The Associated Press

The Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana’s prisons chief acknowledged Thursday that his agency moved too fast to transfer inmates from overcrowded prisons in Arizona to a privately run prison in New Castle where some later rioted.

“We could have done better, and I could have done better,” Department of Correction Commissioner J. David Donahue said in releasing a state report on the April 24 riot.

About 500 prisoners burned mattresses and broke windows at the New Castle Correctional Facility during a two-hour disturbance. Eight prisoners and two staff members were injured, none seriously.

Some 25 inmates from Arizona and one from Indiana could face criminal charges as a result of the riot, the report said. The recommendations were sent to Henry County Prosecutor Kit Crane, who said he did not expect to make a decision on charges until next week.

The report said responsibility for the uprising ultimately rests with offenders, but it noted a string of administrative or staff shortcomings as “secondary factors,” including inexperienced guards and too much idle time for Arizona inmates that was aggravated by imbalanced meal and recreation schedules for inmates from the two states.

A prison reform advocate said administrators should have recognized the problems before the riot.

A key criticism in the report was that the transfer was simply done too fast to give either prison staff or inmates time to adapt.

The disturbance occurred six weeks after the first of some 600 Arizona inmates began joining 1,050 Indiana prisoners at the New Castle prison, about 40 miles east of Indianapolis.

The two states agreed on March 9 to the transfer of 1,260 medium-security inmates. By April 17, 630 had been transferred, at a rate of 105 a week.

That transfer schedule was unrealistic because the side of the prison occupied by the Arizona inmates had never been used or staffed before, the report said. The transferred inmates also weren’t adequately informed of the differences between prisons in the two states, including that they wouldn’t be allowed to smoke in Indiana.

“We’ve got to do a better job of communicating in Arizona,” Donahue said.

However, Arizona Department of Corrections spokeswoman Katie Decker said prisoners were informed about what to expect when they moved.

Overall, she said, the Arizona department agreed with the report’s recommendations and did not dispute its findings.

“We’re glad that they took a look at the underlying issues and the areas that they need to improve,” Decker said.

Donna Leone Hamm, director of Tempe, Ariz.-based Middle Ground Prison Reform, said the report was crafted to avoid blaming administrators, including those at Florida-based GEO Group Inc., which is contracted to run the Indiana prison.

“You can’t be surprised by these kind of problems when you have too few staff and untrained staff and inmates with too much time on their hands,” Hamm said. “You could see this coming a mile away if you were interested in authentic correctional practice, and apparently nobody was, and that blame has to be shared among all the participants in the contract.”

The Associated Press left a phone message for GEO spokesman Pablo Paez, seeking comment.

The transfer of inmates from Arizona remains on hold until the report’s recommendations are in place, Donahue said.

Citizen Staff Writer

Chris Henry did exactly what he needed to do at the NFL combine in Indianapolis: The junior showed off his athleticism.

The ex-Arizona tailback has been labeled a “freak” because of his physical ability.

He proved to be freakish in Indianapolis in front of scouts from every NFL franchise.

Henry does not have the experience or the big name such as Oklahoma tailback Adrian Peterson or California running back Marshawn Lynch, but he had better results.

Those two were left in Henry’s dust.

Henry tested well, especially in the 40-yard dash and the standing broad jump. Now he’s quickly becoming a mover and shaker in the draft.

There has never been any doubt of Henry’s strength, size, quickness and toughness. The only knock on him was his experience, as he didn’t get the ball as much as a Peterson or a Lynch.

His athleticism may be erasing some of the doubts.

• Come blog with us at www.tucsoncitizen.com/wildcatblog

Citizen Staff Writer

By JOHN MOREDICH

jmoredich@tucsoncitizen.com

Former University of Arizona tailback Chris Henry does not have many rushing yards to show the pro scouts, but his marks at the NFL combine Sunday had to wow some of them.

Henry recorded the best marks in the 40-yard dash and the standing broad jump among running backs in Indianapolis. He was second in the 60-yard shuttle, third in the 20-yard shuttle, fifth in the 3-cone drill and eighth in vertical jump.

Henry’s marks were consistently better than those of Oklahoma’s Adrian Peterson and California’s Marshawn Lynch, players touted as early first-round picks.

The Wildcats junior, who left school after just one year of starting experience, recorded an official time of 4.40 in the 40-yard dash, according to NFL.com.

