UCLA vs. Western Kentucky Preview: Nothing but (Kevin) Love for Ya

On the one hand there is UCLA, the granddaddy of all college hoops teams playing sound defense and ekeing out a 51-49 win. On the other there's the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, a rootin' tootin high-scorin bunch fixin' to score buckets and rack up points in the first two rounds, like 101 and 72. So they can score; there is no question about that.

But can the Hilltoppers defend? That's the main question coming into the game. That and can they stop Kevin Love, UCLA's All-American 7-foot center?

After watching UCLA barely squeak past Texas A & M in what had to be the game of the year in terms of defense and rebounding, any game played between UCLA and any opponent would have to be measured against that 51-49 scoreline.

However, the matchup between UCLA and Western Kentucky promises to be vastly different from the low-scoring slugfest you saw last weekend in Anaheim. WKU, which should stand for Winging Kookoo Shots Unimaginably, shouldn't even be in the tournament but they are, having knocked off Drake 101-99 in overtime on a prayer from Hell shot in the first round. Then the Hilltoppers got past San Diego in a ho-hum game compared to the first but they did almost give the game to San Diego in the second half before holding on for the win.

Two main themes keep recurring here. One, the Hilltoppers haven't played any defense in the tournament and two, they have nobody to stop K-Love. Their top players are Courtney Love, a 6-foot-5 swingman with NBA potential and the two Ty's, Brazelton and Rogers. Neither Ty has ever seen a three-pointer they didn't like.

But UCLA's bench is simply too strong for Western Kentucky, who comes into the Sweet 16 overmatched and undersized. The only chance the Hilltoppers have is from behind the three-point arc and they are the best three-point shooting team in the land.

ANALYSIS: The Hilltoppers will stay in the game for the majority of the first half before succumbing to UCLA's size and the Bruins' inside-outside combinations in the latter portion of the game.

FINAL SCORE: UCLA 87, WESTERN KENTUCKY 68