UCLA Basketball: Top 5 Moments Of The 2013-14 Season

Mar 15, 2014; Las Vegas, NV, USA; UCLA Bruins celebrates with the championship trophy after the championship game of the Pac-12 Conference college basketball tournament against the Arizona Wildcats at MGM Grand Garden Arena. The Bruins defeated the Wildcats 75-71. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Well another season of UCLA hoops has come and gone and at GoJoeBruin.com, we wanted to recap some of the highlights of the year. So for your Bruin Basketball entertainment, here are the Top 5 Moments Of The Year… And Some Change!

#5 Just Like Football

What better way to start the UCLA basketball conference season than to beat that school from across town. Coming off of a second straight football season that saw the USC Trojans defeated for the second straight year, UCLA Quarterback Brett Hundley had said, “UCLA runs LA, everybody knows that.” He was right, even about the basketball team.

What added to this embarrassment of the Fall of Troy, was first year USC head coach, Andy Enfield, stated before the season “if you want to play slow, go to UCLA.” We did not hear a lot from him after this game.

#4 LaVine/Powell Dunk Fest

 One of the surprises of the year was the high-flying abilities of junior Norman Powell and freshmen Zach LaVine. We knew Powell was athletic and that LaVine had potential, but this was insane… and fun. We not only got to see what kind of athletes UCLA had, but to have a nightly dunk contest by the hands of these two, was the icing on the cake. Especially Powell, he is just ferocious and has proven to be an asset this year.

#3 Kyle Anderson’s Triple-Double

It was the first triple-double since 1995 when Toby Bailey was the last Bruin to do it. Anderson had notched 13 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in a win against Morehead St. We all knew it was going to happen, it was just a matter of when. Even though this feat was earlier in the season, Anderson was never too far off from a triple-double. He finished the season  with an average of 14.6 points, 8.8 rebounds and 6.5 assists. Definitely one of the more exciting players to watch in recent UCLA hoops history, he was honored for his efforts by being named to All-Pac-12 and All-American teams this year.

#2 Gong To The Sweet 16

First year head coach Steve Alford had a year that many did not expect him to have. He is the first coach to start his first year, 8-0. He won the conference tournament championship in his inaugural season. It is also the first time UCLA has been to the Sweet Sixteen since 2008. Despite an up-and-down season, it was once again great to see UCLA among the last 16 teams standing. To not talk about UCLA Basketball in March is wrong, and getting this kind of success again feels so right!

#1 Defeat of Arizona To Win The Pac-12 Tournament Champions

This was one of the best Pac-12 Tournament Games ever. Arizona had defeated UCLA by four points at Pauley Pavilion in January and due to errant Pac-12 scheduling, was the only scheduled match-up between them. But this time, it was for all the marbles. UCLA versus Arizona in a straight-up battle for the tourney championship. Under the bright lights of Las Vegas in the MGM Grand Garden Arena, UCLA won. Kyle Anderson was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player and the Bruins rolled into the NCAA Tournament, getting a favorable #4 seed to start in San Diego. It was all good.

Honorable Mentions:

-Kyle Anderson last second block to win at Oregon.

-David Wear hitting the game tying three pointer that sent the contest between UCLA and Oregon in to overtime.

Mike W.R.

Twitter: @TheBigDisco