Henry, who led the Wildcats with 581 rushing yards in 2006, also led the running back group in the standing broad jump with a leap of 10 feet, 7 inches.

The 6-foot, 225-pound back had an 11.51-second time in the 60-yard shuttle, a 4.14 time in the 20-yard shuttle, 6.96 in the 3-cone and a 36-inch vertical jump. All the figures are according to NFL.com, which gets the results directly from the NFL network.

UA’s Michael Johnson (safety), Syndric Steptoe (WR) and Nick Folk (kicker) also attended the combine.

The Associated Press

The Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS – Two years after becoming an American, Tucsonan Bernard Lagat made history in his first U.S. Track & Field Championships.

The two-time Olympic medalist for Kenya is the first runner to sweep the 1,500 and 5,000 meters at the U.S. meet.

Lagat took the lead on the first lap, then outsprinted Gabe Jennings over the final 50 meters to win the 1,500 Sunday in 3 minutes, 39.29 seconds.

He won the 5,000 in 13:14.32 Friday. The closest comparison to that double-triumph at the U.S. championships would be Alex Grant’s victories in the mile and two-mile in 1903.

“It means a lot,” Lagat, 31, said. “I didn’t know that nobody had done it until someone was telling me that today. This is my first nationals, and I’m proud to be here. Doubling means a lot to me.”

Lagat, who has been in the United States for a decade, lives in Tucson and is the older brother of former University of Arizona star Robert Cheseret. Lagat was the Olympic 1,500 silver medalist in 2004 and bronze medalist in 2000. He will be eligible to compete for the United States at next year’s world championships.

“I got a really warm reception here,” Lagat said. “I feel like there’s a connection with the people, that they’re saying ‘You’re a part of us’ and that feeling that having everyone supporting me is great.”

The Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS – Distance runner Bernard Lagat won the first U.S. title of his career in style Friday night.

Lagat, who resides in Tucson and is a U.S. citizen, captured the 5,000 meters at the U.S. track and field championships after winning his first-round heat of the 1,500 earlier in the day.

In the 5,000, the former Kenyan star bided his time in the back of the lead pack, then sprinted off the final curve to win in 13 minutes, 14.32 seconds. It was the fastest time by an American in 2006.

Lagat, who will be eligible to run at next year’s worlds, won the 1,500 heat in 3:44.46. The final is today at 3:35 p.m.

Another Tucsonan, Abdi Abdirahman, did not finish the 10,000-meter finals after opting not to run in the 5,000. Both events were held the same day because a storm wiped out the 10,000 Thursday. Abdirahman had won the last two 10,000-meter titles.

Golf

Salpointe grad Brown charges into quarterfinals

PUEBLO, Colo. – Tucsonan Sara Brown not only is having fun, but she’s also playing some of the best golf of her young career at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship.

Brown, 20, a Salpointe Catholic High grad, advanced to today’s quarterfinals by beating her friend, UCLA’s Hannah Jun, in 19 holes.

“It was the most intense, fun round I have ever played in match play,” said Brown, who rallied from three holes down on the back nine against Jun.

Brown followed with a 2-and-1 win over South Korea’s Kyu Ri Ban.

“I didn’t even hit balls before I played again,” Brown said. “I ate lunch, hit some putts and teed off.”

Brown will meet Angela Oh of Maple Shade, N.J., in the quarterfinals today. The semifinals are set for this afternoon, and the 36-hole final is Sunday. The champion and runner-up will receive spots in the U.S. Women’s Amateur in August near Portland, Ore.

- The Associated Press

The Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS – Tucsonan Abdi Abdirahman, the two-time defending U.S. 10,000-meter champion, might not race in the event today after storms wiped out Thursday’s competition at the U.S. track and field championships.

Abdirahman, a Pima Community College and University of Arizona graduate, said he might withdraw from the 10,000 because he also planned to run in the 5,000. The 5,000 will be run just before the 10,000 at the end of today’s crowded schedule.

- The Associated Press

The Associated Press

The Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS – Former Arizona Wildcat Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter are peaking at the right time.

The dynamic duo combined for 54 points in New Jersey’s 96-90 win over the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night. The Nets won the best-of-seven series in six games and advanced to play Miami in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Jefferson scored 30 points and Carter added 24. Carter averaged 29 points and Jefferson 24 in the series, well above their regular-season averages.

