SAN JOSE — Darren Collison stripped the basketball from Kansas forward Julian Wright, grabbed it, and was fouled with just 37 seconds left to play.
Suddenly it became apparent: UCLA was going back to the Final Four.
Collison waved an intense UCLA crowd to its feet and No. 2 seed UCLA (30-5) closed out a 68-55 victory over No. 1 seed Kansas in a game that was much closer than the score indicated. Saturday marked the first time UCLA has earned trips to back-to-back Final Fours since the 1975 and 1976 seasons.
“It wasn’t a one-point win, but this was the best team we’ve faced all year,” junior guard Arron Afflalo said.
Afflalo for his part was absolutely spectacular, hitting his final eight shots of the game after struggling to find a rhythm from outside in his last two games. Afflalo also hit two backbreaking 3-pointers with the shot clock running down and held his team together down the stretch.
Afflalo, the NCAA West Regional MVP, led all scorers with 24 points.
“I’m really proud of Arron,” coach Ben Howland said. “He’s just so tough. You can see he’s all about this team; he’s all about winning.”
Even before the game started, the electricity in the building was vibrant. As play began, it quickly became apparent that both teams – particularly UCLA, who was very well represented – were feeding off the enthusiasm.
“To play in California means a lot – that’s something that you can enjoy as well,” sophomore point guard Collison said. “I definitely felt like it was an advantage factor for us. Every time we needed a push, the fans gave it that extra edge.”
Both UCLA and Kansas came out with fearless intensity. The first half featured flying dunks in transition, great defense and exciting plays that swung the momentum.
It was capped by sophomore forward Josh Shipp’s corner 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to put the Bruins up 35-31 heading into the locker room. Shipp’s shot was a key play in the game for a UCLA team that had trailed 29-23 just over four minutes earlier.
“(That play) shows how much confidence we have in everybody’s ability,” Shipp said. “Arron could have easily taken that shot, but I was open and he’s confident in me as well as I’m confident in him.”
It was clear from the opening 20 minutes of play that this game was living up to and exceeding the hype of a regional final game featuring two of the traditional powers in college basketball.
“It was a frenzy out there,” Shipp said. “Everybody was everywhere. There were a lot of good athletes in this game.”
The athleticism Kansas showed in the first half and throughout the entire season was harnessed in the second half by a tremendous defensive effort from the Bruins.
UCLA held the Jayhawks to just 36 percent shooting from the floor in the second half, forcing 11 turnovers and allowing just 12 rebounds to a team that had outrebounded its opponents in 30 of its 38 games this season.
The Bruins finished the game with a 31-28 edge on the boards.
“We knew that Kansas was more athletic and faster than us,” sophomore forward Alfred Aboya said. “We had to bring our intensity and dig deep defensively to be able to win.”
For Kansas, the season was brought to a painful ending. It was the Jayhawks’ first loss since they fell to Texas A&M at home in early February.
Kansas coach Bill Self suffered yet another painful loss in the Elite Eight. Self is now 0-4 in regional championship games, falling just short of leading his traditionally strong teams to the Final Four.
“From my standpoint, you know, it hurts,” Self said. “I really felt like this was our year. … I’m not saying a year to win it all, but I really felt like we were the best-equipped team to make a strong run. And we did. It just wasn’t good enough.”
For UCLA, it was the most gratifying win over the season. For the players, the satisfaction was rooted in more than just winning the game, but also beating the best opponent they’ve played all season.
And of course, they are going back to the Final Four.
“This is what we all dream about when we try to be college basketball players,” Collison said. “Last year, we didn’t get the job done. This year, we feel like we’re a better team and hopefully we’ll get the job done.”