2007–08 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

The 2007–08 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles in the Pacific-10 Conference for the 2007–08 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. In his fifth year as head coach, Ben Howland led the team to its third straight Final Four appearance. The Bruins also set a new record number of wins for the regular season, eclipsing the 26 wins of 2006–07. Though the team was composed of many standout players, freshman center Kevin Love garnered much of the media's and school's attention with his .565 shooting percentage, 10.7 rebounds per game, 5.3 blocks, and 17.6 points per game.[2][3][4][5]

2007–08 UCLA Bruins men's basketball
Pac-10 regular season & tournament champions
College Basketball Experience champions
NCAA tournament, Final Four
ConferencePacific-10 Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 4[1]
APNo. 3[1]
Record35–4 (16–2 Pac-10)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaPauley Pavilion
2007–08 Pacific-10 Conference
men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 2 UCLA†16–2 .88935–4  .897
No. 11 Stanford13–5 .72228–8  .778
No. 21 Washington State11–7 .61126–9  .743
Arizona State9–9 .50021–13  .618
Oregon9–9 .50018–14  .563
Arizona8–10 .44419–15  .559
Washington7–11 .38916–17  .485
California6–12 .33317–16  .515
Oregon State0–18 .0006–25  .194
USC*0–7 .0000–12  .000
† Conference tournament winner
As of April 5, 2008
Rankings from AP Poll
*USC vacated 11 conference and 21 overall wins,
due to NCAA rules violations.

The only losses the Bruins incurred during the regular season were to No. 8 Texas, and Pac-10 rivals USC and Washington, though the USC victory was later vacated upon discovery that USC player O. J. Mayo received illegal benefits while playing for USC. After becoming the Pacific-10 regular season champions and winning the Pacific-10 tournament, the Bruins were seeded No. 1 in the West Regional bracket of the 2008 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. In the first round of the NCAA tournament, the Bruins held Mississippi Valley State to 29 points, the lowest total ever allowed in the first or second round of the tournament.[6] After reaching the Final Four for the third year in a row, the Bruins lost to Memphis, the South Regional Champions. On August 20, 2009, Memphis' 38 wins during the 2007–2008 season and Final Four appearances were vacated by the NCAA Committee on Infractions for the team's using an ineligible player, Derrick Rose.[7]

Recruiting class
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Kevin Love
C		 Lake Oswego, OR Lake Oswego HS 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 260 lb (120 kg) Jul 25, 2006 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:5/5 stars   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports: N/A
Chace Stanback
SF		 Los Angeles, CA Fairfax HS 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Apr 22, 2006 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 12   Rivals: 11
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "UCLA Commit List for 2007". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
  • "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
  • "ESPN – UCLA Bruins Basketball Recruiting 2007". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
  • "2007 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 2, 2011.

Roster
UCLA's starting lineup of (left to right) Love, Shipp, Collison, Aboya, and Mbah a Moute.
2007–08 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearHometown
G 10 Mustafa Abdul-Hamid 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)195 lb (88 kg) So St. Louis, Missouri
F/C 12 Alfred Aboya 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)245 lb (111 kg) Jr Yaoundé (Cameroon)
G 2 Darren Collison (C) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)160 lb (73 kg) Jr Rancho Cucamonga, California
F 41 Nikola Dragović 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)216 lb (98 kg) So Belgrade (Serbia)
G 24 Joey Ellis (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)185 lb (84 kg) Jr Hidden Hills, California
F/C 13 James Keefe 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)235 lb (107 kg) So Rancho Santa Margarita, California
G 55 Matt Lee (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)170 lb (77 kg) Sr San Francisco, California
C 42 Kevin Love 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)260 lb (118 kg) Fr Lake Oswego, Oregon
F/C 14 Lorenzo Mata (C) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)240 lb (109 kg) Sr Huntington Park, California
F 23 Luc Richard Mbah a Moute 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)230 lb (104 kg) Jr Yaoundé (Cameroon)
F 21 David McGrath (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)205 lb (93 kg) Jr Oxnard, California
G 5 DeAndre Robinson (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)210 lb (95 kg) Jr Riverside, California
G/F 20 Michael Roll Injured Current redshirt 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)200 lb (91 kg) Jr Aliso Viejo, California
F 30 Kevin Schmidt (W) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)220 lb (100 kg) Fr San Jose, California
G/F 3 Xavier Ryan 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)145 lb (66 kg) Fr Inglewood, California
F 22 Chace Stanback 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)210 lb (95 kg) Fr Los Angeles, California
G 0 Russell Westbrook 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)187 lb (85 kg) So Hawthorne, California
Head coach

