So We Meet Again! UAB Vs UCLA Round Of 32 Game Information and Preview

March Madness… crazy right? Where else can you get two underdogs to battle it out in the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament that have already played each other in the losers bracket of a pre-season tournament? No where! UAB Vs UCLA is happening once again after the Blazers and Bruins meet back in late November in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas. UCLA pulled out a convoncing win, but do not think that guarantees a Bruin victory.

UCLA Bruins

Records:

UAB Blazers 20-15

UCLA Bruins 21-13

Tip-Off: 9:00 p.m. PT

Location: KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, KY

Capacity – 22,000

Tickets: www.uclabruins.com

TV: CBS

Radio: TBD

On-line: TuneIn

Betting Line: UCLA -5.5, O/U 133.0

Projected Starting Line-ups:

UAB – Nick Norton, Hakeem Baxter, Robert Brown, William Lee, Tosin Mehinti

UCLA – Bryce Alford, Norman Powell, Isaac Hamilton, Kevon Looney, Tony Parker

Mar 19, 2015; Louisville, KY, USA; UAB Blazers guard Robert Brown (4) reacts after the UAB Blazers defeat the Iowa State Cyclones 60-59 in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at KFC Yum! Center. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports

Preview: UAB just knocked off one of the hottest teams in the country. #3 Iowa State was fresh off a Big XII Tournament Championship and looking to make waves in the NCAA Tournament. UAB had other plans.

The Blazers had kept it close all game and even trailed by four with a minute and a half left before taking over late. Needless to say this is not the same team UCLA saw last Thanksgiving. The Blazers will be lead by Robert Brown who put up 21 points in the NCAA second round victory.

As for UCLA, the Bruins won their first game due to error rather than success.

Mar 19, 2015; Louisville, KY, USA; Southern Methodist Mustangs center Yanick Moreira (2) is called for goaltending against the UCLA Bruins during the second half in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at KFC Yum! Center. UCLA Bruins win 60-59. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports

The Bruins won when Bryce Alford missed a crucial three pointer down by two points with 13 seconds left, though he was bailed out when SMU‘s Yanick Moreira touched the ball while it was above the rim resulting in a goaltending call… on a three point shot attempt… which gave UCLA the 60-59 lead… for real. But think about this…

If Moreira did not touch that ball or the referees miss that call, UCLA would be the ones heading home. Instead, they go one step beyond in this tournament to face a team they beat 88-76 four months ago.

But seriously, though you may have disagreed with the final UCLA shot and play selection, you have to give it to Bryce Alford. Though it was a bad final shot, he did make three critical 3-pointers that got UCLA back in the game in the last five minutes. He had also made nine shots from behind the arc the entire game (8 actual, 1 goaltending) as Alford shot 82% from 3-point range. That is huge.

But now UCLA has to figure out other ways of getting the rest of the team the ball. Knowing what Bryce is capable of, expect UAB to really put the pressure on Alford. If and when that happens, other Bruins are going to need to step up.

Norman Powell was the only other factor in the win against SMU. He scored an aggressive 19 points that helped the Bruins get on several runs throughout the game.

Which brings me to what might be the biggest factor going forward. The Bruins need to go on runs to extend their lead, not try to comeback from a deficit. UCLA was up 10 half way through the second half when they seemed to ease up. UAB then went on a 19-0 run to take a nine point lead just under five minutes. The Bruins, if ahead, need to keep their foot on the gas and finish the game.

All too often, especially late int he season, we have seen the Bruins with a healthy lead and let it slip away late in the game. The Bruins did the same thing against Arizona the last two times they played against them and even got a bit of a scare from USC in their final regular season game.

The point is, UCLA cannot get complacent. They need to play 40 minutes of basketball and prove that they can have better results rather than winning on a goaltending call. That would really prove to their critics that they belong in this tournament.

Prediction: UAB 58 – UCLA 60

Mar 19, 2015; Louisville, KY, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Bryce Alford (20) celebrates as the UCLA Bruins defeat the Southern Methodist Mustangs 60-59 in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at KFC Yum! Center. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports