INDIANAPOLIS — It’s down to the Final Four, and the atmosphere
is like a circus. People are everywhere. The excitement is
growing.
There is incessant talk about soaking it all in because no one
knows if they’ll have a chance to be back.
But for second-seeded UCLA (31-6), set to face fourth-seeded LSU
(27-8) Saturday night in the NCAA Tournament semifinals, it seems
to be nothing more than business as usual.
"You want to be (in the Final Four) as a player in college. You
think that’s the biggest thing, nothing bigger," UCLA sophomore
guard Arron Afflalo said.
"But it definitely seems like a much bigger thing from an
outside perspective than when you’re actually participating in
it."
On the eve of undoubtedly the biggest basketball game of their
careers, the Bruins spoke with a definite sense of purpose. They
spoke of avoiding distractions, of concentrating on the task at
hand, and of course, of the things that got them here.
By now it’s become something of a laundry list.
An unabashed commitment to defense. Playing as a team rather
than a collection of individuals. A desire to return the UCLA
basketball program back to national prominence.
"We approach every game the same," said senior Ryan Hollins, who
suffered a right knee contusion in practice Friday morning but
expects to play Saturday. "Our understanding is that each game
could be our last. There’s no real trick to it. Once you’re out
there playing, it’s basketball."
The answers are nothing new, and that’s not surprising. What’s
surprising is the fact that the magnitude of the venue seems to
have UCLA relatively unfazed.
"Back home I used to think, ‘Next year I might be in the Final
Four.’ And now I’m here, and it doesn’t feel that different,"
freshman Luc Richard Mbah a Moute said.
LSU, however, is sure to present something different. In
advancing out of the Atlanta Regional, the Tigers defeated Iona in
the first round, needed a buzzer-beater to escape with a one-point
victory over Texas A&M in round two, then dispatched national
title hopefuls Duke and Texas in succession on their march to
Indianapolis.
The Tigers’ success starts with 6-foot-9-inch, 310-pound
sophomore forward Glen "Big Baby" Davis, the Southeastern
Conference Player of the Year and something unlike anything UCLA
has seen.
Howland gushed about Davis in a press conference Friday, saying
he’s not only a great basketball player, but would likely be an
incredible running back or boxer as well.
The Bruin coach also said LSU’s freshman sensation Tyrus Thomas
is the "Shawn Marion of college basketball," who Howland called the
greatest athlete in the NBA.
LSU went 14-2 in the SEC this season, and features only one
senior on its roster.
"I think we’re ready to play," LSU coach John Brady said. "If we
don’t play well, it will surprise me, it really will, because of
what our team has gone through to get here and how they feel about
themselves right now."
Then again, the Bruins have to feel awfully good about
themselves, too. UCLA boasts the longest winning streak in the
nation at 11 straight games. The team’s victory over Gonzaga was
heart-wrenching, while the victory over Memphis was clinical.
Now there are two more steps to take.
"We are just worried about playing our game," freshman Darren
Collison said. "I think we’ll be OK if we continue to focus on
doing the things that got us here. We understand that if you want
to win you have to let the distractions go."