College Basketball

Some West Regional final this turned out to be. The closest school left, Wichita State, is located 1,380 miles from epicenter court at Staples Center. Ohio State in the NCAA West makes as much sense as Dallas in the NFC East. That is not to say Saturday's game between No. 9-seeded Wichita State and No. 2 Ohio State won't be terrific in a salt-of-the-earth, country-strong sense. The West bracket turned out to be as fragile as a bird's nest. Of the top eight seeded teams, only No. 6 and No. 2 survived much past the check-in desk.

Wichita State Coach Gregg Marshall said Friday he thinks the UCLA coaching position is a great job. "It's probably one of the top six elite jobs in the country," he said. Marshall then rattled off the list. "North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky, Indiana, Kansas and UCLA," Marshall said. "Those are the six. " Marshall did not say he was interested in UCLA or that UCLA might be interested in him. Marshall's name has been mentioned in connection with the UCLA job. Other potential candidates, such as Shaka Smart (Virginia Commonwealth)

OHIO STATE vs. WICHITA STATE SCOUTING REPORT: The pressure is on Big Ten Conference member Ohio State, which is trying to live up to its No. 2 seeding in the regional. The Buckeyes required a last-second shot to get past Arizona and now they meet a physical Wichita State team that welcomes the opportunity to mix it up inside. "They've got nothing to lose," Ohio State forward Deshaun Thomas said. "So they're going to come out there and try to get every loose ball, every rebound, so we're going to have to match that.

Butler Coach Brad Stevens turned down UCLA on Friday, leaving Athletic Director Dan Guerrero to look elsewhere for a basketball coach. Guerrero had focused his attention on Stevens this week after Shaka Smart agreed to a contract extension at Virginia Commonwealth. UCLA and Stevens talked, but they did not reach a formal negotiation stage. Stevens, whose Butler teams reached the national title game in 2010 and 2011, decided to remain in Indiana. Stevens was UCLA's first choice after Guerrero fired Ben Howland on Sunday.

STARTERS OHIO STATE; HT.; WT.; Stats; P; ARIZONA; HT.; WT.; Stats Deshaun Thomas, 6-7; 225; 19.7 ppg; F; Solomon Hill; 6-7; 220; 13.3 ppg Sam Thompson; 6-7; 190; 7.8 ppg; F; Kevin Parrom; 6-6; 220; 8.3 ppg Amir Williams; 6-11; 250; 3.9 rpg; C; Kaleb Tarczewski; 7-0; 255; 6.2 rpg Aaron Craft; 6-2; 190; 10.0 ppg; G; Mark Lyons; 6-1; 200; 15.4 ppg Lenzelle Smith Jr.; 6-4; 205; 9.4 ppg; G; Nick Johnson; 6-3; 200; 11.6 ppg ...

A day before LaQuinton Ross leaped, splayed his legs and downed Arizona with a decisive three-pointer Thursday, the 6-foot-8 Ohio State forward randomly won the locker-room lottery. He walked into the Lakers' locker room at Staples Center - his team's temporary digs in the NCAA tournament - and staked a claim to a corner locker that normally belongs to another clutch shooter. "I found out from one of the guys who worked here it was Kobe Bryant's locker," Ross said after the Buckeyes' 73-70 victory.

It's counterintuitive, but Ohio State's small lineup paid big dividends on the boards Thursday. Ohio State defeated Arizona, 73-70, at Staples Center and advances to the West Regional final on Saturday. The Buckeyes out-rebounded the Wildcats, 32-30, and 11-9 on the offensive end, something that wasn't expected. Kaleb Tarczewski , Arizona's 7-foot freshman center, played just 16 minutes, far less than the other four starters. By putting smaller, quicker players on the floor, Ohio State forced Arizona to follow suit.

He not only made the winning pass, he ordered the winning basket. That is how Aaron Craft rolls, either into your heart or under your skin, his tiny hands rummaging deep into the pockets of March, his rosy cheeks squarely in America's face. With two seconds remaining in a deadlocked, chaotic NCAA West Regional semifinal at Staples Center on Thursday night, Ohio State guard Craft flipped the ball to open teammate LaQuinton Ross with instructions. "Knock it down!" he shouted above the roar, just before Ross launched a three-point shot whose swish gave the Buckeyes a 73-70 victory over Arizona.

Shaka Smart and Virginia Commonwealth have agreed in principle to a deal to keep the basketball coach at the school. Athletic Director Ed McLaughlin said the details were still being finalized, but the majority of changes involve "program enhancements for the student-athletes and coaches. " McLaughlin said it also extends a contract already scheduled to run through 2020. Smart's record is 111-37 in four years, the sixth-most wins in the country over that stretch. Since he guided VCU to the Final Four in 2011, Smart's name has been among the first mentioned whenever a high-profile job comes open.