NCAA: Half of Final Four

NCAA: Half of Final Four

 

 

UCLA Bruins wins the battle against Xavier Musketeers 76-57 to earn a spot in the Final Four of the 2007-2008 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Saturday night.

 

Kevin Love, who had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the top-seeded UCLA Bruins. “Obviously, it’s unbelievable,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said after taking the last few snips of the net. “That’s really a credit to how good the players are and how well we performed under pressure the last three years.”

 

UCLA Bruins (35-3) lost in the Final Four the last two years. But they go to San Antonio with Kevin Love, who has given them a formidable inside presence and has raised his game in this tournament.

Kevin Love made 7-of-11 shots from the floor, including 2-of-4 from beyond the arc. Half of his rebounds came at the offensive end and he added four assists for good measure.

“He looks like he’s 25 years old when he’s playing,” Xavier coach Sean Miller said of Kevin Love.

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute had 13 points and 13 rebounds and Darren Collison added 19 points for UCLA, which shot 53.8 percent from the floor and won its 14th straight.

In the other game of the Eastern Region, Tyler Hansbrough of North Carolina Tar Heels led his team to squeeze past the Louisville Cardinals 83-73 to reach the national semifinals for the first time since winning the championship in 2005.

North Carolina Tar Heels Tyler Hansbrough had 28 points and 13 rebounds Saturday night. North Carolina Tar Heels (36-2) advanced to play the Kansas-Davidson winner next Saturday at San Antonio, setting up a potential matchup between Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams and the Jayhawks program he left behind when he returned to his alma mater in 2003.

North Carolina Tar Heels Tyler Hansbrough finished 12-for-17 from the floor in 38 minutes and was named regional MVP. That included a pair of clutch jumpers over the outstretched arms of 6-11 center David Padgett as the Tar Heels desperately tried to hold their tenuous second-half lead in the final minutes.

“He does the same thing in practice every day,” Roy Williams said. “He is the most driven, focused player I’ve ever seen in my life. He wants to be the best player he can be and win.

The Tar Heels have won all four of their games in this tournament by double digits. All four victories came in their home state, too, allowing them to celebrate in front of plenty of blue-clad fans Saturday.