“We feed off each other,” Jefferson said. “We both have the luxury of having another perimeter player, so it’s tough to just key on one of us. Whenever (Carter) gets going, the defense starts sagging to him and it makes my game a little bit easier.”

Star point guard Jason Kidd hopes Miami has trouble with the Nets’ aggressive, fast-paced style in the next round.

“We understand Shaquille O’Neal is going to be a big factor, and Dwyane Wade, but (we want to) make them do something they’re not comfortable doing,” Kidd said, “and for us, it’s just executing our game plan, to penetrate and knock down the open shot.”

The Nets trailed 2-1 before reeling off three straight wins, two in Indianapolis.

The Pacers played without Peja Stojakovic for the fourth time in the series because of a sore right knee.

Ex-Net Anthony Johnson almost sent the series back to New Jersey for a Game 7 with a career-high 40 points.

Johnson scored the first 12 points of the fourth quarter for Indiana, then hit a 3-pointer with 0:57 left to make it 92-90. Indiana had a chance to tie, but Jefferson blocked a putback try by the Pacers’ Jermaine O’Neal.

The Pacers fouled Nenad Krstic with 0:14 left. He made both free throws for a 94-90 lead. Johnson then missed a 3-pointer and Jefferson made two free throws.

Heat eliminate Bulls

CHICAGO – Shaquille O’Neal dominated, Dwyane Wade played well despite a bruised left hip and the Miami Heat never trailed in eliminating the feisty Chicago Bulls 113-96.

The second-seeded Heat won the best-of-seven series 4-2 and will meet the third-seeded New Jersey Nets in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

O’Neal had 30 points and 20 rebounds while staying out of foul trouble as Miami won its first playoff series against the Bulls and its first postseason game in Chicago. O’Neal was 13-of-24 from the field.

“This was the first time I wasn’t in foul trouble, so I was able to do what I do,” O’Neal said.

Wade scored 23 points, and although he spent more time on the bench than usual, he was 7-of-12 from the field, including 2-of-3 on 3-pointers. Wade injured his hip late in the first half of Game 5 on Tuesday.

Today’s games

Cleveland at Washington, 5 p.m., ESPN. Cleveland leads 3-2. The Wizards aren’t done, but they need a win tonight at home and Game 7 Sunday on the road.

Cleveland’s LeBron James has made two winning shots in the last week, but ex-UA Wildcat Gilbert Arenas has tried to keep Washington loose.

San Antonio at Sacramento, 7:30 p.m., ESPN: The degree of difficulty in the Spurs’ NBA title defense rises with every day of the series, but the Spurs could eliminate two more days of hard work by finally winning in Sacramento.

Citizen Staff Writer

COMMENT by STEVE RIVERA

srivera@tucsoncitizen.com

INDIANAPOLIS – UCLA coach Ben Howland vows that the Bruins will be back.

That might be the safest bet in college basketball because under Howland it seems the Bruins have arrived and will stay a while.

Howland is too good of a coach. He has too many good young players.

But here’s another thought that should go in the clip-and-save department: A team from the Pacific-10 Conference will win the national title in the next five years, perhaps in the next three. If the league is lucky, it could happen next year.

Maybe UCLA.

Maybe Arizona.

Maybe some other team.

Anything can happen in the NCAAs.

This year of unpredictable basketball – George Mason made it here, for goodness’ sake – proves that.

Why not the Pac-10? The league’s last title was UA’s in 1997. UCLA last won in 1995.

With 10 solid players returning – barring any early defections to the NBA – UCLA has a good chance to return to the Final Four in Atlanta next season.

“We’ll learn from this,” Howland said. “Our players that are returning have grown from this season.”

The Bruins went from being picked to finish third in the Pac-10 to winning the title despite injuries and inconsistent offense.

Bruins guard Jordan Farmar said it was too early to speak of next season.

“I didn’t think I’d tear up, but I came in the locker room and thought that I wouldn’t be playing with (seniors) Ryan (Hollins) and Ced (Bozeman) and those guys who deserve a title,” he said.

UCLA’s Arron Afflalo didn’t shy away from talking about next season despite the pain of the defeat as he sniffled through a number of questions about the game and his future.

“It’s going to be there for a while,” he said of the pain. “But that’s a good thing, too.”

Motivation does an athlete good. So does hard work. So does the experience of playing in a championship game and being so close to a title.

Freshman Luc Richard Mbah A Moute said it’s something to build on.

