When was the last time you’ve been really excited about
UCLA men’s basketball?
I mean really excited.
I’m not counting the excitement you felt as a freshman
going to your first game at Pauley or the excitement you get when
camping out for a big game.
I mean just plain, good old excitement about this team.
When’s the last time you were thrilled that you went to
the same school as a good basketball team? When’s the last
time the basketball team truly made you proud to be a fan of it?
When’s the last time the rational part of you actually
believed that this team was legitimate, confident and could match
up against anyone in the country?
That’s what I mean by excitement.
Before Sunday, I would have said I hadn’t felt this way
since three years ago, after UCLA’s upset win over Cincinnati
in the NCAA Tournament.
It’s been that long. Three years. Three long years.
Most of you who are reading this weren’t even here back
then. After all, Jordan Farmar was only 15 years old.
But Sunday’s game changed everything for me ““ more
than any other UCLA win this season.
The win against Washington was great, but the rational part of
me said it wasn’t totally a stretch, since as bad as the
Bruins were last season, they still beat Washington twice.
Last week’s blowout of evil USC was fun, but the rational
part of me reminded myself that the Trojans are awful this year,
sitting in last place in the Pac-10.
Sunday’s game was different. All the makings for a UCLA
loss were there. It was a non-conference game in freezing South
Bend. There were grumblings from the team on how they didn’t
want to make the trip (Never a good thing to say before a game you
really need to win). Notre Dame needed to win just as badly to
solidify a spot in the NCAA Tournament, and the Fighting Irish had
six days to prepare for the Bruins.
But the Bruins fooled us all (or at least me anyway).
And that win means I’m going to say this now, and
I’m not worried at all about saying it: UCLA is going to the
NCAA Tournament.
No ifs, ands, buts or maybes from me. The Bruins will be in the
big dance.
And no, I didn’t just jinx it. I’m a South Campus
major ““ I not only know that jinxes don’t exist, I can
mathematically prove it.
They have 16 wins already, and traditionally, 18 wins in a major
conference means you’re an automatic lock for the tournament,
and 17 means you’re a maybe.
UCLA has two regular season games left ““ at home against
Oregon State and Oregon this week. Oregon State has yet to win a
Pac-10 game away from home, and Oregon has one road win and is all
of one game out of last place.
And then there’s the first round of the Pac-10 Tournament,
which will probably be a rematch against Arizona State (who the
Bruins have beaten twice already) or Oregon State (last I checked,
the Staples Center wasn’t in Corvallis).
On top of that, UCLA’s win over Notre Dame ensured the
Pac-10 will remain the second highest-rated conference in the RPI,
making the NCAA Selection Committee that much more likely to choose
a fourth Pac-10 team.
So I feel pretty secure in making my tournament plans early.
It’s a huge step up from last year, where it took a USC win
on the final day of the regular season to ensure that UCLA would
get into the Pac-10 Tournament.
Not only do I feel secure, I feel confident about this team.
I’m excited.
Make those plans to catch the last two home games of the season.
Watch the Pac-10 Tournament this year with a feeling of confidence,
not a feeling of desperation like in years past. Get ready to plan
your 10th week-studying around the Bruins’ NCAA Tournament
game.
Can you feel the excitement? I can.
The last time Quiñonez wrote a piece about men’s
basketball while sounding like a homer was probably when he
defended Steve Lavin three years ago. Ouch. E-mail Quiñonez at
gquinonez@media.ucla.edu.