th and 29th points of the season.
“James gave us some solid, solid play today,” Howland said. “He went out there and made some really big plays.”
UCLA’s Afflalo and sophomore forward Josh Shipp, meanwhile, were able to carry the load scoring-wise.
Afflalo led the Bruins with 17 points, including 10-for-10 from the free-throw line, and Shipp had his best game of the tournament, scoring 16 points on 3-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc.
“On any given night, anybody can start hitting 3s,” Shipp said. “Tonight, fortunately it was me. On our team, we are confident in everyone’s abilities.”
For the Bruins on Thursday, they were all fortunate to have the majority of the HP Pavilion crowd on their side.
With nearly 60 percent of the crowd, the Bruins’ fan section erupted at numerous times during the game and was especially loud during the second half when Pitt was trying to get back into the game.
“We feed off of them; it makes a lot of difference,” Collison said. “We used them for defensive intensity, and that’s key, because that is where we win our games.”
UCLA’s victory now makes coach Howland 1-0 all-time against his former assistant coach Jamie Dixon and undefeated against his former school.
But on Thursday night, Howland was just happy to come out on top.
“Neither me nor Jamie would be here tonight if it wasn’t for our players,” Howland said. “In the end, the credit has to go to them. If there is any team that could have beaten Pitt in the tournament, I’m glad it was us.”
So on the one-year anniversary of UCLA’s thrilling Sweet 16 victory over Gonzaga, the Bruins are moving along just as scheduled, and everyone gets to see the matchup they have been waiting for:
No. 1 vs. No. 2., Kansas vs. UCLA.