By Christina Teller
Daily Bruin Senior Staff Welcome to “Bruin Bandwagon
2002,” one of the wildest rides around.
Before the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, about 15
members of the media showed up to interview the UCLA men’s
basketball team. On Tuesday, upward of 50 swarmed Pauley Pavilion,
trying to get a piece of the Sweet 16 Bruins. “I’m not
surprised. Coach Lavin warned us about that. Even during our low
points,” Dijon Thompson said. “(Lavin) warned us this
would happen. That’s how it works. I have to tip my hat to
Lavin. It’s not easy at all to go through what he goes
through.”
But the media is not alone in their renewed interest. After
upsetting No. 1 seed Cincinatti on Sunday, the hopes of Bruin fans
have been revived. All 1,250 tickets that the UCLA Central Ticket
Office was given to sell are gone. With the Western Regional held
just 335 miles north of Westwood, No. 8-seeded UCLA (21-11) looks
to have a sort of homecourt advantage when it faces No. 12-seeded
Missouri (23-11) on Thursday. “I have a lot of friends and
family coming to the game,” Matt Barnes said, “but we
have to focus on the task at hand.”
The last time the Bruins faced the Tigers was in the second game
of UCLA’s 1995 National Championship run. Tyus Edney made the
game-winning shot, after going the length of the court, giving UCLA
the 75-74 win. UCLA head coach Steve Lavin was an assistant then.
He remembers jumping off the bench when the shot fell and running
on the court in celebration. He is the only member of the current
Bruin family to have been a part of a national championship, and
with their advancement to their fifth Sweet 16 in six years, UCLA
is one step closer to another one. “This is my fourth Sweet
16, and now the goal is to get past it,” Billy Knight said.
“We don’t want to get overconfident now. Now it’s
just win two more games. And then there’s two more after
that. Our goal is the Final Four.”
The Bruins face a Missouri team that is quite similar to their
own. Both squads started the year with a top-five ranking. Both
teams were expected to be conference champions. Both teams fell
short of these and other goals. “There are a very talented
team, just like us. They have all the tools,” Jason Kapono
said. “I expect an up-tempo game.” But both teams are
at this point, playing in arguably the toughest bracket.
The winner advances to the regional final against the winner of
the Arizona-Oklahoma game, both of which are conference champions.
But first things first. Missouri presents sharp-shooting obstacles
for the Bruins. Kareem Rush, younger brother of former Bruin JaRon
Rush, and Clarence Gilbert lead the Tigers in scoring. Gilbert and
Rush rank first and second in the Big-12 in three-pointers per
game. The Tigers are led by point guard Wesley Stokes, who is a
childhood friend of Cedric Bozeman.
Stokes averages 4.12 assists in 23.5 minutes per game. The
Bruins are coming off their best game of the season, with five
players scoring in double figures, including Barnes and Kapono
combined for 36 points in the final 30 minutes, and neither Bozeman
nor Ryan Walcott committing a turnover. “It was the best 30
minutes of my life,” Kapono said. “It was a great game
to be a part of. It showed how good we could be.”