RECAP AND THOUGHTS ABOUT UCLA IN ROUND #2

HEART, AGAIN!
CHARACTER, AGAIN!
PERSEVERANCE, AGAIN!
OVERCOMING ADVERSITY, AGAIN! AND HOW!!

DESPITE - Us apparently coming out flat,
DESPITE - Lacking a perimeter shooting game (yet again),
DESPITE - Being down 10 points at one point,
AND DESPITE - Josh Shipp scoring 0 points in the game...

Final score from the Honda Center this past Saturday:
UCLA 51
Texas A&M 49!!!

Now I knew that this would be a tough matchup, A&M being a big, physical team and all, and I was proven right, BUT - One thing people must remember: CHAMPIONSHIP-LEVEL TEAMS ALWAYS FIND A WAY TO WIN.To say that our Bruins did exactly that on Saturday would be a significant understatement.

IN PARTICULAR: Darren Collison and Kevin Love stepped up! BIG time! Even the end was exciting when A&M, down by 2 with about 9 seconds left, went down the court trying to either tie or win, when not only did Josh Shipp block the shot, but Russell Westbrook put an exclamation point on the whole thing with a big, tomahawk, flying crane dunk that I gave a solid 9 out of 10 on. Yes, I know it happened after the buzzer sounded, and it technically didn't count, but it still exciting all the same...
I was worried that we'd come out flat for this contest, and we apparently did. HOWEVER, the old cliche saying in the NCAA Tornament is, "Survive And Move On", and that's what we did. I WILL say, though, what I said after our last 2 games in Pauley: WE CANNOT WIN A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP LIKE THIS! Having to make comebacks and depend on favorable referee calls - that won't do, Bruins...I'm sure they know that the target on their - our - back has been big all season long, and just got bigger with this win. Teams will be out to beat us, like our next opponent, Western Kentucky, a mid-major that's had a decent run so far that will have the following to lose: NOTHING. And as I once heard a wise man say, "The most dangerous kind of man in any society is the man with nothing to lose..."I think that describes Western Kentucky pretty well, don't you? To make this message short, WE NEED TO BRING OUR "A" GAME! IF WE OVERLOOK THESE HILLTOPPERS, WE'RE IN TROUBLE!!
Having said all of that, I'm happy to have made the Sweet 16, like everyone else in Bruin Nation. They're saying that we have the easiest road to the Final 4, now that Connecticut and Duke are gone. PAY NO ATTENTION TO THAT! WE DON'T BRING OUR "A" GAME, WE DEAD!!
Let's find out how things unfold...

RECAP AND THOUGHTS ABOUT UCLA IN ROUND #2

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