UCLA knows it's in for a battle with Texas A&M
Forget top-ranked North Carolina, powerhouse Kansas or any of the other juggernauts looming in other regions. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute expects tonight's second-round clash with Texas A& M to be UCLA's most challenging NCAA tournament test.
Having endured a pair of excruciatingly narrow second-round victories against Alabama and Indiana the past two years, Mbah a Moute said the burly, hard-nosed Aggies remind him of both of those teams.
"They're really tough and really physical, just like those two teams," the junior forward said. "The difference in competition between the first round and the second round is huge. The past two years, it was the toughest game of the tournament, and I think it will be this year again."
While UCLA has advanced to the Final Four the past two years, it's easy to forget how close those two runs came to ending early. Seventh-seeded Indiana put a scare into the Bruins in the second round last year, rallying from a 13-point deficit before a steal by Darren Collison deprived the gritty Hoosiers of a chance to tie the game in the final seconds.
Two years ago, UCLA's second-round margin was even slimmer. Had Alabama guard Ronald Steele sank a potential game-winning, top-of-the-key jumper at the buzzer, the Bruins' first Final Four run would have ended three victories shy of Indianapolis.
"Hopefully, it won't be so stressful this time," guard Josh Shipp said. "Second-round teams are always really tough. Knowing how difficult it has been the past two years, it will only add to our level of focus."
Avoiding another heart-pounding finish today may be difficult for UCLA because Texas A& M is not a typical ninth seed. The Aggies, who started the season 15-1 and cracked the Top 20 as recently as mid-February, boast a powerful frontcourt as physical and deep as any team the Bruins have faced this year.
Broad-shouldered Joseph Jones and Bryan Davis start for Texas A& M, both checking in at 6-foot-9, 255 pounds with hardly a hint of fat on their bodies. Coming off the bench is 7-foot, 255-pound freshman DeAndre Jordan, a potential lottery pick in this summer's NBA draft because of his shot-blocking prowess and enormous wingspan.
"Tomorrow's going to be an all-out war," freshman center Kevin Love said Friday. "I'm going to have to be a bruiser tomorrow. I need to get 10-plus rebounds, and we're going to have to pound the ball inside."
UCLA got a taste of Texas A& M's brand of physicality last season during a 65-62 slugfest of a non-conference victory over the Aggies. Texas A& M left the Bruins bruised and battered after that game, out muscling them around the basket and out-rebounding them 34-23.
While all-American guard Acie Law has left for the NBA and former coach Billy Gillispie bolted for Kentucky after the season, the Aggies haven't altered their style of play all that much. They held their opponent under 70 points 28 times this season, blocked more shots than any other Texas A& M team since 1990 and averaged a plus-11 rebounding margin against their most recent two opponents, Kansas and BYU.
"A lot of their personnel is the same this year," UCLA coach Ben Howland said. "That was the most physical game we played last year. No one has played us more physical than Texas A& M."
UCLA will have one significant advantage tonight: It should be by far the more rested of the teams. Whereas Texas A& M's key players were on the court for the final seconds of its 67-62 first-round victory over BYU, no UCLA starter played more than 28 minutes Thursday against 16th-seeded Mississippi Valley State.
"The difference in intensity between the first round and the second round is huge," sophomore James Keefe said. "The first-round games are not even close to as intense. Especially when you're going from playing a 16 seed to someone like Texas A& M, it's going to be a huge difference."
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