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 offensive trouble, Afflalo seemed to solve it, either by hitting a big shot or drawing the defense to set up a teammate.
“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 an appropriately tense 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.
The Bruins, who lost to Florida in last season’s national title game, could be in for a rematch: They’ll meet Sunday’s winner of the Gators’ regional final against Oregon.
“It feels good,” Collison said. “We felt that we didn’t finish the job last year, so we’re going to enjoy this moment, and then go back and try to finish it.”
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 breakthrough.
“We beat the best team we played all year today,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said.
Afflalo’s teammates surrounded him in celebration after the buzzer, and the crowd chanted “One more year!” at the smiling junior as he pulled on a commemorative T-shirt and hat.
Though Kansas is loaded with star talent, the Bruins returned with several major contributors to last season’s run. That experience showed in every pressure-packed possession between teams that began the season with the Final Four as their only acceptable destination.
Afflalo likely felt more pressure than anyone: The Pac-10 player of the year had a dismaying 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 managed just three points in this season’s conference tournament loss to California, and he was ineffective for long stretches of the Bruins’ last 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. They just had some guys step up and make some plays. After they got the lead, they played poised.”
UCLA scored six straight points on free throws before Luc Richard Mbah a Moute’s celebratory dunk with 24 seconds to play.
The Bruins edged ahead of North Carolina in Final Four appearances – the Tar Heels have 16 going into Sunday’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.
The San Jose Sharks’ hockey rink was filled with Bruins fans, both from the big Bay Area alumni base and those who made the drive north from Westwood. UCLA fed off the support and Howland’s usual bombastic, foot-stomping performance on the sideline, playing with remarkable defensive energy.
The clubs traded the lead through a predictably close first half. UCLA made a 14-4 run to take a 35-31 lead when Josh Shipp hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Shipp, who missed last season’s UCLA run because of hip surgery, pumped his fist and bumped chests with Afflalo as they headed to the locker room behind the Bruins band.
