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OAKLAND — If earning a spot in the Elite Eight was the main draw on Thursday night, how UCLA’s much-vaunted defense matched up against the nation’s leading scorer in Adam Morrison was certainly the undercard. One crumbled for the better part of 37 minutes. The other crumbled on the court after the final horn. Morrison’s 24-point performance, which included a vast array of shots from just about everywhere on the court, wasn’t enough to propel his Bulldogs into the Elite Eight. This realization struck the Gonzaga junior immediately after the game, when he instantly burst into tears and collapsed on the court. “I hate losing, period,” said Morrison. “In anything – especially basketball. I’m going to let it hang out, and I did.” He was surprised, however, that among the first people to help him up from off the floor weren’t wearing Gonzaga uniforms. UCLA’s Arron Afflalo and Ryan Hollins, in the middle of celebrating their come-from-behind win, went over to Morrison to help up the player who had caused them fits for the previous two hours. The gesture wasn’t lost on Morrison. “At first I didn’t realize who it was,” Morrison said. “That’s just a sign of a great program and great people, as far as they’re concerned. “They had enough guts as a man in their moment of victory to pick someone up off the floor. If I could thank them I would. That’s a sign of great people and great players. That’s more than basketball.” While Afflalo said he couldn’t imagine what Morrison was feeling, he didn’t want to see a player of Morrison’s caliber leave the court with his head down. “I’m a competitor; I want to win, but I don’t want to see anyone hurt, especially a player like Morrison,” Afflalo said. “He’s got a great career ahead of him. He’s tough.” Afflalo, Cedric Bozeman, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Jordan Farmar and Mike Roll, who all spent time defending the mustached Morrison on Thursday night, certainly would attest to that. The 6-foot-8 Morrison shot over, shot in between, and powered through whoever was defending him on Thursday, shooting 10-for-17 from the field en route to scoring a game-high 24 points. In the final three minutes, however, Morrison missed all three of his shots and began to burst into tears with 1.9 seconds remaining after Mbah a Moute stole the ball away from the Bulldogs’ Derek Raivio with the Bruins leading 72-71. Yet, considering how much time the Bruins spent watching videotape and preparing for the Gonzaga junior, it still may not have been enough. “He had a great game,” Mbah a Moute said. “My teammates and I did a great job, and he still got his. It’s tough to play a player like that.”

TIGERS TAKE TWO: UCLA will play Memphis in the Elite Eight on Saturday for a ticket to the Final Four. The Tigers made quick work of Bradley in an 80-64 win also at Oakland Arena on Thursday. Memphis and the Bruins have already faced one another this season, with the Tigers scoring an 88-80 victory over UCLA back on Nov. 23 at the Preseason NIT Tip-off in New York City. Due to that victory – the largest margin of victory against UCLA this season – Memphis’ Joey Dorsey believes it gives his team a slight advantage. "That’s going to give us great confidence, so it’s definitely an advantage," Dorsey said. “The guys won’t play uptight. We’ll be relaxed. And what team can match up with us? We can hang with anyone. We’re blowing teams out. We’re not the first No. 1 seed to be knocked off. We’re just playing with a chip on our shoulder.”

SPECIAL VISITOR: Following UCLA's come-from-behind victory on Thursday, former Bruin Ed O'Bannon visited the locker room and congratulated his former team. He did admit, however, that sitting in the stands for the ending of a dramatic game was a much more stressful experience than when he was a player. "I think watching it was a lot more nerve-racking because you have no control," O'Bannon said. "Playing in it, you kind of control your destiny. Watching it was a whole new experience." O’Bannon’s 1994-1995 team, which claimed the NCAA Tournament championship, also played in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight at Oakland Arena en route to the Final Four.

DRIBBLERS: NCAA selection committee chairman Craig Littlepage was in attendance on Thursday. ... UCLA went 8:43 without a field goal to start the game. ... In the first half, Gonzaga shot 57 percent, while the Bruins shot an abysmal 26 percent. ... UCLA didn’t allow the Bulldogs to score for the final 3:27, going on an 11-0 run to end the game. ... Gonzaga’s 71 points were the most UCLA allowed since ceding 71 to USC – the Bruins’ last loss. ... UCLA’s 13-point halftime deficit was the second-largest margin a team has overcome to win in the Sweet 16.