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UCLA faces California in rematch of Saturday's thriller

Mar 13, 2008 - 2:17 PM California (16-14) vs. No. 2 UCLA (28-3) 5:30 pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) - Second-ranked UCLA hopes to have an easier time when they face California for the second time in less than a week on Thursday in the Pac-10 quarterfinals.

The top seed in the Conference tournament, UCLA defeated the Bears, 81-80, on Saturday after Josh Shipp made a baseline runner with under two seconds remaining. The controversial shot may have gone in from behind the backboard, which would have made it an illegal basket.

The Bruins, who are the three-time defending Pac-10 regular season champions, are on a seven-game winning streak and are looking to lock up a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament.

Freshman Kevin Love leads UCLA, averaging 17.4 points and 10.9 rebounds per game, and was named the Conference Player of the Year.

The Bears snapped a five-game losing streak with an 84-81 victory over Washington in an opening round contest on Wednesday.

The ninth-seed in the tournament, California was led by Patrick Christopher's 25 points. The team's leading scorer and rebounder, Ryan Anderson added 22 points and 15 rebounds in the victory.

The winner will face either USC or Arizona State in the semifinals on Friday.