Tanner’s Take: Kentucky upset is a glimpse at what could be for UCLA

There will be a time to return to reality.

But tonight is not that time.

A stunning 87-77 upset over not-gonna-be-top-ranked-much-longer Kentucky Thursday gave UCLA its first win over a No. 1 team in over a decade and provided Bruin basketball fans with a night where everything went right.

Just ask the guy who banked his half-court supershot attempt.

Just ask freshman guard Prince Ali, who exploded for a highlight-reel dunk that sent the home crowd into absolute ballistics.

Just ask every member of Pauley Pavilion’s packed student section who stomped and cheered all night long, eventually getting rewarded with a stern confrontation with security guards as time expired.

So I guess not everything went right – I would have personally enjoyed celebrating in the middle of the court while the rest of the nation experienced the craziness from the comfort of their homes – but it was certainly close to perfection.

And if you couldn’t tell that things were going the Bruins’ way all night from glancing at the scoreboard, you could have just looked across the court at Wildcat coach John Calipari.

Coach Cal was located directly across from my seat in the student section, standing at times, sitting at others – all with a look of frustration on his face. At one point, the coach took his seat on the bench and looked at one of his assistants who simply raised his hands in confused disbelief.

I was just as shocked, but I’m certain that I was a whole lot more entertained than anybody on that Kentucky bench was.

PHOTO GALLERY: Relive every moment of the Bruins’ Thursday night shocker.

As jeers rained down on a dejected Calipari, it was clear that it wasn’t just the UCLA basketball team that showed up in full force Thursday – the students certainly did their parts, too.

This was a crowd that noticed the little things. It was engaged. And, boy, it was loud.

That’s new, and that’s exactly what this basketball program needs.

Coach Steve Alford’s squad had already endured the embarrassment of a Monmouth letdown and a less-than-impressive Maui Jim Maui Invitational showing. The Bruins knew all about 2014’s Wildcat massacre. They heard all the criticism of their once-powerful program gone awry.

And they were ready for a new narrative.

In front of an electric crowd, the team showed a glimpse of the level that UCLA basketball can return to. It was fun. Think about that for a moment. Fun.

Sophomore center Thomas Welsh lit up the court. Steve Alford cracked a smile. And, of course, you’ll be seeing Ali’s blistering dunk on SportsCenter’s Top 10 any moment now.

It’s easy – writing this mere hours after UCLA’s biggest shocker since 2003 – to be overly excited, to get caught up in the hype. This is a team with a long road ahead of it, a team that will need to continue making improvements across the court, so, sure, there’s a reality to which I really should be returning.

But these nights are rare, and I think I’m going to enjoy it for a little longer.

Email Walters at twalters@media.ucla.edu or tweet him at @tannerbwalters.