San Jose, Calif. – Arron Afflalo will get a second chance to shine in the Final Four – and he earned it by seizing the spotlight when UCLA most needed its leader.
In an exceptional second half that should help erase memories of his past mediocrity in big games, Afflalo scored 15 of his 24 points and the Bruins held off top-seeded Kansas for a 68-55 victory Saturday night in the West Regional championship.
Darren Collison added 14 points and four big free throws in the final seconds while leading the Bruins’ stellar defensive effort – but whenever the Bruins faced trouble on offense, Afflalo seemed to solve it.
“I don’t really think about it during the game, but when you’re making shots you’re gaining confidence,” said Afflalo, who was 6-for-6 in the second half. “My teammates showed a lot of confidence in me. Keep shooting, keep playing. That has to be a scorer’s mentality.”
Second-seeded UCLA (30-5) made its halftime lead stand up in a meeting between two schools with rich traditions and a combined 29 Final Four appearances – including an NCAA-record 17th for UCLA next week in Atlanta.
Brandon Rush scored 18 points for the Jayhawks (33-5), the first No. 1 seed to be eliminated from the tournament. Their 14-game winning streak also was snapped in the school’s first NCAA Tournament loss in California, where this game had a decided home-court feel for the Bruins.
“I think we beat ourselves, but I have to give credit to their defense,” said Rush, among several Jayhawks soon to be considering jumps to the NBA. “We just did some dumb stuff – dumb plays on defense and dumb plays on offense. We just had careless turnovers.”
The teams combined for 32 steals and 46 turnovers – yet both thought the game wasn’t particularly sloppy. Two strong defensive teams collided, but only Afflalo and his teammates had the strength of experience to break through.
“We beat the best team we played all year today,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said.
Afflalo likely felt more pressure than anyone: The Pac-10 player of the year had a habit of disappearing in big games.
Afflalo struggled in both of the Bruins’ Final Four contests last season, scoring a combined 19 points against LSU and Florida. He was also ineffective for long stretches of the Bruins’ previous two victories in this tournament.
He had no such trouble Saturday, hitting a series of clutch baskets in the second half, with a dwindling shot clock and UCLA nursing a lead: a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired with 10 minutes to play, or an acrobatic driving layup with 7 1/2 minutes left. Collison chipped in with another 3-pointer to beat the shot clock with 4:43 left.
“We had our best defenders on him, but he’s a good player,” said Kansas coach Bill Self, who has failed to win a regional final in four tries at three different schools. “I don’t want to appear frustrated. We missed our free throws, and they didn’t defend us on those. After they got the lead, they played poised.”
The Bruins edged ahead of North Carolina in Final Four appearances – the Tar Heels have 16 going into today’s East Regional final against Georgetown – and improved to 5-0 against Kansas in the NCAA Tournament.
UCLA also has back-to-back 30-win seasons for the first time since 1972-73.
UCLA (30-5)
Shipp 2-7 3-4 9, Mbah a Moute 3-8 2-2 8, Mata 1-2 0-2 2, Collison 4-8 4-4 14, Afflalo 10-15 1-2 24, Westbrook 2-2 0-0 4, Aboya 1-2 2-2 4, Keefe 0-0 0-0 0, Roll 1-1 0-2 3. Totals 24-45 12-18 68.
KANSAS (33-5)
Rush 7-16 2-2 18, Wright 4-7 0-2 8, Kaun 2-4 0-0 4, Robinson 4-8 1-2 11, Chalmers 1-8 0-0 2, Arthur 2-6 0-0 4, Collins 0-4 0-0 0, Stewart 0-0 0-0 0, Jackson 3-3 2-5 8. Totals 23-56 5-11 55.
Halftime – UCLA 35-31. 3-point goals – UCLA 8-17 (Afflalo 3-7, Collison 2-3, Shipp 2-4, Roll 1-1, Mbah a Moute 0-2), Kansas 4-8 (Robinson 2-2, Rush 2-3, Collins 0-1, Chalmers 0-2). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – UCLA 31 (Aboya, Mbah a Moute, Shipp 6), Kansas 28 (Rush, Wright 5). Assists – UCLA 12 (Shipp 5), Kansas 17 (Chalmers 7). Total fouls – UCLA 14, Kansas 19. A – 18,102.
