Sweet Sixteen

UCLA, by way of beating Alabama (62-59) this past Saturday have ensured their Sweet Sixteen berth. That game is against Gonzaga this coming Thursday night. I can't wait to see our defense against their offense, Most people will pick Gonzaga because they've emerged as from cinderella to dark horse to underdog to now, a favorite to reach the final four.

Due to the multiple season ending injuries to my UCLA Bruins this season, I wasn't sure what kind of a season we were going to have, but I did know that next year, we'd be an even better team than we are this year. As it turns out, that season full of injuries didn't sink our team as it would many others, it just made us deeper because we had to play and rely on our freshmen. I cannot say enough for how well all of our players, but especially our freshmen have risen to the challenge.

UCLA has been winning games because they play active defense. If we blow the other team out, it's because they can't score, not because we are scoring into the triple digits. If we are being outplayed on any particular day, we stay in it, giving ourselves a chance to steal it at the end, because of our defense. Against Alabama, we were tested, but really, if we had made our freethrows, the game would have been over. I hope coach Howland gets everyone to practice their freethrows before the game this Thursday.

Go Bruins!