Loose Bruins say they’re taking Tigers seriously

SAN ANTONIO -- Kevin Love on Friday made shots from half-court, three-quarters court and, in what has already become a signature of UCLA’s open NCAA tournament workouts, Love launched a chest pass 94 feet and through the opposite basket.

The crowd roared, his teammates laughed, and Love looked for other creative ways to show off for the rest of 50 minutes.

So he sat down at center court and began shooting. This didn’t last long before Coach Ben Howland suggested that his first-team all-American center stop before he pulled something.

Any more showing off need wait until today at 3 p.m. PDT when UCLA (35-3) plays Memphis (37-1) in the first of two NCAA semifinal games at the Alamodome. The winner will play either North Carolina or Kansas.

Among them, those four schools have made 51 Final Four appearances -- UCLA leads the way with 18, North Carolina has 17, Kansas 13 and Memphis three.

“So I guess that makes us the underdog, right?” Memphis guard Chris Douglas-Roberts said. “We’re missing the pedigree, right? . . . We are Memphis from Conference USA. That is how everyone views us, so we all have a chip and we’re out to prove them wrong.”

It is the stubborn theme the Tigers are sticking to.

“I know that’s their story,” Love said. “But we don’t think that way. Memphis has a really good basketball team with a bunch of guys who will be in the NBA. That’s how we look at it.”

Friday was fun for the Bruins, a time to fool around on the big court.

Center Lorenzo Mata-Real made a half-court shot with his back to the basket. Chace Stanback threw bounce passes so Russell Westbrook could experiment with 360-degree dunks.

Luckily, Howland didn’t see the one where Westbrook’s right foot grazed a rolling basketball.

Forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute said he felt no pain in the sprained left ankle that kept him out of UCLA’s first NCAA tournament win over Mississippi Valley State. He was, instead, looking forward to playing defense against both Memphis forward Robert Dozier and sometimes against Douglas-Roberts.

“We’ll all be switching up,” Mbah a Moute said. “For strength I’ll go against Dozier and sometimes with my foot speed and my arms I’ll try Douglas-Roberts.”

Howland said his team’s defense against Tigers’ freshman point guard Derrick Rose, Douglas-Roberts and forward Joey Dorsey would be key.

All week Howland has compared Rose to Jason Kidd and furrowed his brow in worry over the way Douglas-Roberts scores many different ways, from traditional jump shots to dunks to teardrop bank shots. “He shoots with both hands, off either foot,” Howland said. “Great stuff.”

He also praised Dorsey, who can be either a brilliant defender and scorer off rebounds or a lazy rotator and offensive liability -- sometimes both in the same game. “He is so strong and physical and tough,” Howland said.

Vance Walberg, the former Pepperdine coach and part architect of the Memphis offense, said he expects to see UCLA attempt to slow the game down, similar to what it did in beating Memphis, 50-45, two years ago in the West Regional final.

“Ben’s teams are really good at taking away what a team does best,” Walberg said. “The key to Calipari’s offense is just playing basketball, being in the right position and creating good spacing.”

Also, Walberg said, how the officials call the game would be critical. “For example,” he said, “If UCLA were to [dominate] inside on Dorsey and Dozier, get them in foul trouble, that would be big. On the opposite side, if Douglas-Roberts is allowed to attack the rack and Collison and Westbrook get in foul trouble, that’s big.”

Washington Coach Lorenzo Romar, who has beaten UCLA twice the last two seasons, suggested any opponent needs to be careful with the ball.

“Give them a couple of turnovers and easy baskets and UCLA can just turn the screws down on you so tight,” Romar said. “Once they get that little bit of offense going they make it even more difficult for you to score. The myth is that UCLA can only play half-court. That’s wrong. They can play transitional too.”

Love said what impresses him most about Memphis is speed. “With their athleticism, the way they get out on the break,” he said. “For us to win this game we’re going to have to win the battle of the boards. Also, we’ll have to get back in transition and try to play our tempo.”

It is a tempo that doesn’t want to let Memphis score its average of 80.3 points a game but rather the 58.5 UCLA gives up.

“It’s about will,” Douglas-Roberts said.

“Who has the will,” Collison said.

