UCLA 31, Villanova 44: Halftime

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PHILADELPHIA -- Before the game, a UCLA tuba player fell.

During a break in the game, a UCLA cheerleader fell.

Throughout the first half, the team just fell apart.

Two fouls for Alfred Aboya in the first three minutes. One more with about seven minutes left in the half. Just that kind of a day. And possibly the last in true blue for Aboya, Darren Collison and Josh Shipp.

For stretches, it looked like UCLA would never hit a shot against the hometown Villanova Wildcats. Even free throws were rattling out for a team that looked, well, rattled. The Bruins eventually clawed their way back to 37% shooting from the field, but it had been hovering in the 20s for a while.

On the other end of the court, the Bruins struggled against Villanova’s athletic guards -- almost reminiscent of their last loss to USC in the Pac-10 tournament. Times like these call for a zone defense. UCLA does not have one.

Nova ‘came out playing like they were up against the Lakers,’ wrote a friend on my Facebook page.

Twitterers around the world were colorful in their language -- ‘stomping,’ ‘whooping,’ ‘smoking,’ ‘killing,’ and, from one Bruin fan, ‘getting sicker by the minute watching the slaughter.’

Corrected, 12:55 p.m.: This post corrects and earlier error in the game score.

-- Adam Rose