LAS VEGAS—UCLA’s coaching staff broke down the X’s and O’s during a break in the action in the first half of the Pac-12 tournament’s second semifinal game.
But there was little coach Steve Alford and his assistants could offer for improvement, as the Bruins were walloping the Stanford Cardinal on the court, never trailing by less than 14 in the final 10 minutes of the half.
Instead, the clearest message presented to the UCLA men’s basketball team during an 84-59 blowout came from the crowd. A large handful of Arizona faithful remained in their MGM Grand Garden Arena seats in the few hours after the Wildcats downed the Colorado Buffaloes 63-43 in the first semifinal, and they had something to say.
Scouting their opposition for Saturday’s 3 p.m. final, the fans’ chants of “U of A” rang loud and clear throughout the arena to let the Bruins know of the immense challenge that lies in the path to earning the school’s first Pac-12 tournament title since 2008. That, and maybe to poke a little fun and air out of what was arguably UCLA’s most dominating wire-to-wire victory of the season.
“Yeah, I hear ‘em,” said sophomore guard Jordan Adams. “I don’t think it’s overwhelming. They’re around. They’re supporting their team.”
A night after five Bruins reached double figures, the scoring was slightly more concentrated for UCLA. Junior guard Norman Powell led the charge with 22 points, a season high, and sophomore guard/forward Kyle Anderson pitched in with yet another well-rounded performance of 13 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. But there was also no avoiding redshirt senior forward Travis Wear, who didn’t avoid the bottom of the net in any of his eight field goal tries en route to 16 points.
UCLA took a double-digit lead with just 4:45 gone in the first half. A layup by Stanford guard Chasson Randle cut the deficit to 13 in the opening possession of the second half, but the Bruins scored on three straight possessions to eliminate any hope of a Cardinal comeback. Shooting 70.6 percent in the second half tends to evoke a certain sense of reality for the opponent.
“Extremely pleased to be able to come out and get the start that we got,” Alford said. “Very pleased with the start of the game, start of the second half which was really crucial, I think.”
Now the reality for UCLA is it has one more shot at a showdown with Arizona that came and went too soon in the season. In a packed Pauley Pavilion on Jan. 6, the Bruins lost 79-75, falling in the final minute after battling back from a 13-point hole dug just minutes prior. Adams was open in the corner with a chance to tie and 50 seconds to play, but his would-be heroic three rimmed out, leaving nothing but an irritating memory in the sophomore’s head for the last two months.
“I thought about (it) a lot,” he said. “I definitely thought it was going in. All my teammates thought it was going in. Hopefully I get another shot.”
For UCLA, Saturday is a shot at the No. 3 team in the country, the No. 1 team in the Pac-12 tournament and the No. 1 team that’s been simmering in the back of their minds since January. A win over a team like Arizona would provide crucial momentum heading into the NCAA Tournament, so Saturday an unfriendly, March Madness-esque environment is what the Bruins will get.
For the last two days, it’s been Arizona red and blue all over the scoreboards in two straight 20-plus point wins to reach the finals. It’s also been all red and blue on the grounds of the MGM Grand hotel and in its arena, but the Bruins say they wouldn’t have it any other way.
“It’s going to be 80 percent to 20 percent, most likely,” Travis Wear said. “It’s going to be fine. This is what we came here for. We’re excited to play in these types of environments because from here on out, it’s going to be like that every night.”