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diane.pucin@latimes.com

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

UCLA-Memphis matchups

A look at today’s first Final Four game:

*--* STARTERS MEMPHIS Ht Wt PPG P UCLA Ht Wt PPG Derrick Rose 6-3 205 14.6 G Darren 6-0 160 14.8 Collison Chris 6-7 200 17.7 G Russell 6-3 189 12.5 Douglas-Roberts Westbrook Antonio Anderson 6-6 210 8.4 G/F Josh Shipp 6-5 220 12.3 Robert Dozier 6-9 215 9.2 F Luc R. Mbah a 6-8 232 8.7 Moute Joey Dorsey 6-9 265 7.1 F/C Kevin Love 6-10 271 17.6 RESERVES Willie Kemp 6-2 175 5.3 G/C Lorenzo 6-9 237 3.1 Mata-Real Doneal Mack 6-5 175 7.2 G/F James Keefe 6-8 228 2.7 Shawn Taggert 6-10 230 6.0 F Alfred Aboya 6-9 245 2.9 *--*

KEY MATCHUPS

Collison vs. Rose: Collison is a junior who is playing in his third Final Four and second as a starter. Rose is a freshman who has taken over a veteran team without a misstep. He has more assists (177) than any freshman in Tigers history. His career high in points (27) came in an NCAA South Regional semifinal against defense-oriented Michigan State and his career high in rebounds (10) came against USC at Madison Square Garden. In other words, Rose, who is from Chicago, appreciates a big occasion and a big stage. Collison will give up three inches of height and 45 pounds, neither of which fazes him. He has been called by his coach the best on-ball defender in college basketball. Collison said his goals are simple -- stay in front of Rose and don’t allow him to turn a corner or look up to make a pass. Rose said he was impressed with Collison’s 53% three-point shooting and the sneaky way he scoots inside the lane to drop in a floating jump shot over bigger defenders.

Westbrook vs. Douglas-Roberts: This is being called the toughest matchup UCLA has. At 6-7, Douglas-Roberts, a first-team All-American, is taller than any of the Bruins guards and he shoots with either hand and off either foot. In his way will be Westbrook, a long-armed, quick-footed sophomore who has become UCLA’s No. 1 perimeter defender. Westbrook held USC’s O.J. Mayo, who is 6-5 and 200 pounds, to four points and harassed him into 10 turnovers in a UCLA victory over the Trojans. Westbrook gives up four inches and 11 pounds but has adopted Coach Ben Howland’s defensive must-do of keeping his knees bent low, enabling him to make any lateral move quickly. Douglas-Roberts’ defensive concern is keeping Westbrook from breaking away to catch outlet passes from center Kevin Love, or to convert offensive rebounds into dunks.

Love vs. Dorsey: Dorsey got himself in trouble before last year’s South Regional final when he called Ohio State center (and future No. 1 NBA draft pick) Greg Oden overrated. Dorsey said Oden was afraid to play inside and preferred to be around the perimeter and a bunch of other not-very-flattering stuff. Ohio State beat Memphis, 92-76, while Dorsey had zero points, zero blocked shots and three rebounds -- 17 fewer than he had predicted -- in 19 minutes against Oden’s 17 points and nine rebounds. Dorsey has stayed classy in talking about Love, praising his great strength, soft shooting touch and outlet passing. “Just like Wes Unseld,” Dorsey said. “Who does that?” Dorsey’s defensive quickness will be challenged when Love drifts outside the three-point line and makes shots and his resolve will be tested the first time Love grabs a rebound when Dorsey thinks it’s his.

-- Diane Pucin

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Almost perfect

A look back at the Final Four matchup between UCLA and Memphis (then known as Memphis State) on March 26, 1973:

Key players: The Bruins’ Bill Walton had one of the greatest games in tournament history, making 21 of 22 shots and scoring 44 points. Memphis State’s Larry Finch led the Tigers with 29 points. Near the end of the game, after Walton injured his ankle, he was helped off the court by Finch. Asked last year why he had assisted Walton, Finch said, “Because he was kicking our [butt].” The Bruins won, 87-66.

Where are they now: Walton is a television commentator, but he has been away from that job in recent weeks because of a pinched nerve in his back and a sore hip. Finch, who coached Memphis in the late 1980s and early 1990s, must use a wheelchair after a heart attack and a series of strokes.

Associated Press