Ben Howland (Weber State)

Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Thirteen scholarships were available to the team, and there were sixteen players on the roster.[8] Kevin Love received permission from Walt Hazzard to wear the No. 42 he wore as player for UCLA.[9] Hazzard's jersey had been retired by UCLA in 1996.[10]

Schedule
Collison at the 2008 Pac-10 Championship game
Russell Westbrook in a game against USC
Date
time, TV		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Non-Conference Season
November 2, 2007
 No. 2 Azusa Pacific W 111–61  0–0
 Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
November 5, 2007
 No. 2 Chico State W 93–55  0–0
 Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
Non-Conference Season
November 9, 2007*
 No. 2 Portland State W 69–48  1–0
 Pauley Pavilion (9,854)
Los Angeles, CA
November 12, 2007*
 ESPN2		 No. 2 Youngstown State
College Basketball Experience Classic		 W 83–52  2–0
 Pauley Pavilion (7,695)
Los Angeles, CA
November 13, 2007*
 ESPN2		 No. 2 Cal State San Bernardino
College Basketball Experience Classic		 W 76–41  3–0
 Pauley Pavilion (7,293)
Los Angeles, CA
November 19, 2007*
 ESPN2		 No. 2 vs. Maryland
College Basketball Experience Classic		 W 71–59  4–0
 Sprint Center (18,022)
Kansas City, MO
November 20, 2007*
 ESPN2		 No. 2 vs. No. 10 Michigan State
College Basketball Experience Classic		 W 68–63  5–0
 Sprint Center (16,737)
Kansas City, MO
November 23, 2007*
 No. 2 Yale W 81–47  6–0
 Pauley Pavilion (10,420)
Los Angeles, CA
November 28, 2007
 FSN PT		 No. 1 George Washington W 83–60  7–0
 Pauley Pavilion (9,691)
Los Angeles, CA
December 2, 2007*
 FSN		 No. 2 No. 8 Texas
Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series		 L 61–63  7–1
 Pauley Pavilion (12,048)
Los Angeles, CA
December 8, 2007*
 KCAL		 No. 8 vs. Davidson
John R. Wooden Classic		 W 75–63  8–1
 Honda Center (17,440)
Anaheim, CA
December 15, 2007*
 FSN West		 No. 8 Idaho State W 89–49  9–1
 Pauley Pavilion (9,733)
Los Angeles, CA
December 18, 2007*
 No. 8 Western Illinois W 77–52  10–1
 Pauley Pavilion (8,189)
Los Angeles, CA
December 22, 2007*
 CBS		 No. 8 at Michigan W 69–54  11–1
 Crisler Arena (13,069)
Ann Arbor, MI
December 29, 2007*
 FSN PT		 No. 5 UC Davis W 76–48  12–1
 Pauley Pavilion (10,242)
Los Angeles, CA
Conference Season
January 3, 2008
 FSN		 No. 5 at No. 20 Stanford W 76–67  13–1
(1–0)		 Maples Pavilion (7,329)
Stanford, CA
January 5, 2008
 FSN		 No. 5 at California W 70–58  14–1
(2–0)		 Haas Pavilion (11,877)
Berkeley, CA
January 10, 2008
 FSN PT		 No. 5 Washington W 69–55  15–1
(3–0)		 Pauley Pavilion (11,421)
Los Angeles, CA
January 12, 2008
