The 2007–08 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team represented the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

in the

Pacific-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

for the

2007–08 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2007–08 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 5, 2007 ended with the 2008 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament's championship game on April 7, 2008, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Season headlines ...

. In his fifth year as head coach,

Ben Howland Benjamin Clark Howland (born May 28, 1957) is an American college basketball coach who most recently served as the men's head coach at Mississippi State University from to 2015 to 2022. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Northern Ar ...

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 Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

Kevin Love Kevin Wesley Love (born September 7, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a five-time All-Star and a two-time member of the All-NBA Second Team, winning an N ...

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 Ovinton J'Anthony "O.J." Mayo (born November 5, 1987) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Zamalek SC of the Egyptian Basketball Super League and Egyptian Basketball Federation. He played a single season of colleg ...

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 The 2008 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 65 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament that determined the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball national champion for the 2007� ...

. 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 In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

for the third year in a row, the Bruins lost to

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

, 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 The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Committee on Infractions for the team's using an ineligible player,

Derrick Rose Derrick Martell Rose (born October 4, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player. He played one year of college basketball for the Memphis Tigers before being drafted first overall by his hometown Chicago Bulls in the 2008 NBA ...

Recruiting class

Roster

Thirteen scholarships were available to the team, and there were sixteen players on the roster.

received permission from

Walt Hazzard Mahdi Abdul-Rahman (born Walter Raphael Hazzard Jr.; April 15, 1942 – November 18, 2011) was an American professional basketball player and college basketball coach. He played in college for the UCLA Bruins and was a member of their first natio ...

to wear the No. 42 he wore as player for UCLA. Hazzard's jersey had been retired by UCLA in 1996.

Schedule

Collison drives to the basket in 2008 Pac-10 Championship game

Russell Westbrook guarding OJ Mayo cropped

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Notes

Awards

Pac-10 Player of the Year :Kevin Love Pac-10 Freshman of the Year :Kevin Love Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year :Russell Westbrook All-Pac-10 first team :Kevin Love All-Pac-10 second team :Darren Collison All-Pac-10 third team :Russell Westbrook Pac-10 All-Defensive team :Darren Collison :Russell Westbrook :Kevin Love (honorable mention) :Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (honorable mention) Pac-10 Tournament Most Outstanding Player :Darren Collison Pac-10 All-Tournament Team :Kevin Love :Russell Westbrook U.S. Basketball Writers Association First Team All-America :Kevin Love

Oscar Robertson Trophy The Oscar Robertson Trophy is given out annually to the most outstanding NCAA Division I men's basketball player by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), first presented in 1958–59 NCAA University Division men's basketball season, 19 ...

nominee :Kevin Love U.S. Basketball Writers Association District IX Player of the Year :Kevin Love U.S. Basketball Writers Association All-District IX team :Kevin Love :Darren Collison Pac-10 Men's Basketball Player of the Week :Kevin Love – November 19–25 :Kevin Love – January 7–13 :Kevin Love – January 21–27 :Darren Collison – February 12–18

Notes

* The Bruins had the most ever wins for a final record (including postseason tournaments) as well, with 35. * Seven of the Bruins wins were vs. ranked teams (AP Top-25) at the time they played: (#11 Michigan State, #20 Stanford, #4 Washington State, #17 Washington State, #7 Stanford, #11 Stanford and #12 Xavier)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2007-08 Ucla Bruins Men's Basketball Team UCLA Bruins men's basketball seasons

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons Pac-12 Conference men's basketball tournament championship seasons

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

UCLA Bruins men's basketball The UCLA Bruins men's basketball program represents the University of California, Los Angeles, in the sport of men's basketball as a member of the Big Ten Conference. Established in 1919, the program has won a record 11 NCAA Division I Men's B ...

Recruiting class

Roster

Schedule

Notes

Awards

See also

Notes

References