First half is bad, but not a record

SACRAMENTO — It got so heated at halftime some reporters at Arco Arena got paper burns thumbing through the NCAA men’s tournament record book.

The score was UCLA 20, Indiana 13, and it became a question of “how low can they go?”

It appeared for a while that Indiana, at least, could be flirting with dubious history.

Might the Hoosiers possibly threaten the lowest output by a team in NCAA history?

The answer was no.

The NCAA book doesn’t list records for fewest points in a half, but Indiana would have had to go into cold storage to eclipse the tournament record for fewest points in a game.

The standard bearer there is North Carolina, which managed only 20 against Pittsburgh in 1941. Pitt scored 26.

In fact, the 11 lowest point totals by teams were all recorded before 1950, long before the shot clock and three-point line.

To find a comparable effort in the modern era, you had to turn to the national semifinal game in the 2000 NCAA tournament.

That night, Wisconsin managed only 17 points in the first half against Michigan State, which itself scored only 19. Michigan State ended up winning, 53-41.

Many who attended that game rank it among the very worst halves in recent NCAA tournament history.

After considering UCLA 20, Indiana 13 on Saturday, though, Wisconsin-Michigan State may have found a rival.

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Quote of the night: Ben Howland, on his team’s performance in the first half: “We had a seven-point lead shooting 27%.”

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When UCLA’s Alfred Aboya got his fourth foul with 14:25 left, the sophomore from Cameroon stood stunned, pointing at his jersey No. 12, certain the officials had given the wrong number.

Howland was apoplectic at the scorer’s table but he said he wasn’t angry about the Aboya call. He was furious that about 90 seconds earlier Luc Richard Mbah a Moute had been given a third foul. Howland said that foul should have been assessed to Lorenzo Mata, who had only one at the time, and that the mistake should have been caught by a UCLA scorekeeper.

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The race continues: UCLA recorded its 92nd NCAA tournament victory, leaving the Bruins seven behind Kentucky’s record of 99.

UCLA leads Kentucky in national titles, 11 to seven.

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Is it “Uh-oh” time for Arron Afflalo?

In his last three regular-season games, UCLA’s star guard made only 10 of 32 shots.

Afflalo appeared to snap out of his shooting slump in Thursday night’s game against Weber State, making eight of 15 shots. But he was only two for 11 in Saturday’s win, although he did make six of seven free throws.

“They still trust me at the end of the game,” Afflalo said of his teammates. “That’s what’s most important.”

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Staff writer Diane Pucin contributed to this report.

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