 FSN		 No. 5 No. 4 Washington State W 81–74  16–1
(4–0)		 Pauley Pavilion (12,590)
Los Angeles, CA
January 19, 2008
 CBS		 No. 4 USC L 63-72[note 1]  16–2
(4–1)		 Pauley Pavilion (12,714)
Los Angeles, CA
January 24, 2008
 FSN		 No. 7 at Oregon W 85–62  17–2
(5–1)		 McArthur Court (9,087)
Eugene, OR
January 26, 2008
 FSN West		 No. 7 at Oregon State W 85–62  18–2
(6–1)		 Gill Coliseum (8,235)
Corvallis, OR
January 31, 2008
 FSN PT		 No. 5 Arizona State W 84–51  19–2
(7–1)		 Pauley Pavilion (11,070)
Los Angeles, CA
February 2, 2008
 ESPN		 No. 5 Arizona
ESPN College GameDay		 W 82–60  20–2
(8–1)		 Pauley Pavilion (12,111)
Los Angeles, CA
February 7, 2008
 FSN		 No. 4 at No. 17 Washington State W 67–59  21–2
(9–1)		 Beasley Coliseum (9,547)
Pullman, WA
February 10, 2008
 FSN		 No. 4 at Washington L 61–71  21–3
(9–2)		 Bank of America Arena (10,000)
Seattle, WA
February 17, 2008
 FSN		 No. 6 at USC W 56–46  22–3
(10–2)		 Galen Center (10,258)
Los Angeles, CA
February 21, 2008
 FSN West		 No. 6 Oregon State W 84–49  23–3
(11–2)		 Pauley Pavilion (9,727)
Los Angeles, CA
February 23, 2008
 ABC		 No. 6 Oregon W 75–65  24–3
(12–2)		 Pauley Pavilion (11,355)
Los Angeles, CA
February 28, 2008
 FSN PT		 No. 4 at Arizona State W 79–40  25–3
(12–2)		 Wells Fargo Arena (11,419)
Tempe, AZ
March 2, 2008
 CBS		 No. 4 at Arizona W 68–66  26–3
(14–2)		 McKale Center (14,624)
Tucson, AZ
March 6, 2008
 FSN		 No. 2 No. 7 Stanford W 77–67 OT 27–3
(15–2)		 Pauley Pavilion (12,671)
Los Angeles, CA
March 8, 2008
 ABC		 No. 2 California W 81–80  28–3
(16–2)		 Pauley Pavilion (11,614)
Los Angeles, CA
Pac-10 Tournament
March 13, 2008
 FSN		 No. 2 (1) vs. (9) California
Quarterfinals		 W 88–66  29–3
 Staples Center (17,194)
Los Angeles, CA
March 14, 2008
 FSN		 No. 2 (1) vs. (4) USC
Semifinals		 W 57–54  30–3
 Staples Center (18,997)
Los Angeles, CA
March 15, 2008
 CBS		 No. 2 (1) vs. No. 11 (2) Stanford
Finals		 W 67–64  31–3
 Staples Center (17,534)
Los Angeles, CA
NCAA tournament
March 20, 2008*
 CBS		 No. 2 (1 W) vs. (16 W) Mississippi Valley State
First Round		 W 70–29  32–3
 Honda Center (17,600)
Anaheim, CA
March 22, 2008*
 CBS		 No. 2 (1 W) vs. (9 W) Texas A&M
Second Round		 W 51–49  33–3
 Honda Center (17,600)
Anaheim, CA
March 27, 2008*
 CBS		 No. 2 (1 W) vs. (12 W) Western Kentucky
Sweet Sixteen		 W 88–78  34–3
 US Airways Center (18,103)
Phoenix, AZ
March 29, 2008*
 CBS		 No. 2 (1 W) vs. No. 12 (3 W) Xavier
Elite Eight		 W 76–57  35–3
 US Airways Center (18,103)
Phoenix, AZ
April 5, 2008
 CBS		 No. 2 (1 W) vs. No. 3 (1 S) Memphis
Final Four		 L 63–78 [note 2]  35–4
 Alamodome (43,718)
San Antonio, TX
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Pacific Time.

