Oakland, Calif. – In 1995, the last time UCLA went to the Final Four, it did so in a 102-point blaze of glory, outlasting Connecticut by six points.
Things are a bit different now.
The Bruins are going back to the Final Four. How they got there – in a defense lover’s delight, grind-it-out 50-45 win over Memphis on Saturday – well, that’s different. Glamour is the trademark of the city of Los Angeles, and nearly all of its sports teams. But in the case of these Bruins, who will face LSU in one national semifinal, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Media are fickle. In press circles, points are pretty. Defense is dingy. Dozens of them filed into the interview room afterward, each person exclaiming a little more loudly than the previous, how horrible a basketball game it was.
Just look at the stat sheet. Ugh. UCLA made only four field goals in the second half – four – and was 14-of-40 for the game. Still, the Bruins won. They shot just 20-of-39 from the free-throw line. And still, the Bruins won. They committed 17 turnovers.
But, yes, they still won.
So now the eyes of UCLA guard Jordan Farmar, forward Ryan Hollins and coach Ben Howland are on the stat sheets. Farmar’s line: 1-of-9 for four points, three rebounds, three assists and five turnovers. Hollins’ line: 2-for-11 from the line. Guard Arron Afflalo: 15 points on 2-of-9 shooting.
And?
“I couldn’t be happier right now,” Farmar said. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Hollins agreed.
“A win is a win,” he said. “That’s what is going down in history right now.”
Memphis was in full agreement with the media. The stats were ugly, and the Tigers didn’t have to see them to know it. They lived through the horror of missed shots, turnovers and wasted opportunities. They couldn’t quicken the pace, and they weren’t up to snuff trying to win UCLA’s way.
“We just couldn’t make a basket,” Memphis coach John Calipari said. “Please make a basket. Make a free throw, anything. A hook. Kick one in.”
Rodney Carney averages 17.5 points per game. He had five on Saturday. Shawne Williams goes for 13 a night. He had eight.
Worse were Memphis starters as a whole. The group of Carney, Darius Washington Jr., Antonio Anderson, Williams and Joey Dorsey made 10-of-39 shots. Washington Jr. had four of those. Carney’s two field goals came at 12:30 in the first half, and a meaningless 3-pointer with .8 of a second left in the game.
The 45 points were a season low for Memphis. The Tigers were 17-of-54 from the field, 2-of-17 from the 3-point line, and committed 18 turnovers.
A game like this was not thought possible for a team that averaged 81 points during the season and beat each of its three previous tournament opponents by 16 points apiece.
“Everyone played terrible,” Carney said. “Even when we did get transition buckets we missed easy layups, easy 2-foot shots. We missed everything around the bucket.”
Farmar walked into the interview room holding the trophy given to those teams that win four times and advance to the Final Four. He set it on the table. Howland told him to put it on the floor, which he did. Later, Farmar was asked to sit it back up on the table and gush while explaining to the world how great it is to bring glory back to the UCLA program.
He didn’t comply.
“I’m going to leave it down there,” Farmar said. “At UCLA, no other banner but national championships go up. I’m going to leave it down here till we take care of our business.”
Staff writer Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-820-5455 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
