Final: Butler 69, UCLA 67
Well, UCLA was better but the result was still another loss. The Bruins tied their second-round game against Butler with 8 seconds left when Jerime Anderson made a 3-pointer, but Michael Roll was whistled for a foul with .6 seconds left and Gordon Hayward made both free throws for a 69-67 win. UCLA's last-second inbounds pass was stolen by Hayward. UCLA (2-3) plays Long Beach State at 11:30 a.m. Sunday.
At this point, whether UCLA beats Butler by 2 or loses by two is largely irrelevant. The team rebounded well, and showed that it can compete and come back. I see a lot of potential good things with this team--it's just a matter of putting everything together.
Anderson really confounds me. In the waning minutes, he drove the lane for a quick bucket, then calmly drained the tying three. Where was that poise and aggressive attitude the whole game? The announcers essentially said UCLA was running its offense with 4 guys since Anderson wasn't a scoring threat.
And who was playing center in the waning minutes after Gordon fouled out? Dragovic? Nelson? I hope that's the last time we have to suffer through that. UCLA is going to get killed on the boards all season!