PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Don't be fooled by UCLA's seed, record or
inconsistent regular season. Once it's tournament time, nobody
plays like the Bruins.
What a magnificent season Cincinnati had -- the Bearcats were one of the premier teams in America and earned the right to be a No. 1 seed. But standing in their way on Sunday were the UCLA Bruins, a dangerous No. 8 seed. The Bruins showed their incredible potential with a win over Kansas earlier this season. And they showed it again Sunday. More...
And now the storied program that helped put the Madness in March
is at it again.
UCLA, finally playing up to its potential, upset top-seeded
Cincinnati 105-101 in double overtime Sunday behind Dan Gadzuric's
career-high 26 points to move into the West Regional semifinals.
The Bearcats, never before a No. 1 seed in the NCAAs, became the
first No. 1 to exit this year's tournament.
And not surprisingly, it was the Bruins, college hoops'
perennial No. 1 and owners of 11 national titles, who showed
Cincinnati the door.
"When we come to play, we can beat anybody in the country,"
Bruins forward Matt Barnes said.
UCLA (21-11), whose enigmatic play left coach Steve Lavin
scratching the slick-backed hair on his head all season, is
suddenly a different team and one looking ready to make a run at
the school's 12th national title.
"We've been up and down all season," Barnes said. "Especially
with the high expectations we've had. But we usually get hot at
tourney time."
Jason Kapono scored 19 points -- 17 after halftime -- and Barnes
added 17 points -- all after the first 20 minutes -- and 11 assists
for UCLA, which will meet 12th-seeded Missouri on Thursday in the
regional semifinals in San Jose, Calif.
Going back to Pac-10 country will make it feel like a home game
for the Bruins, who had to travel across three time zones for their
first two NCAA Tournament games.
"That's as talented an eight seed as there's ever been in the
history of the tournament," Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins said.
"They're terrific."
Down 13 in the first half, UCLA rallied from an 11-point deficit
in the second and then outscored Cincinnati 15-11 in the second OT
to reach the round of 16 for the fifth time in six years.
It was UCLA's first double-overtime game in the tournament since
1974, when the Bruins lost to North Carolina State in the Final
Four.
Leonard Stokes had a career-high 39 points, but All-American
guard Steve Logan was held to 18 on just 6-of-18 shooting for the
Bearcats (31-4), who have lost in the second round five times in
six years.
"They ran two guys at me all day, one 6-7 and one 6-8," Logan
said. "So it was hard for me to get any open looks. I wasn't
getting open shots and I didn't want to force the issue. Other guys
got good looks, they just didn't fall."
Cincinnati's loss was another tough one in the tourney for
Huggins, whose lone trip to the Final Four came in 1992.
And as if losing weren't tough enough, Bearcats fans will have
to wait to see if Huggins takes the vacant job at West Virginia,
his alma mater.
Despite being two of the nation's elite programs, Cincinnati and
UCLA hadn't played since 1965, but they made up for it with 50
sensational minutes Sunday.
They went to the first overtime tied at 80, and to the second
extra period tied at 90. Both teams had chances to win it -- Barnes
was short with a shot at the end of regulation, and Cincinnati
missed several close-range shots after a scramble underneath in the
final seconds of the first OT.
"We had the opportunities," Huggins said. "The ball just
didn't bounce the way we wanted it to."
The Bruins finally opened some room by scoring the first four
points of the second extra session and went up 97-93 with 1:27 left
on a three-point play by Billy Knight.
Dijon Thompson's short jumper put UCLA up by six and, after
another Cincinnati miss, Barnes was fouled. The senior then tucked
the ball under his arm, raced under UCLA's basket, knelt and
pointed his index finger to the sky.
"I knew I had to step up today," Barnes said.
Thompson hit two more free throws to put UCLA up 102-95, but the
Bearcats weren't going quietly.
Field Williams and Logan hit consecutive 3-pointers to bring the
Bruins to 103-101 with 1.6 seconds left, before freshman Ryan
Walcott sealed it with a pair of free throws.
As the horn sounded, UCLA's players poured onto the floor to
celebrate the school's 85th tournament win. One of them was senior
guard Rico Hines, who hopped on one foot after sitting out the
entire second half with a strained left knee.
According to ESPN.com's Andy Katz, UCLA staff said Cedric Bozeman's knee is fine. Hines had his MRI Monday, but UCLA says that the results won't be known until Tuesday.
Before UCLA's first-round game against Mississippi, Hines wrote
"Final Four" on his sneakers to inspire his teammates who are
starting to believe they can get there, too.
"Everybody is really confident right now," Gadzuric said. "We
knew we had to play with confidence in this tournament."
Immanuel McElroy's steal and dunk with 9:20 left put the
Bearcats up 65-54, and it looked like Cincinnati could start
booking its trip to San Jose.
But Barnes hit two 3-pointers in 3 seconds -- the second coming
after a foul was called on his first trey -- and after a turnover,
the 6-foot-11 Gadzuric got free for a dunk to bring the Bruins
within 65-62.
Kapono's 3-pointer with 5:09 left in regulation finally got the
Bruins, who had trailed 47-37 at halftime, even at 71-all.
