UCLA 59, LSU 49

I don’t wanna say this was dull for those who weren’t rooting for UCLA, but at least one television set in my living room flipped over to the Stars/Kings game. And there’s only one set in the living room. Lorenzo Mata’s job shutting down Glen Davis can’t be ignored, but 3 weeks of crazy finishes have the attention deficient amongst us, well, spoiled.

If nothing else, this rout provides yet another opportunity to gaze upon Jon Solomon’s handiwork in the form of Jordan Farmar Superstar.

CBS Sportsline’s Greg Doyel picks Florida to win the big one on Monday night. He doesn’t mean the Marlins/Astros opener, but I might opt for that one, anyway.

In Florida the Bruins will play the country’s best all-around team. Florida is what UConn and Texas could have been, and should have been, had those teams grown up. They didn’t. UConn never learned to play with passion for 40 minutes, an aloofness that finally caught up to them in the Elite Eight against George Mason. Texas couldn’t count on a consistent All-American (or even All-Big 12) effort from sophomore center LaMarcus Aldridge, a flaw that cost Texas in the Big 12 title game against Kansas and ultimately in the Elite Eight against LSU.

Florida has no such flaws. The Gators play hard for 40 minutes, which means smaller, effort-oriented teams like George Mason (and UCLA) can’t expect to get by on hustle alone. Plus, the Gators’ stars play like stars on a consistent basis.