A Post post

TAMPA - March Madness is a time for heroes and a time for goats, a time of luck and of skill, a time of joy and of sorrow.

But mostly, it's a time for mish-mashed styles, for coaching preferences, for big versus little, both in conference size and literal size.

Nowhere was that more evident than Tampa's St. Pete Times Forum in UCLA's 73-65 loss to Florida.

The Bruins entered the game knowing they'd win it by going inside. The Gators knew they'd win it by staying outside.

Ultimately, it was the Florida backcourt that snatched victory from the Bruins - guards Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton combining for 33 points - but UCLA can rest assured that it played its game against Florida.

The Bruins went to the post early and often, utilizing freshman center Joshua Smith and sophomore forward Reeves Nelson with max efficiency. The two combined for 14 points and 10 points in the first half as UCLA trailed 35-33, despite owning a 20-10 rebounding advantage, and a 9-0 edge on offensive rebounding.

"It's our same game plan every game; just control tempo and play inside-out," Smith said. "For the most part we kinda controlled the inside game, but they were getting putbacks, getting wide-open shots, and they made more plays than we did."

In the second half, though, despite foul trouble for three post players -Vernon Macklin, Patric Young and Erik Murphy each finished with four fouls - Florida flipped the script.

The Gators grabbed 22 rebounds - including eight offensive - to the Bruins' 15, and with Smith facing foul trouble of his own, UCLA lost some of its decided post advantage.

"You have to try to impose your will on the game," Nelson said. "But good teams make adjustments, and that's what they did. At the same time, I thought Josh and I did a good job inside today."