Noah's a punk. The refs were terrible... I still cannot believe they let Noah throw Mata to the floor for him to do a putback dunk-and-scream. Better see if Brent Bearup or whatever his name is was involved.

Regardless, Bruin basketball is back where it belongs in the small handful of elite national programs.  Thanks to Howland and all the guys for making the season another memorable run ... here's to keeping their heads up throughout the offseason and getting after it again next year!

But at the other end, we took several bad shots, ran an offense that made no progress for the first 20 seconds of the possession, and blew one chance after another to develop a 5-7 point lead. I noticed that Brewer wasn't covering Afflalo at first. He had a guy three inches shorter than him, but we never ran an offensive set to capitalize before Afflalo went out. Shipp was lightning hot, so why didn't we let him isolate the way Oregon did with Brooks, who burned Humphries again and again last week? Collison was entirely ineffective, and our offensive rebounding didn't exist. Luc had one of the worst games I've ever seen him play, and he looked defeated and despairing most of the game.

So, yeah, the refs made three or four bad calls, but that was a small part of the problem.

What we have accomplished in the last two seasons, particularly where we were at just two seasons earlier, is nothing short of staggering.  We just ran into a team that will likely be looked upon as one of the very best of the post-Wooden era both seasons.  There is absolutely nothing to be disappointed in.

I am already very excited for next season.  I know it's post-game emotion, but AA sure sounded in his interview like he is leaning heavily toward returning.  I am at peace with whatever he does, and so grateful for the role he has played the last three years in restoring the UCLA basketball program to it's place at the very top.

GO BRUINS!  I am a proud Bruin this morning.

Proud of my Bruins - great season and many accomplishments that should not be forgotten in the wake of this loss.

But really, Florida was the better team and executed better throughout the game.

3 things:

1. We didn't box out in the 2nd half (esp. Mata), instead we chased the cutter to the lane and left the key wide open for second chance shots / dunks by Richard and others. If you taped and still want to watch it (if you have the stomach), watch Mata's positioning on many of Richards buckets. That was his standard response to drives to the lane throughout the tourney, but against a team like Florida with 2 or 3 athletic big men to clean up around the rim or can pass, your opening yourself up to easy scores by the other team.
2. Double team in the post strategy, which is our bread and butter defense and carried us so far, is vulnerable to teams that have athletic big men that can pass quickly out of 2x teams AND perimeter players that can shoot the ball well - like Florida. No way after last year that logically Humphrey should've been wide open as he was to knock down those 4 3's. We knew this, but he was still left wide open by our 2x teaming post strategy. Not coincidentaly Brewer and Humphrey were a combined 8 for 13 from 3 for 24 points. Tough to force a team to play an entirely different defensive strategy all year to change it for one game - essentially our defensive identity but we got unglued by the early fouls and it left us prey to this.
3. Balanced attack: Florida has it, we don't. Outside of our guard trio (I include Shipp since in here since he plays like a big guard) we have no frontcourt offensive production. Luc isn't the same player this year as last, for whatever reason, so teams can play tight on our perimeter players give them no space and make them take tough jump shots. Mata and Aboya are not scoring threats in our greatest fantasies. When you take AA out of the game, and then Collison and Roll are being played tight on the perimeter because our frontcourt doesn't score, we are an easy team to defend. Shipp made tough shots, but he can't carry the team by himself against a team like Florida. Also,  really liked what I saw from Keefe in the game.

One last comment on AA:

AA should talk to Brandon Roy about what do to use his senior season to get himself NBA-ready and complete his game. And most importantly become a guard that create his own shot from anywhere on the floor. He has that potential but has some ways to go to reach it. Roy coincidentally will be NBA ROTY over much more hyped players like Morrison etc. Why? Because his fundamentals are very good and he is a complete player not just a scorer. Averaging 16 pts, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds and only 2 fouls a game as a guard in his rookie season. Very solid.

AA has the desire/work ethic and the athleticism, he needs to go from good to great by improving his decision-making with the ball, (good but could be better), his defense to great, and quicken his release on his shot. I hope he comes back to work on those three IMHO.

He will have more space on the perimeter with the development of Love as a low-post scorer (finally for UCLA!!!!) too.

