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| Junior guard Norman Powell and the rest of the UCLA offense repeatedly attacked the interior of the Arizona defense Saturday. Powell finished with 15 points in the Bruins' victory. (Brandon Choe/Daily Bruin senior staff) |
DAILY BRUIN
MAR 15 2014 8:57 PM
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LAS VEGAS—Saturday’s Pac-12 tournament final pitted one of the conference’s top scoring teams against its most dominant defensive force, two teams playing with opposing styles and doing so at the highest level they have all season.
UCLA came into the tournament second in the Pac-12 in scoring, its 82 points per game just 0.5 behind Oregon. The Bruins scored 82 and 84 points in their first two tournament games, shooting 56.6 and 65.2 percent, respectively, in those games.
Meanwhile, Arizona allowed just 58.7 points per game throughout the regular season, and just 41 points per game in its first two games of the tournament.
But, unlike the well-known phrase, offense won the championship.
UCLA dictated the tempo early and fended off a relentless Arizona attack to win the game 75-71 and claim the Pac-12 tournament title.
After controlling the pace of its first two games, Arizona couldn’t figure out how to slow UCLA down out of the gate. The Bruins didn’t find themselves intimidated by the Wildcats’ strong interior defense, which limited the Colorado Buffaloes to just 18 points in the paint Friday. Instead, they began the game by repeatedly driving into the lane, ignoring the long limbs of Arizona big men Kaleb Tarczewski and Aaron Gordon, and nearly matching Colorado’s game total, scoring 14 points in the paint in just ten minutes and 28 on the game.
With their fearless attack, the Bruins forced the Wildcats to play UCLA’s style.
“That’s what coach wanted us to do. He didn’t want us to come out on our heels,” said junior guard Norman Powell, who contributed 11 points during that opening ten-minute stretch. “We wanted to punch first and we were able to do that in the first ten minutes on the game. Had them on their heels and it just helped us play our type of basketball.”
By the second half, Arizona had figured things out. The tempo drastically slowed down in the final 20 minutes, favoring the Wildcats’ style of play. But UCLA, after forcing the Wildcats to play out of their comfort zone in the first half, beat Arizona at its own game in the second.
Despite being held to just 25.9 percent shooting in the second half by a renewed effort on the part of Arizona’s defense, UCLA unleashed a strong defensive performance of its own. The Wildcats shot just 38.7 percent in the second half, as the Bruins adopted a new mindset after realizing the pace had decelerated.
“Just realize that they’re slowing it down a little bit,” said redshirt senior forward Travis Wear. “Realize that some of the shots that were going in the first half weren’t going in and we gotta focus in on defense and make sure they’re not gonna go on any runs.”
With Powell not finding the same success when penetrating the lane and their jump shots ceasing to fall, the Bruins instead turned the Wildcats’ defensive intensity against them, adapting to the slower pace. UCLA continually drew fouls against over-eager Arizona defenders, replacing contested jump shot and layup attempts with much easier free throws from the stripe. Sophomore guard Kyle Anderson led the charge in that respect, making 10 of his 13 free throw attempts.
“We know they’re a very aggressive defensive team, so we had to be aggressive on the offensive end,” Anderson said. “I think I was able to get to the hole and just make other defenders come to me and draw fouls.”
And while UCLA’s trips to the line allowed them to generate a consistent offense, despite the low field goal percentage, Arizona’s free throws only made matters worse for the Wildcats, who shot just six of 16 from the free-throw line.
“We talk about this all the time, free throws win championships,” said Arizona coach Sean Miller. “If we make more free throws today, we’re probably out there doing what they’re doing.”
Instead it was UCLA cutting down the nets and basking under the confetti at mid-court following the win. UCLA’s offense bested Arizona in the first half, and its ability to adapt to Arizona’s slower pace in the second half clinched it the victory and a spot in the NCAA Tournament. And with that tournament approaching, the Bruins feel good about their ability to play with any team and any style.
“I feel like we’re playing our best basketball right now,” Powell said, “and it couldn’t be at a better time.”
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