Taken by Storm

The mountain of tradition that is UCLA basketball, less than a week after emerging so brilliantly from behind the clouds, was the center of another startling view Thursday.

A bunch of little guys climbing it.

Throwing their picks into it and scampering around it, uncontested and unafraid.

In the end, even dancing on it.

“We brought it up into them,” said Iowa State’s Jamaal Tinsley, smiling and rested. “And we knew they were not used to anybody doing that.”

And the haze returns.

One minute the Bruins were floating into summer on a magical 35-point NCAA tournament victory over Maryland.

The next they are struggling underneath a weighty 24-point loss to Iowa State.

The Cyclones whipped them in the Midwest Regional semifinals Thursday, 80-56, in a game that was a mismatch not of teams, but programs.

Iowa State is weight-room tough.

UCLA is mirror-staring pretty.

Iowa State, outsized at virtually every position, had no business pushing the Bruins around.

But by the time Tinsley had made yet another steal and thrown yet another long pass for yet another layup followed by a series of chest thumps, UCLA had no business even being on the same court with the Cyclones.

It is important that these Bruins, whose best players are scheduled to return next year, understand they are capable of the greatness shown last week in the second round against Maryland.

It is just as important, however, that they understand they are equally capable of this sort of embarrassment.

If they don’t hit the weight room.

“We live in the weight room,” said Kantrail Horton.

If they don’t work on their mind game.

“I don’t know if we were physically stronger, I think tonight it was all mental,” said Paul Shirley. “You have to really want to go out there and do it.”

If they pay less attention to their incredible skills and more attention to their soul.

“I knew we’d win, but I was surprised we won by this much,” said Tinsley. “At the end of the game, they backed up and let us have our way.”

The end of the game? From this seat it happened right from the start, 10 seconds into the game, when Marcus Fizer sneaked around Jerome Moiso for a layup, then Tinsley drove the lane and scored around Billy Knight.

Iowa State’s first 12 baskets were scored in the paint, which was only slightly more unsettling then watching them guard the Bruins at the other end.

A 6-foot-4 Stevie Johnson hanging on 6-foot-10 Moiso.

A 6-foot-8 Fizer shoving around 6-foot-11 Dan Gadzuric.

Even a 6-foot-3 Tinsley battering 6-foot-7 JaRon Rush.

For the record, the Bruins pulled off only two alley-oops. The second one pulled them to within 16 points.

Mostly, because of the darting, intercepting Cyclones, the Bruins threw up alley-Fizers, and alley-Johnsons.

The Cyclones looked like little kids jumping up and down on the giant blue equipment at a fast-food playground until something finally breaks and they all run home laughing.

“There was a point out there when you could look in their eyes and see that they knew, this is not Maryland,” said Shirley, a 6-9 reserve who grabbed as many rebounds in four minutes as all but two Bruins grabbed the entire game.

It was not Maryland for several reasons.

Earl Watson was obviously tired, perhaps because of the recent eye surgery, or maybe the increased attention, or both.

“If I was grading myself on this game, I would give me an ‘F,’ ” said Watson, who was being far too harsh, but you get the point.

Jason Kapono was obviously overwhelmed, finally, after laughing his way through the first two tournament games of his career.

He made only three of 11 shots, and afterward nobody made a big deal about his new blue headband.

“We’ve gotten used to being on these big rolls, 15-0, 20-2, or whatever,” Kapono said. “Tonight, we never found that rhythm.”

Finally, most profoundly, this was not Maryland because Moiso and Gadzuric proved they are obviously still just sophomores, still just learning.

Maybe next time, with smaller players on them, they will post up in front of the basket instead of 15 feet away.

Maybe next time, they won’t let swatting hands and bumping hips knock them into next year.

“All the pushing and shoving, we finally realized we had to play like that, too,” Moiso said. “But by then, it was too late.”

Truth be told, it was probably too late before they even took the court.

Some might say that Bruin Coach Steve Lavin didn’t adjust enough Thursday by not pounding the ball inside more.

But in this case, Lavin already knew what a national TV audience soon learned.

He doesn’t yet have the sort of player who can, or cares to, make those sorts of bruising plays.

“This team has a great future, but we just don’t play that type of basketball,” said Sean Farnham.

The team’s senior captain ended his last game as a Bruin not with his dreamed victory embrace, but by angrily tossing his sweat bands to the floor as he stalked off the court.

“That team just had so much heart,” he said. “They are like great playground players. The rock is gold. You lose it, and you don’t play again for 15 hours.”

For UCLA, the waiting period will now be seventh months. Enough time to forget. Enough time to remember.

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Bill Plaschke can be reached at his e-mail address: bill.plaschke@latimes.com