Thursday, March 12, 1998
Bruins script tourney with happy ending at Final Four
Taking one step at a time essential to realizing lofty goals
By Brent Boyd
and Emmanuelle Ejercito
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
If Kris Johnson were a screen writer, San Antonio would be the
final scene to a Bruin tournament run that would only be believed
in Hollywood.
"I think that it is so well-scripted that it’s going to be a
perfect ending and that we are going to go back to the Final Four,"
Johnson said. "I really believe it. It’s just a matter of us
playing basketball and doing it."
But they’d have to be doing it against some pretty tough
opponents.
The No. 19 UCLA men’s basketball team, ever-so-loved by the NCAA
Tournament Committee, drew the hardest bracket in the Big
Dance.
If the Bruins (22-8) are to make a trip to the Alamodome, they
will have to get by some powerhouse teams such as No. 3 Duke, No. 5
Kentucky and No. 12 Michigan.
"I think it’s a strong region, no question about it," UCLA head
coach Steve Lavin said.
With the 1996 first-round Princeton loss still lurking in the
back of their minds, the Bruins don’t want to look at what may lay
ahead for them in the South Region.
"We’re not even thinking about Michigan right now," said Johnson
of a team that UCLA could face in the second round. "Being part of
a team that suffered a first-round loss, we’re not going to make
that mistake again, we’re just concerned about Miami and what we
have to do to win that ball game and then we’ll think about
Michigan if they get past Davidson.
"It’s tourney-time and crazy things have happened, so we’ve got
to take it one game at a time."
But in order for Johnson’s perfect ending to happen, what would
the Bruins have to do?
First, sixth-seeded UCLA would have to get past its first-round
game against 11th-seed Hurricanes (18-9) on Friday at the Georgia
Dome in Atlanta.
If all goes according to plan, the Bruins would meet Michigan in
the second round on Sunday.
The third-seeded Wolverines (24-8) could be a tough obstacle
with large-bodied Robert "Tractor" Traylor posting inside which
would cause problems for the undersized Bruins.
However, like UCLA, the Wolverines have shown signs of
inconsistency throughout the year and it wouldn’t be a complete
shock for the Bruins to pull the upset.
Assuming a UCLA win, it’s most likely that their opponent in the
Sweet Sixteen would be No. 2 seed Kentucky (29-4). The Wildcats,
who are trying to make their third-straight Final Four appearance,
would be tough to beat. Kentucky dominates the boards and has a
relentless defense, holding opponents to a 39 percent shooting
clip.
While a win would be unlikely, there is a reason why they call
the NCAA Tournament March Madness.
So UCLA would make it to the Elite Eight and it would be a shock
if Duke didn’t emerge from the other side of the South bracket for
a re-match with the Bruins.
As evidenced by their 120-84 win over UCLA on Feb. 22, the Blue
Devils (29-3) have proven themselves deep and deadly from the
outside. And with Elton Brand back in the middle for Duke, its
inside game is just as strong.
For UCLA to win here, nothing short of a miracle would be
needed.
But then again, this is a Hollywood script and the Bruins would
once again find themselves in San Antonio, the site of last year’s
UCLA tournament loss.