Four Bruins ended up with scoring totals in the teens and their swarming hornets-nest defense on the other end was just as manic as it has been all season.

Coach Howland was quick to point that out with his opening statement. "I thought our defense was tremendous tonight. That was the difference, to hold them to 36% shooting, they're a very good shooting team. And we also held them to seven offensive rebounds in last 35 minutes of the game. It was a great overall team effort."

I'll sign that memo.

With a tenuous one-point lead of 16-15 at the 9:25 mark of the first half, UCLA cranked up the defense a couple of notches, finishing the half outscoring the Musketeers by a 17-9 margin, including a two-point jumper with five seconds left by Darren Collison, that seemed to take a gasp out of the Xavier steam engine.

Even Xavier coach Sean Miller could sense trouble when Collison proved he was back on his game, after a four-point effort vs. Western Kentucky. "At the end of the (shot) clock, he's incredible. He's got that dagger ability, which he displayed tonight. He's got such ease and confidence when the clock winds down."

But even still, XU wasn't out of the game with a 33-24 deficit at the half. In fact, the Muskies cut into the Bruin lead, chopping it down to six a minute into the second frame.

But that's when the Bruins cranked the defense up to 11 (because you know their defensive intensity goes that high). A Kevin Love blocked shot led to a Collison layup and then a Josh Shipp block and a Russell Westbrook steal led to a couple more baskets and slicker than a mayonnaise sandwich, UCLA was back up by double-digits again at 40-28.

From there, you could feel the Bruins confidence start to rise and the Muskies shoulders start to dip. When Collison connected on another three-pointer at the buzzer of the shot clock with 13:32 remaining, the Bruins had their biggest lead at 51-30. It was Taps City from there. The Musketeers had their hearts lanced by the more athletic Bruin defenders.

"To win today's game, we would've had to have had a lot of things to line up for us, because UCLA is a great team." Coach Miller chimed. "I hear people talk about high pressure the further into the tournament you go and it's true. We weren't ourselves today. Again, UCLA had a lot to do with it and they just had that look of a team that is used to this."

The X never got closer than 12 points the rest of the way. And the one instance when the Musketeers did? A couple of Josh Shipp free throws was immediately followed by... you guessed it, a Collison three at the end of the shot clock.

From there the Bruins ran out the clock in this game and started their clock on a third straight Final Four trip. "Obviously it's unbelievable." Howland stated. "It's a real credit to how good our players are and how they perform under pressure."

As for this year's run to the promised land? "It's our best team we've had in the last three years because we have a big player that can score and rebound like nobody else can."

Unless you've been living under a rock, the player Coach Howland is referring to is Bruin bruiser Kevin Love, who ended up with a double-double once again, going 19 and 10, while also adding two blocked shots and four assists. Collison the catalyst tied the game high with 19 as well, connecting on all three threes he shot, most of them being of the deflating variety of course.

Howland couldn't stop beaming about his two biggest stars on the floor tonight, "Darren did a great job in running the show and Kevin Love getting a double-double, we're just getting spoiled with that. They're both very special players."

Unlike much of the last few weeks, the Bruins seemed to play with a purpose today. It's like they heard everyone talk about how they were vulnerable and just said to each other, "Okay, time to prove these blowhards wrong."

They only forced nine turnovers on the night, but added six blocks, six steals, unyielding pressure and most of all, playing hard, aggressive defense in general. The Bruins ended up with 19 fouls on the night, but not a single Bruin player was in foul trouble for the game.

That's balance. And that's balance that UCLA had this time, and unfortunately Xavier could keep up.

Key Play:
After making their second straight dunk to cut UCLA's first half advantage to 31-24, Xavier allowed Darren Collison to knock down a jumper with five seconds remaining before halftime that put a charge back in the Bruins and seemed like just another reason for Xavier to wonder what it had to do to pull this thing off.

Key Player:
Darren Collison.
Again, he only connected on three three-pointers, but each one seemed to use every second of the shot clock and take every smidge of hope out of Xavier. Collison ended the game with 19 points and five assists.

Key Stat:
I'll quote Ben Howland here, because he couldn't be more correct - UCLA's defense held Xavier to 36% shooting for the game. The perimeter defense was sparkling as well, holding the Musketeers to 4-for-19 shooting beyond the arc.

Other quotes of note:

Sean Miller on his Xavier team:
We have three seniors that have done everything we've asked as a coaching staff. They led their team to 30 wins and the Elite Eight. To be honest, I don't think there was a single player on our team that thought it would end here. I really though that we were prepared to beat UCLA. We all believed we could beat them.

On Kevin Love:
Kevin Love is so mobile for a big guy, he amazes me. He might be the missing part to UCLA winning it all that they didn't have the last few years. He looks like he's 25 years old when he's playing. He makes the game look easy. Good hands. Smart. No ability to get rattled. For a freshman, that's incredible.

On his future:
I will be at Xavier. I'm really looking forward to coaching at Xavier and continuing on with what we've done here for years and what we've done this year. We're anxious to recruit to the very best we can, to have the opportunity to get back here. When you are watching a team cut down the nets, you have an incredible desire to be here again.

Coach Howland on his defense, particularly tonight:
The key is we have players with quick feet. We don't play defense with our hands or arms, but with our feet and that makes the big difference.

On Kevin's leadership:
He's a great player. Deservedly the MVP. He's very very mature. He's an outstanding leader. And he leads with his competitiveness and his toughness. He does whatever it takes to win. He's also very verbal, intelligent and bright. And he earns the respect of our players with the way he plays.

The All Tournament Team:

Tyrone Brazelton, Western Kentucky
Russell Westbrook, UCLA
Josh Duncan, Xavier
Darren Collison, UCLA
Kevin Love, UCLA

MVP: Love, UCLA