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Before the Madness (as opposed to simply Madness) began, I laid out my reasons why UCLA was set up well to make a deep run in this year’s NCAA Tournament.  I realize that having earned a Pac-10 title and a one seed out west, I wasn’t exactly calling out this year’s George Mason, but whatever.  There was good guard play, the presence of Kevin Love, experience on the floor and the sidelines, but above, all, a lockdown defense that could sustain the Bruins through stretches where the offense wasn’t working at peak performance.  Or even off peak.  Or, like it was in Friday’s 53-49 win over Texas A&M in Anaheim, worn down to a tiny little nub. 

The Bruins were beneficiaries of incredible nights from Love, who displayed every bit of his offensive arsenal, from outside shooting to midrange turnarounds to solid moves in the low post, and Darren Collison, whose work from beyond the arc (5-8, while the rest of the team was 1-10).  But it was the D that won the day. 

UCLA trailed 29-26 at halftime in a true knuckledragger of a game, and the Aggies come out hot after the break, scoring (a relatively speaking) ABA-esque seven points over the first ninety ticks to run their lead to ten.  At that point, the Bruins cranked up the lock down, even by their standards.  After a bucket at the 18:27 mark, UCLA held A&M to a grand total of 13 points.  For a nearly 11 minute stretch, between 12:01 and 1:19, the Aggies scored three points. 

Three. 

A team operating with any sort of offensive efficiency would have run away with the game, but the Bruins clearly weren’t.  They shot at a 44% clip that seemed worse, and turned the ball over 14 times, including six from Luc Richard Mbah a Moute.  Granted, the Aggies are a very solid defensive team, but it had to be scary for Bruins fans who have seen the team struggle to beat opponants who force them to score with consistency (say… Florida, for example). 

At the end of the tournament, whatever team is left cutting down the nets will undoubtedly look back on one game and realize they were fortunate to advance.  It happens that way nearly every year, and I didn’t see anything out of the Bruins tonight that would make me come off my prediction of advancement to the title game, especially given how their bracket has opened up considerably with UConn out of the picture.  But while I don’t expect the Bruins to suddenly morph into the Denver Nuggets, they’ll need to find a little more O if they’re to avoid a stumble before San Antonio. 

Brian Kamenetzky hosts the Lakers Blog and Blue Notes: A Dodgers Blog for the LA Times.com. He’s a contributing writer to ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com, and can be heard regularly on the Steve Mason Show, on 710 ESPN radio in LA. Write him at bk@sportshubla.com.

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