Biology

I have some bad news for UCLA fans: I'm about to kill your season by picking the Bruins to take the 2008 title.

Please don't consider this a bandwagon pick, although it's true UCLA became my "favorite" college team, and I watched the Bruins more than every other '08 team combined. Up until two weekends ago, I didn't think they had enough to win six straight March Madness games because of the way they struggled to get easy baskets. But UCLA's biggest handicap eventually morphed into its biggest strength -- the Bruins don't have a low-post stud (like Michael Beasley) or an ankle-breaking perimeter guy (like Jerryd Bayless), but they do have a team full of "MacGyvers." And it's one of those college seasons where the best MacGyver team is going to win.

[+] EnlargeStephen Dunn/Getty Images

Forget the NBA measurables. Kevin Love is a winner who fills up the box score.

Remember MacGyver? He wasn't a stereotypical action hero and saved the world with whatever gadgets he could whip up on the fly, but the point was, he did keep saving the world. That's how UCLA plays. Maybe the Bruins don't have that killer offensive player or shoot 3-pointers consistently well, but they have a knack for making big plays in big moments … even if it's a game-winning basket where they grab two offensive rebounds and rescue a pass that bounced off someone's face before the winning hoop gets scored. Everything you need to know about UCLA's season happened in the Cal game two weeks ago. Down four with 20 seconds left, Kevin Love nailed a Laimbeer-like 3-pointer with a hand in his face. Somehow, the Bruins stole the ball on the ensuing possession after two of their players legally assaulted Cal's Ryan Anderson, and then, Josh Shipp made the game winner on an illegal prayer over the backboard. That was the ultimate MacGyver victory.

But here's what everyone missed from that game: If you watch the replay of the illegal shot that never should have counted because everyone and their brother know you can't shoot over the backboard, even as Shipp is driving baseline and preparing to hoist The Shot That Never Should Have Counted, everyone was watching him except for Love, who bullied himself underneath the basket before the ball was even released. Had there been a bounce, Love would have tipped it in.

The point is, the UCLA guys think of this stuff. Constantly. You could attribute this to good coaching -- and you'd be partially right, since there isn't a better college coach than Ben Howland right now -- but UCLA targets a specific type of kid, players who think about things like, "If this shot doesn't go in, I'm tipping it in" even before the shot has unfolded. I started watching the Bruins because of Love, a unique player and a joy to watch on the college level, but my favorite player ended up being Russell Westbrook, a sophomore guard who played point for the first six games when Darren Collison was injured. He's one of those "10th Impression Guys" -- someone you like a little more each of the first nine times, and then by the 10th time, you suddenly realize, "All right, why isn't anyone talking about how