“UCLA freshman center Kevin Love is ready to declare his intentions to forego his final three seasons of eligibility for the NBA, according to sources. Love is expected to announce his decision this week, with one source targeting Wednesday as the announcement day.”

Love is citing a variety of reasons for leaving including risking injury and money. Maybe he’ll have a change of heart by Wednesday. Maybe I’ll just stick my head in the oven.

I hate the one-and-done rule.

Kevin Love and Darren Collison are expected to declare for the draft. Collison has denied the report, saying he hasn’t talked with his parents yet about his plans. Ben Howland has a news conference scheduled for today. More to come on this as it is available.

“It was just my time,” said Love. “I’ve enjoyed it here at UCLA, but I want the chance to better further my career.”

Bruins fans everywhere are shocked at Love’s sudden selfishness. Having been the cornerstone of the team all year long, Love’s sudden departure has fans reeling.

“I can’t believe his selfishness. UCLA needs him. The NBA can wait,” said longtime Bruin fan Jon Maw.

The Bruins will face a tough task against Memphis, a fellow #1 seed, in the Final Four. Things will be made much harder by the fact that head coach Ben Howland was fired, just a few hours after Kevin Love’s announcement. At this time, the school and coach Howland have declined comment. James Keefe or Lorenzo Mata-Real are expected to take the place of Kevin Love in Saturday’s game, but they won’t fill in his place. Love has had a double-double in every game this season, a far cry from what bench players Keefe and Mata-Real have been averaging.

“This is a sad day in Bruins nation,” says Maw. “Things will never be the same.”

Happy April Fool’s everyone.

Following a convincing victory over Western Kentucky, the Bruins prepared to face the #3 seed Xavier. (For more on the Western Kentucky game, check out this article). Kevin Love and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute each contributed a double-double, as the Bruins reached their third-straight Final Four, with a 76-57 victory over Xavier. Ben Howland became the first UCLA coach since John Wooden to lead the Bruins to three-straight Final Fours. This marks the 18th time the Bruins have gone to the Final Four, an NCAA record.

Of course the star of the game had to be Kevin Love. His 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists helped him become the Most Outstanding Player of the West Region. There was also Darren Collison, who added 19 points of his own, and Russell Westbrook, who added 17. The best performance had to be by Mbah a Moute, who put up 13 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Ever since coming back from an ankle sprain, Mbah a Moute hasn’t looked himself. This game proved that he was back to form. Perhaps the best moment of the game came in the final seconds. Coach Howland took out all the starters and replaced them with players on the bench. The starters had scored all 73 of the Bruins points, until Chace Stanback got the ball. The seldom used freshman from Los Angeles drilled a 3-pointer with less than 20 seconds on the clock, forever etching his name in the NCAA tournament record books.

With all four #1 seeds in the Final Four, that means the Bruins get a #1. That team happens to be Memphis. Memphis is 37-1, and was the #1 team in the nation for several weeks. I was nervous when the Bruins played Mississippi Valley State (yeah, I was, so sue me). I was even more nervous (with good reason) when the Bruins played Texas A&M. My nerves didn’t settle for Western Kentucky, and they went through the roof with Xavier. I can’t imagine how I’m going to handle Memphis. I’ve watched them dominate teams in this tournament, including #2 Texas. Sure, there record is good because they’ve played lesser-quality teams. But they’ve proven in this tournament that they can play with the best of them. Saturday is a long day away. By then, I’m sure my nerves will cause my head to explode.

Let’s end on some good news. Kevin Love has been named a first team All-American. Darren Collison was a third team selection. Congrats to both!

• UCLA’s 33 wins is a school record. The previous mark was 32 wins, set in 1995, and tied in 2006.
• UCLA and Memphis are the only two schools to reach the Sweet 16 in each of the last 3 seasons.
• This is the 31st time the Bruins will be playing in the Sweet 16.
• UCLA’s 78 points allowed in the first two games is the lowest total for the first two games of a tournament since 1949.
• Kevin Love’s 621 points rank #20 on UCLA’s single season list, and are the most in one season since 1998.
• Love’s 382 rebounds is 9th on the single season list.
• Darren Collison’s three-point percentage of .516 is the best in school history for one season.
• Russell Westbrook’s 1,214 minutes rank #2 for a single season since minutes started being recorded in 1979.

Despite a close finish in the second round, the Bruins are really looking good. Kevin Love has recorded a double-double in both games so far. What the Bruins lack on offense, they make up for on defense. Darren Collison has been carrying the team on both sides of the floor.

Josh Shipp and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute continue recovering from their ailments. Shipp has strep throat, and is receiving antibiotics. Mbah a Moute had an MRI on his ankle, which showed nothing new. Both hope to play on Thursday, but if not, James Keefe would be the man off the bench. Coach Ben Howland was really impressed with Keefe’s play in the previous few games.

On Thursday, the Bruins will take on 12 seed Western Kentucky. Many people anticipate a huge UCLA victory, but this will be no piece of cake. The Bruins struggled against the 8th seeded Texas A&M Aggies, and Western Kentucky has looked really good in their first few games, particularly against Drake. The Bruins will need big performances from Kevin Love and Darren Collison, but other players need to step up. If Keefe plays, he needs to have outstanding defense. If Shipp plays, he needs to put points on the board. I’m worried about this one. This needs to be a team effort.

The Lopez twins provided trouble for the Bruins early on, jetting out to an 8-point lead. Kevin Love played sparingly, suffering back spasms in the early minutes. The Bruins were already down Mbah a Moute, who suffered a sprained ankle in yesterday’s victory over USC. Alfred Aboya and James Keefe were the key players off the bench. Lorenzo Mata-Real was also effective, but spent much of the second half on the bench because of foul trouble. The Bruins played poorly in the first half, but managed a 32-32 tie at halftime. The second half proved better for the Bruins, as they went on a 22-8 run that solidified their victory. Love scored four in a row giving the Bruins a 10-point lead with 2 minutes left. Stanford got the score down to 65-64 with only 3 seconds remaining. They fouled Darren Collison, who hit both free throws, winning the game.

Kevin Love scored 12 points, giving him double figures in all 34 games he’s played this season. That streak was in jeopardy, but Love scored his 12th point with about 9 minutes left in the game. Love still played 32 minutes, despite the pain. UCLA did prove that they could play without their big men. Love had a poor game, but the other players stepped up. Darren Collison led the team with 28 points, and was named the tournament MVP. Had he not been playing, the Bruins would have been defeated. Russell Westbrook and Josh Shipp also put in good games, as Westbrook grabbed 11 rebounds. James Keefe had a surprising performance off the bench. Despite putting in only 8 points and grabbing 3 rebounds, it was the things he did that aren’t stats that made him valuable. He was always on top of the ball, constantly knocking it away.

The Bruins are all but guaranteed a #1 seed in their region come Selection Sunday. They swept Stanford in the regular season, and will take a 10 game win streak into the tourney.

Darren Collison made two key free throws with 2.5 seconds left in regulation that sent the game to overtime. From there on, it was all UCLA. The Bruins went on a 14-4 run, setting up the victory. Collison led the way for the Bruins, with 24 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Russell Westbrook scored 19, Kevin Love 17, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute added 10 points, 11 rebounds, and 1 assist, and Josh Shipp had 7 points. The Bruins have one more game this season, against Cal. The Bruins look to take their #2 ranking into the tournament, and keep on winning.