Scouting Report

UCLA (22-8) vs. Miami (18-9)

South Regional, Atlanta

7:30 p.m., Channel 2

UCLA

The Starters

Baron Davis (5)

Earl Watson (25)

Toby Bailey (12)

Kris Johnson (54)

J.R. Henderson (52)

* About UCLA: J.R. Henderson, Kris Johnson and Toby Bailey are the constants, and the only significant Bruins who have been through the NCAA tournament. The senior trio combined to average 56.5 points and 17.6 rebounds in conference games this season, and one of the three led the team in scoring in 28 of the 30 regular-season games. But beyond them are only question marks: Is Baron Davis ready to dominate at tournament time, or will he be stuck in foul trouble? Can Earl Watson make a few key shots in every game? Can Rico Hines and Travis Reed play well enough to give the starters some rest?

Miami

The Starters

Steve Frazier (13)

Kevein Norris (10)

Tim James (40)

Mario Bland (51)

Vernon Jennings (30)

* About Miami: Though Tim James is a talented slashing inside scorer and hard rebounder, if the Hurricanes don’t control the game with their manic man-to-man defense, they don’t win. Against anybody. This is a poor shooting team (44.3%, and a woeful 28.4% from three-point distance) that finished on a 6-8 tumble, including a 62-56 turkey to Georgetown in the first round of the Big East tournament. But Miami also held opponents to 37.7% shooting for the season, including a 76-67 victory over Connecticut in which the high-powered Huskies were held to 39.3% shooting, and an early 89-72 victory over North Carolina Charlotte in which the 49ers made only 38.2% of their shots.

* Keys to the game: The Bruin half-court offense, an oxymoron for much of this season, must be running smoothly and patiently, or else it could get cut to pieces by the Miami defense. UCLA averaged more than 94 points in its last three contests, but those were against opponents that let the Bruins run. The Hurricanes don’t figure to do much damage on offense, but James could be a potential foul-drawing machine down low. Miami’s best hope is to get Henderson in quick foul trouble, throw UCLA’s offense into disarray by keeping the fastbreaks to a minimum, get it into a 60-point pace, and hope Kevin Norris can make a few three-point baskets.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

UCLA

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No Player Pos. FG% FT% Reb. Ast. Pts. 52 Henderson F .553 .647 7.9 1.5 19.2 54 Johnson F .526 .838 5.0 1.1 18.7 12 Bailey G .444 .730 5.6 4.0 17.8 5 Davis G .527 .667 4.1 5.3 11.8 25 Watson G .405 .618 3.8 3.3 5.8 13 Reed F .571 .273 2.2 0.2 3.7 3 Knight G .442 .700 0.8 0.1 2.8 22 Hines G .361 .500 1.5 0.5 2.1 20 Loyd G .417 .667 0.2 0.1 1.4 4 Daley F .400 1.000 0.8 0.3 1.3 11 Ramasar G .000 .500 0.4 0.0 0.2 30 Farnham F .000 .500 1.3 0.3 0.1 Totals .498 .663 36.1 16.2 84.2

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MIAMI

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No Player Pos. FG% FT% Reb. Ast. Pts. 40 James F .481 .678 9.5 0.4 16.9 31 Hemsley G-F .417 .802 4.0 1.8 14.1 51 Bland F .604 .598 6.3 0.9 11.4 32 Barnes G-F .508 .516 4.1 0.8 9.1 10 Norris G .335 .809 2.8 5.0 7.8 13 Frazier G .362 .680 1.8 1.8 5.8 44 Tyler F .620 .632 2.6 0.2 4.1 30 Jennings G-F .322 .645 4.1 3.7 4.2 03 Byars-Dawson G .426 .471 1.0 0.8 2.6 14 Manuel G .000 .750 1.0 0.5 1.5 34 Wimbley F .367 .500 2.3 0.2 1.2 20 Wiseman G .143 .667 0.8 0.5 1.0 15 Donovan F .200 .500 0.8 0.1 0.7 11 Schlie F .000 .750 0.0 0.0 0.5 22 Waggoner G .200 .000 0.0 0.1 0.3 21 Curcio G .000 .500 0.3 0.0 0.3 Totals .443 .665 39.9 14.1 70.4

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