Even with top seed, team expects tough games

Four months ago, when addressing questions at UCLA basketball’s media day, Ben Howland plainly stated his goal for the season: a top seed in the Western Regional, because it would be the easiest route for the Bruins to reach the Final Four.

So with all that UCLA (31-3) has accomplished this year ““ a third-straight Pac-10 title for the first time in more than a decade ““ the regular season only served one purpose: to position the Bruins for another Final Four run.

And that’s because the Bruins know that reaching the Final Four is never an easy task. That’s why Howland and his players are downplaying the assumption that they lucked out with a favorable bracket in the West.

The Bruins say they’re worried about the first game against Mississippi Valley State and potential second-round game, either BYU or Texas A&M ““ not just potential matchups down the road.

"They’re saying we probably got the easiest bracket, which I disagree with," guard Darren Collison said. "Because if we’re fortunate enough to get to the second round, you look at Texas A&M. We played them in the Pond last year and it was a close game. And then BYU (in 2006), we were down 10 at halftime at our own gym. Both of those teams (play) exceptionally well ““ high-caliber teams. We gotta bring our A-game."

If there’s one thing the Bruins have that other teams in the regional don’t, it’s momentum. They are the only team among the top four seeds that won its conference tournament.

The No. 2 seed, Duke, lost five of its final nine games. Many thought the Blue Devils would slip to a No. 3 seed after losing to Clemson in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

Xavier, the No. 3 seed, lost two of its final four games. The Musketeers’ senior point guard, Drew Lavender, has battled a sprained ankle recently.

Connecticut and Drake, the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds respectively, could challenge UCLA in the Sweet 16. But in either potential matchup, the Bruins will be heavy favorites.

But the West Regional is not without potential pitfalls. While UCLA is 14-2 against the current field, its bracket includes teams worthy of respect.

"I think they’re all tough," Howland said. "(No. 7) West Virginia, for example, is a very good team. They beat us at their place last year. They have the same offense … the best defensive player in the country. I voted for the big kid at UConn (Hasheem Thabeet), who’s the best shot blocker. UConn is really on a roll late in the year. … Xavier has had a tremendous year. The most successful college coach currently in college coaching is Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski) at Duke."

In Phoenix, Howland could end up having a Big East reunion with Jim Calhoun and UConn, followed by the potential one-two matchup against Duke.

If that happens, Kevin Love will square off against Duke’s Kyle Singler, another top freshman from Oregon and Love’s former Amateur Athletic Union teammate.

"I swear they do that on purpose, too," Love said. "I swear they do. Even though they say they don’t. … I was calling it. I was like, ‘Duke’s going to be on our side.’ They’re not going to put Texas on our side. I know they want to see the rematch, whatever, but they’re going to put Duke on our side to make a story. But I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself, because if you do that, you’re going to lose."

Starting out, the Bruins travel a total of 45 miles for the first two rounds. If they make the next two rounds, they’d have to cross only one state line. Both facts are expected to give the Bruins a big home-court advantage all the way through the Elite Eight.

"It’s huge," senior Lorenzo Mata-Real said, "if we are fortunate enough to get to Phoenix. Anaheim is like our home court, and Phoenix, we’ll have a lot of our fans there. It should be our sixth man."