No. 1 seed UCLA managed to survive a tough onslaught from No. 9 Texas A&M tonight in Anaheim, holding on to win 53-49 in by far the toughest challenge a 1 seed has had so far in this year's NCAA Tournament.
Most of the UCLA players turned in lousy performances, but Kevin Love and Darren Collison carried the Bruins on their backs, making two crucial shots apiece down the stretch. Collison and Love combined for 40 points on 14-of-25 shooting; their teammates combined for 13 points on 6-of-20 shooting, including a dunk by Russell Westbrook at the buzzer that looked, to these eyes, like it was actually after the buzzer.
"We made big plays by big-time players down the stretch," UCLA coach Ben Howland said of Love and Collison.
Donald Sloan led A&M with 12 points.
Kevin Love, Darren Collison Lead UCLA Past Texas A&M originally appeared on Fanhouse NCAA Basketball Blog on Sat, 22 Mar 2008 23:44:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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