“Our four seniors were a big part of us this year,” he said. “They helped us improve. And this helps. Coming this far in the tournament we know what to expect. We know what it takes to come back. We’ll try everything we can to come back.”

UCLA is confident, but the odds are likely against the Bruins. It’s not often a team makes it to the Final Four one year and returns the next. The last time it happened was Kansas in 2002 and 2003. Each time it failed to win the title.

Michigan State did it, too, losing in the 1999 semifinals, winning the title in 2000 and losing to UA in the 2001 semifinals.

“We were very fortunate to make it to the championship game,” Afflalo said. “We just want to cherish the experience. This doesn’t come around too often. If we are fortunate to make it back next year, hopefully we’ll win it. I gives me every incentive in the world to work hard.”

The Associated Press

The Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS – Arizona will face Illinois, and Gonzaga will play Texas in the Basketball Hall of Fame’s inaugural fall doubleheader.

The Hall of Fame Challenge will be played Dec. 2 in Phoenix, officials said yesterday.

Arizona and Illinois were eliminated in the second round of this year’s NCAA Tournament. Texas was upset in a regional final, and Gonzaga lost in a regional semifinal to UCLA, which reached the Final Four.

“This will not only give the Hall of Fame great exposure and kick off the college season, but it also gives the hall a much-needed fundraiser,” C.M. Newton said. “We look forward to it going around the country in the future.”

The Illini beat the Wildcats 90-89 in overtime in the 2005 Elite Eight. Illinois rallied from a 15-point deficit in the final minutes to win that game – in Illinois.

Roll enjoying UCLA

INDIANAPOLIS – Rick Roll is a proud father.

He should be. He’s the father of UCLA freshman guard Michael Roll.

The elder Roll graduated from Palo Verde High School in 1967 and the University of Arizona in 1971.

“It’s just fabulous to have my son here,” Roll said before last night’s NCAA championship game between UCLA and Florida. “It’s fabulous for a freshman to be playing. He’s worked hard. He backs up a McDonald’s All-American in Arron Afflalo. It’s been great for him.”

Roll averaged 3.5 points and 0.9 rebound this year.

“He said everything has been fabulous,” Roll said of his son’s first year. “I have a bigger feeling for Division I student-athletes. They miss two or three days of school when they travel. Miss a lot of school, but UCLA is a great academic institution.”

Roll, 56, is retired and lives in Laguna Niguel, Calif.

Also watching Roll was his mother, Joyce, and his stepmom, Eileen.

Rick Roll left Tucson in 1973 but remains a UA fan, as long as the Wildcats aren’t playing the Bruins. “I went to the game (in Tucson),” he said of the UA-UCLA match. “I caught myself (in the beginning) cheering for UA then stopped because it was UCLA.”

- Steve Rivera

\

Citizen Staff Writer

INDIANAPOLIS – Arizona State will be hoping to catch up with the rest of the league – and Arizona – with the hiring of North Carolina State men’s basketball coach Herb Sendek.

The last time University of Arizona fans saw Sendek, he was was beating up on the Wildcats in the 1995 NCAA Tournament with Miami (Ohio) and Devin Davis, that floppy-haired kid who destroyed a UA team playing without the suspended Damon Stoudamire and Ben Davis.

It’s an interesting hire, but is it sexy enough to get the Sun Devils any interest from fans who seemingly have abandoned the program despite a trip to the NCAAs in 2003?

- STEVE RIVERA

RESPONSE: Sendek must do some pretty amazing magic to overcome the (true) perception that big-time players (exception Ike Diogu) won’t come to ASU. And he has to do that without having a West-Coast recruiting base. Not a single Wolfpack player is from west of the Mississippi. . . . Sendek has a great track record in a tough conference (ACC), where his school was not close to being the top dog. This is good experience to carry into his era in Tempe. Hopefully, ASU is prepared to wait through the necessary transition.

- DOUG

• Come blog with us at www.tucsoncitizen.com/wildcatblog

Citizen Staff Writer

By STEVE RIVERA

srivera@tucsoncitizen.com

INDIANAPOLIS – Apparently, it was Florida with all the “D.”

That’s D as in defense, dunks and domination as the Gators rolled over UCLA to win their first men’s NCAA basketball title.

Florida denied the Bruins their 12th NCAA title last night, winning 73-57 in front of 43,168 fans at the RCA Dome.

