NCAA Tournament: UCLA Bruins Pull Away From Tulsa, Advance to Third Round
By Derek Hart
Mar 21, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Jordan Adams (3) celebrates with guard Norman Powell (4) in the second half of a men
NCAA TOURNAMENT – SOUTH REGIONAL, SECOND ROUND:
UCLA 76 – Tulsa 59
LEADING SCORERS:
Jordan Adams (UCLA), 21 points
Norman Powell (UCLA), 15 points
D’Andre Wright (Tulsa) 11 points
Just a few days into March Madness, and this year’s NCAA Tournament has already seen quite a few upsets, most notably Ohio State and Duke, who thanks to the efforts of Dayton and Mercer, respectively, are one-and-done and are going home.
When one thinks about it, it really shouldn’t be that surprising that mid-major teams often knock off the big boys in this Big Dance, due to the fact that they come into those games with a nothing-to-lose mindset.
Which makes them dangerous.
Thank goodness UCLA wasn’t one of those one-and-done teams in their opening round game against Tulsa’s Golden Hurricane, as the Bruins withstood a first half challenge where Danny Manning’s Conference USA team had an 11-2 run in the first half and were only down by five at halftime.
Mar 21, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; UCLA cheerleaders perform in the first half of the Bruins’ NCAA tournament game vs Tulsa
Steve Alford’s squad then gave Tulsa some reality in the second 20 minutes, overcoming Kyle Anderson‘s less-than-spectacular night (eight points, five turnovers) and riding the shoulders of Adams, Powell – who have been really stepping up of late – Travis Wear, who scored 11 points, and notably Tony Parker, who did a good job in providing a presence down below and scoring 11 points of his own, along with grabbing six rebounds.
The result of that team effort: A 76-59 win for UCLA before 11,488 at Viejas Arena in San Diego, which included a good number of Bruin fans who made the two-hour trip down I-5.
Their 46% shooting, mostly due to Anderson’s 3-for-11 from the field, could have been better, but they did hold Tulsa to 37%, which was a job well done.
Most importantly, the Bruins were successful in the Big Dance’s main objective, which is to survive and advance; style points definitely don’t count here.
The next opponent:
A Stephen F. Austin team that played with much inspiration in coming back from ten points down with three minutes left against Virginia Commonwealth to force overtime, using a four-point play to do so, then withstood a last second three point attempt to beat the Rams 77-75.
The 12th seeded Lumberjacks, who went undefeated in the Southland Conference and easily won their conference tournament, have a winning streak of their own – 29 games, which makes Tulsa’s now-broken 11-game streak seem insignificant.
Any sports team, no matter what level, that has a long winning streak like Stephen F. Austin’s must be given credit; this Lumberjacks from Nacogdoches, TX must be a good one to have won all those games, including their first NCAA tourney win against VCU on Friday night.
However…
One must consider the level of competition that those wins came against, as the Lumberjacks’ victims were teams like New Orleans, Central Arkansas, and Oral Roberts.
Let’s be honest: the Southland Conference is NOT the Pac-12.
What should this mean to this UCLA team and Bruin Nation?
Absolutely nothing, as Stephen F. Austin WILL be playing with both a chip on their shoulder AND a nothing-to-lose, “We’ll show them!” attitude.
This is the Lumberjacks’ biggest opportunity ever as a program, taking on the basketball team with the most national championships of any school in the country.
And if the Bruins take them lightly or come out flat, history may well be made in a most negative way on Sunday.
Mar 21, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins forward/center Tony Parker (23) reacts in the first half of their NCAA second round match vs Tulsa
Not that I expect UCLA to do that as it’s expected that they will start strong and strive to give Stephen F. Austin no hope in their big boy battle.
NCAA TOURNAMENT – SOUTH REGIONAL, THIRD ROUND:
#4 UCLA Bruins (27-8) vs #12 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (32-2)
DATE/TIME: Sunday, March 23, 4:10 p.m. PT
PLACE: Viejas Arena, San Diego, CA
TV: Either on one of the CBS networks, TNT, or TruTV