Mar 25, 2007, 1:35 GMT
San Jose, CA - Arron Afflalo scored 24 points, and UCLA earned its second consecutive trip to the Final Four by beating Kansas, 68-55, in the West Regional final.
Afflalo went 10-of-15 from the field for the second-seeded Bruins (30-5), while Darren Collison added 14 points and had five of UCLA's 15 steals. The Bruins overcame 25 turnovers, forcing 21 from the Jayhawks, and finished the game with some tenacious defense, also capitalizing on some sloppy play from Kansas.
The victory increased UCLA's Final Four appearances to 17, one ahead of North Carolina for the most all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The Bruins now remain on track to reach their second straight championship game after losing to Florida last year. Next Saturday's game in Atlanta could produce a rematch against the Gators, if they can get by Oregon Sunday in the Midwest Regional final.
Brandon Rush had 18 points for the top-seeded Jayhawks (33-5), who failed in their attempt to get back to the Final Four for the first time since 2003 when they lost to Syracuse in the title game. Russell Robinson tallied 11 points and five steals for Kansas, which had its 14-game winning streak broken.
UCLA has been a thorn in Kansas' side in the NCAA Tournament, as the Bruins have beaten the Jayhawks in all five of the meetings.
UCLA also came up with a big run at the end of the first half and benefited with some clutch baskets to beat the shot clock on several occasions in the final 20 minutes.
The Bruins held Kansas guard Mario Chalmers to two points, more than 10 below his season average. Chalmers also had seven assists and six steals, but committed seven turnovers.
The Bruins were behind 29-23 with 4 1/2 minutes left in the first half, but ended the stanza on a 12-2 run. Michael Roll started the spurt with a three- pointer and Alfred Aboya's bucket pulled the Bruins within a point.
A turnover by Rush led to Afflalo's jumper, which gave UCLA the lead with under three minutes remaining. Rush then missed a layup, and Afflalo continued to kill the Jayhawks with a layup for a three-point advantage.
Rush finally jammed with under a minute left, but Afflalo ended UCLA's spectacular flurry with a three from the left corner at the buzzer, boosting the lead to 35-31 at the half.
'We missed a lot of easy shots and they made a lot of easy shots,' Chalmers said. 'I think that's how the game went from there.'
The Bruins continued to surge in the second half, extending to a 46-35 lead on Afflalo's layup with 13 1/2 minutes remaining.
Rush hit a three and a jumper to bring Kansas within six, but the Bruins continued to pressure as Afflalo responded with another long-distance jumper for a 49-40 cushion.
'I thought our guards were a little careless,' said Kansas coach Bill Self, who fell to 0-4 all-time in the Elite Eight. 'We overpenetrated. We should have been driving to dish or pitch more.'
Afflalo continued to amaze with a high shot off the glass for a 53-45 lead.
Later in the half, a Robinson three pulled Kansas within 55-50 with 5 1/2 minutes to go. However, one of the biggest shots for the Bruins came when Collison knocked down a long three with the shot clock about to expire for a 58-50 margin with under five minutes left.
'Darren's shot was unbelievable,' UCLA coach Ben Howland said. 'Those are backbreakers when you're playing great defense and then a guy hits an unbelievable shot from 25 feet. That was just tough. The bounce went our way.'
Kansas never got closer than seven points the rest of the way, as Kansas struggled immensely by going 9-of-25 from the field over the final 20 minutes. Conversely, the Bruins went 10-of-17 from the floor in the second half.
Afflalo's free throw moved UCLA to a 61-53 lead with 1:13 remaining, but Chalmers, who ended 1-of-8 from the field, missed a layup at the other end, and the Bruins sealed the win with a few more steals.
'The second half we did a great job of being a little more patient, playing with a little more poise,' Afflalo said.
Game Notes
This gives the Bruins back-to-back 30-win seasons for the first time since the 1971-72 and 1972-73 national championship squads each went 30-0...Josh Shipp had nine points, five assists and four steals for UCLA...The Bruins shot 53.3 percent for the game, compared to 41.1 percent for Kansas.
© 2007 The Sports Network
Game Notes.
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