Kentucky exposes UCLA as pretender with Sweet 16 romp
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Defense wins championships, and so can fearless freshmen.
Kentucky showed off both of those essential components in a commanding performance that has coach John Calipari and his Wildcats one win away from their fifth Final Four in seven years.
Second-seeded Kentucky and point guard De’Aaron Fox smothered No. 3 UCLA, 86-75, Friday night, winning their 14th straight game and advancing to Sunday’s South Region final against No. 1 North Carolina at FedExForum.
The Wildcats ground the prolific Bruins top-ranked offensive attack into dust, holding them to 15 points below their season average, while having their way on the other end. In a matchup of highly touted freshman point guards, the lanky and electric Fox looked like the player who should be in the mix as the top choice in June’s NBA draft, rather than Lonzo Ball, who announced his UCLA career was over after a loss in which he scored just 10 points and notched eight assists.
“I think [Fox was] motivated just to win because they beat us the first time, outfought us the first time,” said Kentucky freshman Malik Monk, playing down the one-on-one showdown. “He just did not want to lose, and we did not want to lose, either, so he kept scoring and we kept giving him the ball.”
Containing Ball at one end while dominating him at the other, Fox scored a career-high 39 points — the highest point total for a Kentucky player in the tournament since Tayshaun Prince scored 40 in 2002 — and Monk exploded for 14 of his 21 points after intermission. In the final minutes, while Ball was nowhere to be found on offense, Fox was putting away UCLA, slicing through their Charmin-soft defense, and finishing off one of the best performances in recent NCAA Tournament history.
“There’s a reason he is who he is and he has the hype around him,” UCLA senior guard Bryce Alford said. “It’s tough to stop a guy who has as good of a mid-range game as he does. That’s a lost art in college basketball, and it’s very hard to stop.”
There was more to this victory than the two freshmen guards.
Seniors Dominique Hawkins and Derek Willis both contributed in important ways, Hawkins with 11 points off the bench, Willis notching eight rebounds and providing important defense on the interior. Sophomore Isaiah Briscoe of Newark did the little things, grabbing seven rebounds and adding four assists.
Most of all, Kentucky’s defense — which came up so big in the second-round win over No. 10 Wichita State — was the difference, better than the first meeting between the two teams, on Dec. 3, when UCLA won 97-92 at Rupp Arena.
UCLA (31-5) shot 52 percent from the field, and made 9-of-23 3-point attempts on the night, but they committed 13 turnovers, which led to 14 Kentucky (32-5) points. UCLA freshman T.J. Leaf scored 17 points, but just four in the second half.
“Today we really picked it up defensively,” Fox said. “That’s why we won — not because of our scoring.”
The opening 4:44 of the second half was an offensive blur, 27 points scored between the two teams, three 3-pointers made, just three empty trips between the two teams in 14 possessions. It was the track meet everyone envisioned. But it didn’t set up the memorable second half many had hoped for. UCLA couldn’t match Kentucky’s toughness or grit.
Kentucky, riding Monk’s hot shooting and Fox’s slashing, built a nine-point lead with 11:30 left. The two freshmen guards accounted for 21 of the Wildcats’ first 24 points of the second half. And UCLA never produced the run many expected, getting only as close as four after that, unable to unleash its potent offensive attack.
“Sixteen assists, 13 turnovers, that’s not who we are,” UCLA coach Steve Alford said.