“They were terrific tonight,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said of the Gators. “They did an outstanding job of dealing with our pressure.”

And the Gators did a good job dishing out their own, making UCLA’s offense look feeble. The Bruins shot just 36.1 percent.

“They played to perfection,” UCLA guard Arron Afflalo said.

The Gators handed the Bruins their worst loss of the season.

“They were very poised and strong and ready for everything we had to throw at them,” UCLA’s Jordan Farmar said.

In the second half, when UCLA still had a glimmer of hope, Florida scored 14 points on dunks. Four more scores came on 3-pointers.

It was a recipe for disaster for the Bruins, who couldn’t do anything right for most of the night.

“It really wasn’t one thing,” said Farmar, who had a game-high 18 points but went 8 for 21 from the field. “It was a combination of us having jitters, not defending like we always have and them executing. They played a great game and deserve it.”

Inside or outside, UCLA couldn’t stop Florida’s Joakim Noah, the Final Four’s most outstanding player. He finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and six blocks.

The Bruins also couldn’t handle shooter Lee Humphrey, who had 15 points.

Gators big man Al Horford added 14 points.

“Whatever they did, they were able to do it very strong,” Afflalo said. “They knew what to expect, and they executed. Their guards played very strong, (their) big men played very strong.”

UCLA’s much-vaunted defense had no answer for the taller and just-as-athletic Gators. And while everyone was preoccupied with UCLA’s stingy defense coming into the tournament, it was Florida’s that proved to be Velcro-like.

Corey Brewer limited Afflalo to 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting.

“Everybody was talking about their defense,” Brewer said. “We proved who’s the best defensive team, and we’re national champions. I felt we were going to win the game by a large margin when we came in.”

Doom descended in the Dome early for the Bruins, who fell behind 30-17.

Florida grabbed the lead at 16:46 on one of its six 3-pointers and never looked back. By the time UCLA had a chance to figure out what was going on – because of Florida’s intimidating inside presence behind Noah – it was down 34-22 with four minutes left in the half.

“They were skilled, probably the most skilled team we played,” Farmar said. “They watched a lot of tape on what we were doing and countered it. They were unselfish and did whatever they had to do to win.”

Blocked shots helped. The Gators finished with 10, both championship game and Final Four records. Noah had a championship-record six, five in the first half.

Noah said the Bruins felt his presence early.

“But it’s not about that,” he said. “It’s definitely a team effort. Maybe I got a lot of the blocks this game, but Corey Brewer, what he did . . . he was a monster on D tonight.

“It was a team effort. Even when we didn’t get blocks, we were just intimidating out there because we’re trees. At the end of the day, it’s not about who’s getting stats, it’s about getting W’s.”

And by halftime – when Florida had a 36-25 lead – it was well on its way to that win.

BY THE NUMBERS

1 – Titles all-time by Florida

6 – Blocks by Florida’s Joakim Noah. The Gators had 10 overall.

9 – Years since the Pac-10 has won a national championship. Arizona beat Kentucky in overtime for the 1997 title.

13 – Wins by SEC teams (13-5) in the NCAA Tournament, the best of any conference. The Pac-10 was second at 8-4.

17.6 – UCLA’s percentage on 3-pointers (3 of 17)

MORE HOOPS INSIDE

• Rivera column: Look for a Pac-10 team to win it all in the next few years.

• Notebook: Arizona, Illinois will meet in Phoenix next year.

• Noah dominates the middle in Florida’s win.

Citizen Staff Writer

By STEVE RIVERA

srivera@tucsoncitizen.com

INDIANAPOLIS – Outspoken. Opinionated. Emotional. And very talented.

That’s Florida’s Joakim Noah, the son of former tennis star Yannick Noah and a Swedish beauty queen.

Tennis was never in the picture for Joakim Noah, the 6-foot-11 New York-born, French-raised rising hoops star. He gave it up after a couple of attempts.

Basketball is another story. He started playing the game at the age of 7 and now is a top-flight player in the spotlight of the Final Four.

Florida plays UCLA at 6 tonight for the national championship.

“I remember playing long hours in the gym (alone) early in the morning,” Noah recalled yesterday. “I was doing whatever it takes to get to this moment. This is a dream for any basketball player. It’s such a great feeling that it’s finally here.”

He’ll be going against a coach, UCLA’s Ben Howland, who recruited him when Howland was at Pittsburgh.