Source:[11][12][13][14]

Notes
  1. USC vacated 21 wins from the 2007–08
  2. Memphis vacated 38 wins from the 2007–08

Awards
UCLA's Kevin Love on the perimeter at Pac-10 Championship game against Stanford at Staples Center, Los Angeles, 2008. Ben Howland and the UCLA bench looks on from the sideline.

Pac-10 Player of the Year

Kevin Love[15]

Pac-10 Freshman of the Year

Kevin Love[15]

Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year

Russell Westbrook[15]

All-Pac-10 first team

Kevin Love[15]

All-Pac-10 second team

Darren Collison[15]

All-Pac-10 third team

Russell Westbrook[15]

Pac-10 All-Defensive team

Darren Collison[15]
Russell Westbrook[15]
Kevin Love (honorable mention)[15]
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (honorable mention)[15]

Pac-10 Tournament Most Outstanding Player

Darren Collison[6]

Pac-10 All-Tournament Team

Kevin Love[16]
Russell Westbrook[16]

U.S. Basketball Writers Association First Team All-America

Kevin Love[17]

Oscar Robertson Trophy nominee

Kevin Love[18]

U.S. Basketball Writers Association District IX Player of the Year

Kevin Love[19]

U.S. Basketball Writers Association All-District IX team

Kevin Love[19]
Darren Collison[19]

Pac-10 Men's Basketball Player of the Week

Kevin Love – November 19–25[20]
Kevin Love – January 7–13[21]
Kevin Love – January 21–27[22]
Darren Collison – February 12–18[23]

See also

Notes
  • The Bruins had the most ever wins for a final record (including postseason tournaments) as well, with 35.
  • Seven of the Bruins wins were vs. ranked teams (AP Top-25) at the time they played: (#11 Michigan State, #20 Stanford, #4 Washington State, #17 Washington State, #7 Stanford, #11 Stanford and #12 Xavier)

References
  1. "ESPN.com – 2007–08 rankings". Archived from the original on January 31, 2008. Retrieved February 25, 2008.
  2. "Love leads Bruins to third straight Final Four". The Sports Network. March 30, 2008. Retrieved March 30, 2008.
  3. "Memo to the NBA: Love IS All You Need". www.SportsHubLA.com. March 29, 2008. Archived from the original on April 1, 2008. Retrieved March 30, 2008.
  4. "Love is all you need, or at least so it seems". Daily Bruin. March 3, 2008. Archived from the original on November 22, 2008. Retrieved March 30, 2008.
  5. "UCLA 2007–08 team statistics". Archived from the original on March 28, 2008. Retrieved March 30, 2008.
  6. "This week in Pac-10 men's basketball". Retrieved March 30, 2008.
  7. O'Neill, Dana (August 20, 2009). "Memphis also gets 3 years' probation". ESPN. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  8. "2007–08 UCLA Bruins roster". Archived from the original on December 3, 2007. Retrieved December 1, 2007.
  9. "Hazzard To Give Up Number". Archived from the original on August 25, 2012.
  10. "Retired Jerseys at UCLA". Archived from the original on April 30, 2008. Retrieved April 15, 2008.
  11. "2007-08 Review" (PDF). uclabruins.com. UCLA Athletics.
  12. "Season by Season Records" (PDF). UCLA Athletics.
  13. "UCLA Bruins Schedule- 2007-08". espn.com. ESPN.
  14. "UCLA Bruins 2007–08 schedule". Archived from the original on November 20, 2007. Retrieved November 21, 2007.
  15. "UCLA Dominates Pac-10 Player of the Year Honors". March 10, 2007. Archived from the original on March 14, 2008. Retrieved March 30, 2008.
  16. "Pac-10 News" (PDF). March 17, 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 22, 2011. Retrieved March 30, 2008.
  17. "Love Named USBWA First Team All-America". March 17, 2007. Archived from the original on March 18, 2008. Retrieved March 30, 2008.
  18. "Kevin Love nominated for Oscar Robertson Trophy". March 5, 2007. Archived from the original on April 10, 2008. Retrieved March 30, 2008.
  19. "Love Named Sporting News All-American, USBWA Player of the Year". March 11, 2007. Archived from the original on April 10, 2008. Retrieved March 30, 2008.
  20. "Kevin Love named Pacific-10 Player of the Week". November 26, 2007. Archived from the original on March 8, 2008. Retrieved March 30, 2008.
  21. "Kevin Love named Pacific-10 Player of the Week". January 14, 2008. Archived from the original on April 1, 2008. Retrieved March 30, 2008.
  22. "Kevin Love named Pacific-10 Player of the Week". January 28, 2008. Archived from the original on April 8, 2008. Retrieved March 30, 2008.
  23. "Darren Collison Named U.S. Bank Pacific-10 Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week". February 19, 2008. Archived from the original on March 14, 2008. Retrieved March 30, 2008.

Media related to 2007–08 UCLA Bruins men's basketball season at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.