UCLA back in Final Four after downing top-seeded Memphis

The most storied program in college basketball is back in the Final Four.

Arron Afflalo, coach Ben Howland and the rest of the Bruins have returned UCLA to the lofty level of its glory years.

Afflalo scored 15 points and shut down Memphis leading scorer Rodney Carney, helping No. 2 seed UCLA defeat the top-seeded Tigers 50-45 Saturday and earn a trip to Indianapolis for its first Final Four appearance since the school?s 1995 NCAA championship.

Ryan Hollins added 14 points, nine rebounds and drew two charges on defense as the cold-shooting Bruins won their 11th straight game to capture the Oakland Regional in the lowest-scoring regional final since the shot-clock era began in 1986.

UCLA (31-6) will play in next Saturday?s semifinals against LSU, a 70-60 overtime winner over Texas in the Atlanta Regional final earlier in the day.

Darius Washington Jr. scored 13 points to lead the Tigers (33-4), who saw their seven-game winning streak end along with the career of Carney, a possible NBA lottery pick who hoped to play his final game in his hometown of Indianapolis for the Final Four.

As both teams expected, this wasn?t nearly the high-scoring game they played last time, when Memphis won 88-80 behind 26 points from Shawne Williams in the semifinals of the Preseason NIT in November at New York?s Madison Square Garden.

The 88 points are the most UCLA?s defense has allowed this season and Williams? 26 the highest individual performance against the Bruins.