PHOENIX “”mdash; Junior swingman Josh Shipp fired off a 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 1:35 left to play in the first half and the Bruins leading 29-22. The shot missed, but junior forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute was there to grab the rebound, leaping up through several Xavier defenders and laying the ball in.
It wasn’t an extraordinary play on its own, but it helped highlight what the Bruins had been missing for the first three rounds of the NCAA Tournament: a healthy Mbah a Moute hustling to get UCLA easy second-chance points.
Saturday’s Elite Eight win marked Mbah a Moute’s third game back since injuring his left ankle against USC in the Pac-10 Tournament semifinals. It was easily the best of the three and the first in which he looked completely healthy.
After struggling against Texas A&M and Western Kentucky, against Xavier Mbah a Moute got back to doing one of the things he does best: crashing the boards. He pulled down 13 rebounds, seven on the offensive end, and scored most of his 13 points on put-backs.
While Mbah a Moute had previously refused to blame his erratic play on any lingering ankle pain, after the game he admitted that his ankle felt healthier than it had in the last two games.
“Definitely, it’s feeling better,” Mbah a Moute said. “I don’t even remember one time when I felt the pain on it. Usually when I play on it I feel the pain during the game, and today was definitely fine, and I think that’s why I was able to have a good game.”
While sophomore forward James Keefe had filled in admirably while Mbah a Moute was limited by his injury, Mbah a Moute helped prove how much better the Bruins can play when he is close to 100 percent. In addition to his hustle plays on the offensive end, Mbah a Moute helped UCLA clamp down defensively and hold Xavier to 36.2 percent shooting from the field and only 21.1 percent from 3-point range.
“What feels better is that we came out and played better defense than we had in the past couple games,” Mbah a Moute said. “We came out and played defense for 40 minutes; that definitely helped us.”
While it’s tough to ask any player to round his way back into form in the middle of a single-elimination tournament, the Bruins have to be pleased to have successfully navigated Mbah a Moute’s recovery period and be heading to San Antonio with him closer to full health.
“Now he’s back to playing in his third game in a row and getting in a rhythm again,” coach Ben Howland said. “He had a couple of great offensive rebounds; he had seven total. I was happy that he played so well.”
Keefe ““ whose 18 points and 12 rebounds on Thursday made him an unlikely key to the Bruins’ win over Western Kentucky ““ was happy to see Mbah a Moute play his own way back into the spotlight.
“We needed someone to step up,” Keefe said. “Just coming in off the offensive boards, put-backs, all that, he’s just a great player. It was just his time today. He really showed that he can play.”
As the Bruins look ahead to the Final Four, they’ll need Mbah a Moute to continue to play well, especially as they face increasingly athletic frontcourts. For now, at least, he looks up to the task.
“I just felt good out there,” Mbah a Moute said. “I was at the right place at the right time.”