UCLA: The Time Is Now

The headline for Saturday's game will probably be the matchup between UCLA and the Memphis Tigers.  Both teams are studs in their respective conferences question marks still loom.  The Tigers are no doubt the most athletic and the team with the most potential in the entire tournament, but can this surpass UCLA's experience of being in this position for third straight year.  Not only are they are experienced, but it seems they have all the pieces to puzzle.  They have pretty good depth, one of the best backcourts in the nation with Collison, Westbrook and Ship, and All-American with Kevin Love.  The Bruins have both the inside and outside presence which is a rarity in college basketball and is what makes them so difficult to deal with.    With them, the only question mark that looms is in Josh Ships' performance.  He's been completely off the radar ever since the start of the tournament and still remains a question mark coming into this game.  But even with that, I still like the UCLA's chances.  Memphis is the more athletic and has more team potential, and if I was predicting a team to win next year, it would be them. Unfortunately for them, we're in the now, and in the now, it's just not their time.  Like UCLA, they play great Defense and are great at imposing their tempo and style of play on opposing teams.  What will make them unsuccessful at their attempts to dictate the style of play during the Final Four match-up will be again, UCLA's experience and leadership of Collison and Kevin Love.  UCLA played in one of the toughest conferences if not the toughest, in the PAC-10, and they fear no one.  They were my pre-season pick to win the national championship and I'm sticking with them.  This is UCLA's time.     

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