LOS ANGELES – The UCLA Bruins will be looking for the gas pedal, whether they have the basketball or not.
Third-seeded UCLA (24-8) faces No. 14 seed Hawaii on Saturday afternoon in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner will face the winner between sixth-seeded South Florida (23-9) and No. 11 seed Colorado State (31-1) on Monday in the sub-regionals at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion.
“It all starts on the defensive end,” said UCLA senior Nirra Fields, a former Mater Dei High standout. “When we get stops, and we get into transition, that’s our strength.