# 2007–08 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

The 2007–08 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles in the Pacific-10 Conference for the 2007–08 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. In his fifth year as head coach, Ben Howland led the team to its third straight Final Four appearance. The Bruins also set a new record number of wins for the regular season, eclipsing the 26 wins of 2006–07. Though the team was composed of many standout players, freshman center Kevin Love garnered much of the media's and school's attention with his .565 shooting percentage, 10.7 rebounds per game, 5.3 blocks, and 17.6 points per game.
The only losses the Bruins incurred during the regular season were to No. 8 Texas, and Pac-10 rivals USC and Washington, though the USC victory was later vacated upon discovery that USC player O. J. Mayo received illegal benefits while playing for USC. After becoming the Pacific-10 regular season champions and winning the Pacific-10 tournament, the Bruins were seeded No. 1 in the West Regional bracket of the 2008 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. In the first round of the NCAA tournament, the Bruins held Mississippi Valley State to 29 points, the lowest total ever allowed in the first or second round of the tournament. After reaching the Final Four for the third year in a row, the Bruins lost to Memphis, the South Regional Champions. On August 20, 2009, Memphis' 38 wins during the 2007–2008 season and Final Four appearances were vacated by the NCAA Committee on Infractions for the team's using an ineligible player, Derrick Rose.

## Recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Kevin Love C | Lake Oswego, OR | Lake Oswego HS | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 260 lb (120 kg) | Jul 25, 2006 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Chace Stanback SF | Los Angeles, CA | Fairfax HS | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Apr 22, 2006 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 12 Rivals: 11 ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "UCLA Commit List for 2007". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 2, 2011. "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved July 2, 2011. "ESPN – UCLA Bruins Basketball Recruiting 2007". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 2, 2011. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved July 2, 2011. "2007 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 2, 2011. ||||||

