UCLA Kevin Love - Love Is Not EnoughUnderdogs in the 2008 NCAA tournament for the first time, the Bruins will need more than a dominant outing from Kevin Love to prove oddsmakers wrongApril 2, 2008 By Carlisle Richards You expected the UCLA Bruins to reach the Final Four. The Bruins expected the Bruins to reach the Final Four. But as losers in the semifinals the last two years, what they do from here is anyone's guess. Maybe that's why oddsmakers opened them as two-point underdogs against Memphis and as 63/20 dogs to win the National Championship betting odds. "We're definitely not satisfied with going to the Final Four," Bruins forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute told the Associated Press. "We want to have a better outcome than we had the last two years. UCLA is about hanging national championship banners. Going to the Final Four is not going to cut it." Have you been studying up on your Final Four team and player statistics? Check out Bovada and start winning NOW! Bovada Sportsbook, Casino, Poker Room & Racebook is known in the online gambling industry for having phenomenal customer service, safe and secure deposit methods, fast & easy payouts and terrific bonuses! BET on Sports & play Poker at BOVADA and receive a 20% FREE BET on your first deposit! This is the third year in a row that the Bruins made it this far, but this is undoubtedly the best team overall. The Bruins were missing an inside presence to tussle with Florida last year and the year before, and they've definitely fixed that problem with freshman Kevin Love. The All-American has the size (6 feet 10 inches and 271 pounds) to go head-to-head with any big man and the versatility to get the whole team rolling offensively. However, what's worrisome about the 2008 Bruins is that it's still a mystery as to which team will show up against Memphis on Saturday: The balanced Bruins' attack or the team that relies on one player, Love, to bail them out? FINAL FOUR - Friday, April 5th Memphis Tigers vs UCLA Bruins Betting Odds, 6:05 PM EST CBS North Carolina Tar Heels vs Kansas Jayhawks Betting Odds, 8:45 PM EST CBS They've looked dominant when they were clicking on all cylinders. All but one Bruin scored in their first-round, 70-29 blowout of Mississippi Valley State, and five players were in double-digit figures against the Xavier Musketeers in their 76-57 win. But against Texas A&M, they needed forward Josh Shipp to play hero. He blocked Aggies guard Donald Sloan's drive with seconds remaining for the 51-49 win. And versus No. 12 Western Kentucky, the Bruins were outscored 58-47 in the second half, needing clutch points from Love and guard Russell Westbrook to pull away with an 88-78 victory. Final Four betting odds Team (Seed) Odds Kansas 16/5 Memphis 27/10 North Carolina 33/20 UCLA 63/20 The Bruins were put in a region billed as the easiest for a No. 1 seed to dominate, but twice they had to clutch up against lesser opponents to move on. And you can point the blame at the fact that Love has been the only Bruin bringing his "A" game consistently in the tournament. With averages of 21.7 points, 11 rebounds and 4.5 blocks in the tourney, only Davidson's Stephen Curry has done more heavy lifting. But at times, Love's supporting cast has disappeared. Guard Darren Collison has had off games, posting four points and fouling out against Western Kentucky while Westbrook was 3-15 from the field. As for Shipp, he's been cold since the tourney tipped. He averages 13.2 points per game but is eight for 27 in his last four. And if they all have another off night on Saturday, don't expect much from the Bruins' bench. UCLA averages 73.8 points but only 12.4 (16.9 percent) is produced by non-starters. "We've really got to do the job on the perimeter if we really want to win this game," Collison said. "They're [Memphis] athletic and long. Not a lot of teams are athletic and long like that." And despite their run-and-gun reputation, Memphis has the bigs to hassle Love. Tigers forward Joe Dorsey is 6 feet 9 inches and 265 pounds, probably the biggest forward Love will play all year, and Tigers forward Shawn Taggart is at least another five fouls off the bench at 6 feet 10 inches and 230 pounds. If they can hassle him, the other Bruins will need to step up. If they don't, it'll be another disappointing Final Four finish for UCLA. "This is a great accomplishment, three straight Final Fours," senior center Lorenzo Mata-Real told Dailynews.com. "But it's definitely going to be bad if we don't win it because we worked so hard all year to get to this point. We're here now and we don't want another loss. We know how it feels." --- by Bodog at 1800-sports.com on April 05, 2008
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