PHILADELPHIA ““ With senior point guard Darren Collison on the bench with four fouls and about nine minutes left to play, the Bruin lead started to dwindle.
Virginia Commonwealth was gaining momentum, and somebody had to do something.
Enter Jrue Holiday.
The freshman guard came up huge when UCLA needed him most.
“We just needed somebody to step up, and I was willing to step up and take that chance,” Holiday said.
As soon as Collison hit the bench for what would be a two-minute stretch, Holiday grabbed the reigns. On the first possession of the game with Holiday running the point, the Bruin offense stagnated. They passed around the perimeter and nobody moved or drove to the hole. With about 10 seconds left on the shot clock, Holiday had had enough.
He put the ball between his legs a couple times, created space between him and his defender, and pulled back and drilled a 20-footer. The shot padded the Bruins’ lead to seven again, but Holiday wasn’t done there.
After hitting both free throws in a one-and-one situation on the ensuing possession, Holiday once again took control of a Bruin offense desperate for points. He sliced his way into the lane, twisted between two defenders in heavy traffic, and threw up a jumper that somehow found the bottom of the net.
It was just a two-minute stretch, but in that time, Holiday was responsible for six points and a forced turnover, while VCU was held scoreless.
“It was really just time for me to (step up),” Holiday said. “It was kind of forced upon me, because I guess I’m the next in line for that (after Collison).”
As for his comfort level in his first close-game NCAA Tournament situation? He indicated it was a non-factor.
“I felt good,” he said. “I’m used to having the ball in my hands in crucial situations.”
OFFENSE SLUMPS AGAIN IN FINAL MOMENTS: Once again, UCLA was unable to find a killer instinct, this time to put away VCU in the final minutes, and the Bruins almost blew a nine-point lead with four minutes left. UCLA’s only field goal in that time was a layup by Darren Collison and two points in the final three minutes on a pair of Alfred Aboya free throws.
“There were a couple of opportunities where we were driving to shoot rather than driving to pass,” coach Ben Howland said. “Typically we want our players to drive, try to draw people in, and kick it out.”
UCLA went 1 for 6 from the field in the final minutes, while VCU shot 4 for 6 with four made free throws in the same time.
The Bruins have seen such slumps before, with the most notable instances at home against Arizona State and in both regular season games against Washington State.
‘NOVA AWAITS: With the win, the Bruins will play Saturday against No. 3-seeded Villanova, which came from behind to defeat American on Thursday. The Wildcats had by far the biggest crowd on Thursday and will be favorites in the round of 32. Although Villanova plays most of its games on campus in Villanova, Penn., the team played three games at the Wachovia Center this season and drew a large fan base to the area.
“I’ve thought about the fact that we’re playing here in 36 hours and 25 minutes, I believe it is,” Howland said after the game. “This’ll be a quick turnaround. Playing them on their home court that they play on every year, this is going to be a true road game in the NCAA Tournament.
“They’re a very good team, very well coached. There’s going to be some matchup issues, and we’ll address them.”