## Roster

Thirteen scholarships were available to the team, and there were sixteen players on the roster. Kevin Love received permission from Walt Hazzard to wear the No. 42 he wore as player for UCLA. Hazzard's jersey had been retired by UCLA in 1996.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Non-Conference Season ||||||
| November 2, 2007 | No. 2 | Azusa Pacific | W 111–61 | 0–0 | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA |
| November 5, 2007 | No. 2 | Chico State | W 93–55 | 0–0 | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA |
| Non-Conference Season ||||||
| November 9, 2007* | No. 2 | Portland State | W 69–48 | 1–0 | Pauley Pavilion (9,854) Los Angeles, CA |
| November 12, 2007* ESPN2 | No. 2 | Youngstown State College Basketball Experience Classic | W 83–52 | 2–0 | Pauley Pavilion (7,695) Los Angeles, CA |
| November 13, 2007* ESPN2 | No. 2 | Cal State San Bernardino College Basketball Experience Classic | W 76–41 | 3–0 | Pauley Pavilion (7,293) Los Angeles, CA |
| November 19, 2007* ESPN2 | No. 2 | vs. Maryland College Basketball Experience Classic | W 71–59 | 4–0 | Sprint Center (18,022) Kansas City, MO |
| November 20, 2007* ESPN2 | No. 2 | vs. No. 10 Michigan State College Basketball Experience Classic | W 68–63 | 5–0 | Sprint Center (16,737) Kansas City, MO |
| November 23, 2007* | No. 2 | Yale | W 81–47 | 6–0 | Pauley Pavilion (10,420) Los Angeles, CA |
| November 28, 2007 FSN PT | No. 1 | George Washington | W 83–60 | 7–0 | Pauley Pavilion (9,691) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 2, 2007* FSN | No. 2 | No. 8 Texas Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series | L 61–63 | 7–1 | Pauley Pavilion (12,048) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 8, 2007* KCAL | No. 8 | vs. Davidson John R. Wooden Classic | W 75–63 | 8–1 | Honda Center (17,440) Anaheim, CA |
| December 15, 2007* FSN West | No. 8 | Idaho State | W 89–49 | 9–1 | Pauley Pavilion (9,733) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 18, 2007* | No. 8 | Western Illinois | W 77–52 | 10–1 | Pauley Pavilion (8,189) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 22, 2007* CBS | No. 8 | at Michigan | W 69–54 | 11–1 | Crisler Arena (13,069) Ann Arbor, MI |
| December 29, 2007* FSN PT | No. 5 | UC Davis | W 76–48 | 12–1 | Pauley Pavilion (10,242) Los Angeles, CA |
| Conference Season ||||||
| January 3, 2008 FSN | No. 5 | at No. 20 Stanford | W 76–67 | 13–1 (1–0) | Maples Pavilion (7,329) Stanford, CA |
| January 5, 2008 FSN | No. 5 | at California | W 70–58 | 14–1 (2–0) | Haas Pavilion (11,877) Berkeley, CA |
| January 10, 2008 FSN PT | No. 5 | Washington | W 69–55 | 15–1 (3–0) | Pauley Pavilion (11,421) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 12, 2008 FSN | No. 5 | No. 4 Washington State | W 81–74 | 16–1 (4–0) | Pauley Pavilion (12,590) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 19, 2008 CBS | No. 4 | USC | L 63-72 | 16–2 (4–1) | Pauley Pavilion (12,714) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 24, 2008 FSN | No. 7 | at Oregon | W 80-75 | 17–2 (5–1) | McArthur Court (9,087) Eugene, OR |
| January 26, 2008 FSN West | No. 7 | at Oregon State | W 85–62 | 18–2 (6–1) | Gill Coliseum (8,235) Corvallis, OR |
| January 31, 2008 FSN PT | No. 5 | Arizona State | W 84–51 | 19–2 (7–1) | Pauley Pavilion (11,070) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 2, 2008 ESPN | No. 5 | Arizona ESPN College GameDay | W 82–60 | 20–2 (8–1) | Pauley Pavilion (12,111) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 7, 2008 FSN | No. 4 | at No. 17 Washington State | W 67–59 | 21–2 (9–1) | Beasley Coliseum (9,547) Pullman, WA |
| February 10, 2008 FSN | No. 4 | at Washington | L 61–71 | 21–3 (9–2) | Bank of America Arena (10,000) Seattle, WA |
| February 17, 2008 FSN | No. 6 | at USC | W 56–46 | 22–3 (10–2) | Galen Center (10,258) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 21, 2008 FSN West | No. 6 | Oregon State | W 84–49 | 23–3 (11–2) | Pauley Pavilion (9,727) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 23, 2008 ABC | No. 6 | Oregon | W 75–65 | 24–3 (12–2) | Pauley Pavilion (11,355) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 28, 2008 FSN PT | No. 4 | at Arizona State | W 79–40 | 25–3 (12–2) | Wells Fargo Arena (11,419) Tempe, AZ |
| March 2, 2008 CBS | No. 4 | at Arizona | W 68–66 | 26–3 (14–2) | McKale Center (14,624) Tucson, AZ |
| March 6, 2008 FSN | No. 2 | No. 7 Stanford | W 77–67 $^{OT}$ | 27–3 (15–2) | Pauley Pavilion (12,671) Los Angeles, CA |
| March 8, 2008 ABC | No. 2 | California | W 81–80 | 28–3 (16–2) | Pauley Pavilion (11,614) Los Angeles, CA |
| Pac-10 Tournament ||||||
| March 13, 2008 FSN | No. 2 (1) | vs. (9) California Quarterfinals | W 88–66 | 29–3 | Staples Center (17,194) Los Angeles, CA |
| March 14, 2008 FSN | No. 2 (1) | vs. (4) USC Semifinals | W 57–54 | 30–3 | Staples Center (18,997) Los Angeles, CA |
| March 15, 2008 CBS | No. 2 (1) | vs. No. 11 (2) Stanford Finals | W 67–64 | 31–3 | Staples Center (17,534) Los Angeles, CA |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| March 20, 2008* CBS | No. 2 (1 W) | vs. (16 W) Mississippi Valley State First Round | W 70–29 | 32–3 | Honda Center (17,600) Anaheim, CA |
| March 22, 2008* CBS | No. 2 (1 W) | vs. (9 W) Texas A&M Second Round | W 51–49 | 33–3 | Honda Center (17,600) Anaheim, CA |
| March 27, 2008* CBS | No. 2 (1 W) | vs. (12 W) Western Kentucky Sweet Sixteen | W 88–78 | 34–3 | US Airways Center (18,103) Phoenix, AZ |
| March 29, 2008* CBS | No. 2 (1 W) | vs. No. 12 (3 W) Xavier Elite Eight | W 76–57 | 35–3 | US Airways Center (18,103) Phoenix, AZ |
| April 5, 2008 CBS | No. 2 (1 W) | vs. No. 3 (1 S) Memphis Final Four | L 63–78 | 35–4 | Alamodome (43,718) San Antonio, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time. ||||||
Source: