At night, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was brightly lit. 110,000 people had gathered, and the roar of the crowd was deafening.
TNT and ABC were broadcasting live across the United States.
After the national anthem was performed, the game officially began. Both teams started out nervous, making mistake after mistake. After all, none of them had ever played in an atmosphere like this.
Tonight's UCLA starting lineup: Russell Westbrook, George Brunner, Brian Wright, Luc Mbah a Moute, and Kevin Love.
Kansas's starters: Mario Chalmers, Russell Robinson, Brandon Rush, Darnell Jackson, Darrell Arthur.
UCLA had more height; Kansas had more mobility.
But at the beginning, neither side managed to show its strengths.
At the first TV timeout, the combined score of both sides wasn't even 12. It was 6–5.
UCLA's points came from Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, and Brian Wright.
Kansas scored through point guard Russell Robinson and Brandon Rush, one hit a three, the other a long two with his foot on the line.
During the TV timeout, Ben Howland repeatedly stressed: "Don't be nervous, don't be nervous. Treat it like a regular practice scrimmage. Ignore the 110,000 fans in here, just focus on yourselves!"
The whistle blew; the game continued.
Russell Westbrook immediately followed Ben Howland's primary instruction, he truly ignored the 110,000 spectators. He caught the ball, accelerated, blew past Chalmers' defense like a Ferrari, slashed straight into the paint, rose high, and lifted the ball for a thunderous dunk… His agent had told him that this game was his chance to showcase his freakish athleticism, the best way to boost his draft stock.
Smack!
Just before the ball could be slammed into the rim, Darrell Arthur came from the side and blocked it.
The ball flew out of bounds.
The arena erupted in boos.
This was Los Angeles, and even though the giant screens clearly showed it was a clean block, the crowd insisted it was a foul.
The referee held firm and did not call a foul on Arthur.
UCLA retained possession. Westbrook now showed a beautiful hop step, then a floater… Clank!
He missed.
Darnell Jackson grabbed the rebound.
Kansas transitioned quickly, and both Arthur and Jackson, despite being big men, could shoot from the perimeter.
Swish!
After a pick-and-roll with Robinson, Arthur popped out and drained the jumper.
Kevin Love struggled to defend stretch bigs who relied on screens. His poor lateral movement left him helpless on many defensive assignments.
The game continued, and UCLA fell into a rut.
Westbrook seemed to think this was his personal showcase. He wasn't just ignoring the 110,000 fans, he was forgetting about his teammates too.
On defense, the duo of Love and Mbah a Moute couldn't contain Kansas's two shooting threats.
At the 11-minute mark, Ben Howland called a timeout and subbed Holliday in for Brunner, hoping Holliday could help organize the offense.
However, three minutes later, ESPN commentator, and famous UCLA alumnus, Bill Walton began complaining:
"Kansas is also running two point guards. Why can their guards move the ball so smoothly, while our two point guards isolate the moment they touch it? Has UCLA's entire offense devolved into Iso-ball from the point guard position?!"
As he ranted, UCLA had fallen behind by 9.
Then by 12, then 13…
The home crowd began to boo.
Commentators on all four broadcast platforms were asking the same question:
"Why not put Snoopy in?"
Meanwhile, chants began to rise throughout the Coliseum:
"SNOO-PY! SNOO-PY! SNOO-PY!"
At first it was small pockets of fans, but the chanting grew louder and louder.
With UCLA in crisis, the people of Los Angeles naturally thought of Snoopy, the man who had repeatedly shut down top draft prospects.
Ben Howland had actually wanted to sub Snoopy in around the 11-minute mark, but doing so meant subbing out Kevin Love, the team's offensive core.
If the substitution didn't work, he would take full responsibility.
But now, with the entire arena chanting Snoopy's name, he finally felt confident enough. He walked to the end of the bench, whispered to Snoopy, and told him to check in at the scorer's table. He would sub in at the next dead ball, for Kevin Love.
Right then, Brandon Rush missed a long three and the ball bounced high.
Kevin Love leapt for the rebound; Darrell Arthur also contested aggressively.
But Arthur was shorter and out of position. Love secured the defensive board but as he landed, his left foot accidentally came down on Arthur's foot.
His ankle rolled slightly. He felt pain instantly and signaled for a timeout.
No one wanted an injury at this stage, not with the NBA draft looming.
The team doctor hurried over for evaluation. The initial diagnosis: soft-tissue contusion. Back at the bench, they removed his shoe and cut off the tape, there was no swelling around the ankle. The doctors agreed that Love seemed fine.
But then Kevin Love's father came over. He insisted the team immediately send his son for an MRI.
He did not want the injury to affect Love's draft stock and firmly opposed Love returning to the game.
Stan Love's stance was extremely firm, putting the coaching staff in a difficult position. Ben Howland tried to explain the importance of a national championship to UCLA, but Stan Love no longer cared about the NCAA. He would not let his son risk a major injury right before entering the NBA.
In the end, the coaching staff compromised.
Kevin Love was escorted out of the arena. Though he didn't want to leave, the pressure from his father and agents forced him to.
His exit cast a shadow over UCLA's bench. The fans at the Coliseum grew pessimistic.
Down 13 points, and now their offensive anchor was gone.
How could they possibly win?
Everyone wondered.
Bill Walton sighed on ESPN's broadcast:
"We've practically secured the runner-up trophy… again."
TNT's camera cut to the UCLA bench. Earl Johnson said:
"You can see despair written across every UCLA player's face…"
Before he could finish, Snoopy rose to his feet, clapping loudly and sharply.
"Everyone lift your heads! It's not time for the post-game failure meeting yet!"
His expression was firm, his tone resolute.
A fierce, unyielding spirit burst from his voice.