2008 ncca tournament bracket
2008 ncca tournament schedule
NCAA tournament bracket
The undercard of Saturday's historic Final Four would be the marquee matchup in any other year. Memphis vs. UCLA. Teams with a combined four losses all season. Regular season and conference champions both. Two of the best freshmen in the country. What more could you ask for? Well, maybe North Carolina-Kansas, but that's for another preview.
The Tigers (37-1) got here without much of a challenge and are 2-point betting favorites on WagerWeb.com (over/under: 133.5). Their only close game was in Round 2, when a Mississippi State buzzer-beater to tie the game missed. Otherwise, Memphis has been fairly dominant, especially in its past two wins - over Michigan State and Texas.
The Bruins (35-3) have been tested. Their Round 2 game with Texas A&M came down to the wire, and Western Kentucky and Xavier both were close in the second halves of the past two games.
These teams are a contrast in styles, with Memphis liking to run and gun and the Bruins being the only team left that allows less than 60 points per game. The Tigers scored 90 points eight times this season and topped 100 in three games. UCLA, meanwhile, has not reached 100 points in a game since December 2002; the Bruins never even scored 90 this season.
UCLA certainly will have the experience factor, having reached its third straight Final Four under coach Ben Howland. His 97 wins over the past three years, including a school-record 35 this season, is the best run in UCLA history. And that's saying something.However, Howland says this is by far his best club, mainly due to freshman sensation Kevin Love ((17.6 points, 10.7 rebounds). The center is just one of six freshmen to be selected first-team All-America since 1983.
The Tigers' Joey Dorsey (a mini-Ben Wallace) and Robert Dozier will need to be at their best to keep Love from dominating the paint. Love's ability to step out and shoot the jumper is also key. And if he gets Dorsey in foul trouble, that could spell doom for the Tigers.
In the backcourt, Memphis junior guard Chris Douglas-Roberts (17.7 points, 4.2 rebounds) was a first-team All-America and freshman guard Derrick Rose (14.6 points, 4.7 assists), a third-team pick, lived up to the billing as the best point guard among a very talented group of first-year players. They have a definitive advantage over the smaller Bruins guards, although UCLA's Darren Collison and Russell Westbrook are lock-down defenders. Plus, Collison is making 53 percent of his 3-pointers.
The Tigers will need to limit turnovers against the UCLA defense, but Memphis has done that in the tournament, averaging only 7.3 turnovers in its last three games.
Because of the Tigers' height advantage in the backcourt, it may be imperative for Bruins forward Josh Shipp to shake off his struggles, as he is only 2 for 17 from 3-point range in the last five games.
If it comes down to free throws, everyone assumes the Tigers are in trouble, as they've hit only 59 percent on the season; they have been in the bottom 10 in the nation in free-throw percentage all season. They were 65th out of 65 teams in the tourney coming in. But they have stepped it up lately, including hitting 30-of-36 against Texas in South final. Memphis still doesn't want to see Dorsey on the line: He shoots under 40 percent. Meanwhile, if the game's on the line, UCLA hopes Collison is at the charity stripe- he has hit 83 of 92 free throws.
Betting trends: Memphis is 19-19 ATS this season. .The total has gone over in four of Memphis' last five games. . Memphis is 4-1 ATS in its last five games as a favorite of 0.5-6.5. . UCLA is 22-14-1 ATS this season. . The total has gone over in six of UCLA's last nine games. . UCLA is 22-7-1 ATS in its last 30 games as an underdog. . Under is 16-6 in Bruins' last 22 NCAA Tournament games.
Prediction: Experience counts for something, and Love will get Dorsey into foul trouble. Take the Bruins
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