Future is looking bright fellow Bruins - no need to hang your head after this one. We are in good shape, Howland will re-orient the team next year with greater offensive capabilities that Love brings and the development of Keefe and the other others.

There is nothing to be ashamed of with Howland and the boys. I would love to have AA back, but if he decides to leave I can understand why. He exemplified UCLA basketball, and I wish him the best, on whatever decision that he makes.

We will definitely be the favorites to win it next year because of our defense and Mr. Love. Florida will lose most of their players and Billy might actually leave. Ohio State will lose Oden, and Kansas is going to lose a couple of their key  players.

The future looks very bright for UCLA Basketball for many years!  

If Florida wins the title again this year ( I hope not, because I hate FLorida) UCLA's only loses in the tournament in the last 2 years will be to the National Champions.

And what are you talking about recruiting he is finally getting the best recruits in the country starting next year.

Get your facts straight before you make stupid assertions or you sound like a stupid Trojan!

So AA wil be back I feel. If he isn't, we still owe him a lot of gratitude. But AA won't go out like this. He'll be back.

Props to Corey Brewer.  He was our toughest matchup yesterday and he was the difference-maker.  We could account for Humphrey...and did early in the game.  But when Brewer started sticking 3's, I knew we were in trouble.

I told you it would be brief.  But I just had a large coffee and now I have to go take a "BoowhooingBruins".

Florida really might have won anyway. They have so many ways to win. But we should have seen two teams playing at their best, not one team crippled. We should have much better officiating for big games like this.

On the other hand, I believe each can definitely improve his draft status by staying.  Next year's draft class will not be as deep as this draft is supposed to be.  If we keep all 3, we will be very close to #12.

ONE MORE YEAR, ONE MORE YEAR!

Hey, we got beat by Florida. Is it the end of the world? I don't think so.

When Goldwater gave his message to his folks, his advice was that conservatives should stop the gripping and go back to work. They did, and they built a movement and got Ronald Reagan elected. Whether you or I like it, they dominated American politics as a result.

The message is that we got to the final four which is a tremendous achievement, and even a greater achievement when you do it twice in a row. But, to get to the promised land -- a championship -- we need to learn something from the experience.

Is Ben Howland a great coach? Hell yes. Is he perfect? I don't so. Are there areas where improvement is necessary? Absolutely. Howland is a defensive genius, but as great as he is on defense, our offensive performance for most of this year has been a lacking.

We have consistently had problems establishishing a lead in the first half of games against teams that we should have had no trouble beating. The reason has been that in a half-court situation, we have relied too much on Afflalo, and we have been unable to penetrate to the basket. Further, our 3-point shooting has been inconsistent. We have also squandered leads and have failed to finish off teams that we had already beaten.

Are there things we can do to rectify the situation, even with our current personnel. Again, the answer is, yes. Shipp demonstrated that he can be a significant offensive threat. Mbah a Moute and Aboya are still works in progress. Mata is also a work in progress and a player who is underestimated for his potential. His defensive skills are fantastic. Look at the job he did on Noah and the frustration that Noah suffered playing against Mata.  On offense, Mata has actually shown the ability at time to drive to the basket, and if he can develop greater confidence moving to the basket, his production could improve.

All-in-all, this has been somewhat of a frustrating year. We were so close, but  so far away from a championship. If we can learn from the experience, our basketball program will definitely go in the right direction.  

PS Is all the SC-UCLA-Florida trash talk necessary? It seems like a waste of time to me. For me, there are enough legitimate issues to discuss about UCLA basketball without acting like children and calling folks names.

To all the "haters" out there, ponder this for a minute:   Everyone but AA comes back (and its not 100% he goes)...Luc's knees heal from some time off, Love and Stanbach join the party, and Collison and Westbrook get that much better from running with the pros all summer.....Do you (rest of PAC 10) really think you have a chance next year?????   Please, everything that has been accomplished over the past 2 seasons was done without a legitimate scorer in the middle...no disrespect intended to Hollins, AA2, and Lorenzo, but they are not scoring machines.   If Love is 60% as good as advertised and based on seeing him in person twice, he will be a lot closer to 100% as good, you have NO shot at us unless a meteor hits Pauley during practice.

Arizona, WAZZU, Washington, Stanford.....you have no shot at the conference, deal with it now.