“It’s crazy,” Noah said. “Now, we are playing him in the national championship.”

Noah is a big reason the Gators are here. He’s the team’s leading scorer at 14.1 points per game and second in rebounding at 7.1. He had four blocks in the semifinal win over George Mason. He also brings a fiery emotion to the team.

“He’s such a great competitor,” teammate Taurean Green said. “He always wants to win. Every time he goes out and competes, we know what we’re going to get from him emotionally.”

And reporters are finding out what they’ll be getting when they talk to him.

When asked by a reporter why his long hair – which he wears in a ponytail while he plays – gives him strength, the usually talkative Noah said it was a secret.

He followed by saying most of the reporters present didn’t have any idea what the Gators were about, nor did he care what they thought.

“If we worried about the things that you guys worried about, worried about who has the most hype . . . you guys are usually wrong when it comes to things like that,” he said. “Like you guys (have) only seen us play maybe three, four times in the year, and you guys think you have it all figured out.

“We know what we have to do. We’re not really worried about all the stories or everything that’s going on. Our job is to just play basketball. You guys write stories.”

Noah grew up in the spotlight of a famous father in Yannick, who is attending the games along with several members of the family.

“People want to watch (you), and when you’re a kid, you don’t want that,” Joakim said. “You don’t want people comparing you to your father. You want people to leave you alone so you can enjoy it. At that age it has to be for the love of the game.

“I don’t feel the pressure now because I’m doing my own thing. I’m proud of what my father stands for and what he does for his charities and (being the) last French guy to win the French Open. I’m proud of my father, so the questions don’t bother me.”

Florida coach Billy Donovan said his sophomore player has a passion for the game.

“He’s an easy guy to coach because he cares so much,” Donovan said. “When you get somebody that cares about something so much, I can help him channel his emotion the right way.”

Joakim Noah file

• Position: forward/center

• Height: 6-11

• Weight: 227

• PPG: 14.1

• RPG: 7.1

• FG %: 62.3

• FT %: 73.0

Citizen Staff Writer

By STEVE RIVERA

srivera@tucsoncitizen.com

INDIANAPOLIS – Arizona coach Lute Olson expects UCLA to beat Florida tonight to win the national title.

He felt that way before the Final Four began.

He’d seen enough of the Bruins – UA lost three consecutive games to UCLA this season – to know their defense and quickness would be too much for the other teams here at the RCA Dome.

UCLA dominated LSU in a 59-45 win in the semifinals on Saturday.

“I don’t think people realize how quick they are,” Olson said. “They’ve got great quickness at every spot. And with the emergence of (center Ryan) Hollins, they’ve got the total package. They work really hard and are very unselfish.”

The Bruins making it to the title game brings some vindication to the Pacific-10 Conference. The Pac-10 entered the NCAAs ranked as the seventh-best league in the nation and stayed there as recently as last week, behind the likes of the Big Ten, Southeastern Conference and the Big East.

“I’m very proud that they’ve gotten here,” Pac-10 commissioner Tom Hansen said. “In a season where the analysis from the national media spoke about the Big Ten and Big East and others, the Pac-10 has done well. Washington played well, and perhaps deserved to beat Connecticut. Arizona fared well, too.”

The Pac-10 is 8-3 in the NCAAs and that has earned the league a total of about $1.43 million for the tournament, which will be divvied up equally among the schools after expenses.

Money aside, the Bruins have piqued the interest of the national media about teams in the West – again.

“All year long people have heard out East that the Pac-10 is really weak,” Olson said. “It’s sort of interesting that we lost a close one in basically a home game to Villanova. And Washington should have beaten Connecticut, and here UCLA is ready to win the whole thing. Maybe people out East should get out and see some basketball out West.”

UCLA guard Jordan Farmar said it’s a tougher league than most, even though many critics thought the league was down this season.

“I don’t know what it holds in the future, but I know going to Washington State (wasn’t easy),” he said. “Going to Washington, going to Cal. Having to go to Arizona and beat the great Lute Olson teams makes it a tough conference, a lot better than most people think. It’s done a great job in preparing us. That’s why were are here.”

Citizen Staff Writer

INDIANAPOLIS – Here’s hoping tonight’s NCAA basketball championship game is better than Saturday’s Final Bore, er Four, semifinals.

Admit it, Saturday’s games (UCLA 59, LSU 45; Florida 73, George Mason 58) were hardly entertaining. I’m all for defense – it wins championships – but blowouts shouldn’t happen at this stage.

