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Day one of the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament offered up a few upsets and nearly marked the departure of all local entries as UCLA nearly gave away its ticket to round 2, squandering a massive lead to Michigan State.
UCSB, a 15th seed, was routed as expected by the 2-seeded Florida Gators. But the Bruins were the ones to really receive a jolt. The Bruins saw their 23-point lead whittle away over the last eight minutes of the game as tenth-seeded Michigan State cut the Bruins lead to 77-76 on a 3-pointer with 4.4 seconds left. But UCLA got the final sigh of relief, as Spartan guard Kalin Lewis was called for travelling to end the game.
Malcolm Lee (16 points), Tyler Honeycutt (pictured, 16 points), and Reeves Nelson (12 points, 10 rebounds) led a balanced UCLA attack. Center Joshua Smith added 14.
Now the Bruins really have their hands full -- UCLA faces Florida in the second round, the team that knocked them out in the tournament finals in 2006 and again in the final four the next year. UCLA (23-10) vs Florida (27-7), Saturday at noon on CBS.
AP Photo / Chris O'Meara