I don’t expect a rout tonight – both teams play good defense and are athletic – but given this wacky season, who knows?

• Catch Rivera’s Final Four blog at www.tucsoncitizen.com and tell us what you think of tonight’s game.

BUDINGER BLOG RESPONSE: How do you divide the time between UA’s Jawann McClellan, Marcus Williams and incoming freshman Chase Budinger? Can/should Budinger play the “4″ (power forward)?

While that might sound interesting, I think that would leave us vulnerable on the boards. But this would be one of those really good problems to have. Add recruit Darrell Arthur (from Dallas) to the mix, and things would get downright scary. After a mostly lackluster year, I can’t wait to see the 2006-07 Cats! – DOUG IN TEXAS

• Come blog with us at www.tucsoncitizen.com/wildcatblog

Citizen Staff Writer

By STEVE RIVERA

srivera@tucsoncitizen.com

INDIANAPOLIS – It’s tradition vs. pedigree.

UCLA has more of the former and less of the latter. Florida has some history and a trio of players with famous athletic fathers.

Both teams play strong defense, so something will have to give when the two meet today at 6 p.m. for the NCAA men’s basketball title at the RCA Dome.

The No. 2-seeded Bruins, 1 1/2-point underdogs but riding a 12-game win streak, believe their long-standing tradition will matter tonight.

“It means something,” said UCLA coach Ben Howland, who in his third season at UCLA has resurrected warm and fuzzy feelings from the Bruins’ past glory under John Wooden.

“We are playing for ourselves,” Howland said. “These kids are playing for one another. We’re also playing for the program and for UCLA.”

He said his team (32-6) has embraced the past to get to the present, perhaps building to more titles. Players talk highly of past greats such as Bill Walton, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Mike Warren, who helped UCLA win 10 titles under Wooden, seven in a row from 1967-73.

“We’ll never match what those teams did,” UCLA’s Ryan Hollins said. “But we’re coming with the same focus and mentality knowing this is a new team.”

But Florida (32-6) says it’s a new era. Those 11 championship banners the Bruins have hanging in Pauley Pavilion – UCLA also won in 1995 under Jim Harrick – mean nothing, they say. It’s not as if Walton or the others will score a basket for the Bruins tonight.

“History doesn’t help you win basketball games,” Florida center Joakim Noah said.

Noah is one of three Gators with a big-time athletic pedigree. His father is former tennis star Yannick Noah. Taurean Green, the starting guard, is the son of former NBA player Sidney Green. And Al Horford’s father, Tito, played in the NBA and overseas.

But is Florida capable of getting through what might be considered the best defense in NCAA Tournament history?

The Bruins have allowed just 264 points in five games, an average of 52.8 per game. That’s 3.5 points per game fewer than Michigan State’s all-time record, set in the 2000 tournament.

Florida also has been stingy, giving up 56.6 points a game in the tourney. It held George Mason to 2 of 11 from the three-point line in a 73-58 win Saturday.

The Bruins limited an athletic LSU team to 32 percent shooting from the field in a 59-45 win Saturday, holding inside scorers Tyrus Thomas to five points and Glenn “Big Baby” Davis to 14.

“UCLA plays defense like Georgia,” said Horford, whose team swept the Bulldogs this season. “They are scrappy and a physical team that is athletic.”

A key for UCLA will be stopping Florida’s Lee Humphrey, who had 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting, all 3-pointers, against George Mason.

“At this level, guys are capable of making shots in your face,” said UCLA’s Arron Afflalo, the team’s defensive stopper. “You’re not going to block too many shots outside the arc, but the key is to alter as many as you can.”

Florida coach Billy Donovan is trying to become only the third person to play in the Final Four and coach a team to a national title (Bobby Knight and Dean Smith). Donovan played for Providence in the 1987 NCAA semifinals.

Donovan, unlike Noah, was more diplomatic about the Bruins’ past.

“I understand what UCLA represents,” he said. “But the tradition doesn’t have anything to do with (tonight). Still, it has something to do to their players because they understand . . . what UCLA represents.”

Don’t expect the Gators to back down.

Florida has been to the NCAAs eight straight seasons, the Bruins just two straight.

“Right now we’re not thinking about how people are going to remember us,” Noah said. “It’s about playing possession by possession and seizing the moment.”