Gerald Madkins

A few minutes before Saturday's game at Pauley Pavilion, UCLA learned that it would have to defeat Arizona State to claim sole possession of the Pacific 10 Conference championship. A loss would force the Bruins to share the title with USC, which defeated Arizona at the Sports Arena while the starters were being introduced in Westwood. But that realization didn't seem to register with the Bruins.

As Christian Laettner of Duke drove around UCLA's Don MacLean for an uncontested dunk with 1:55 left at the Meadowlands Thursday night, MacLean and teammate Tracy Murray stood with their heads down and their hands on their hips. It was as if they knew their season was almost over. A short while later, it was, as Duke played out a 90-81 victory before 19,502 in an NCAA East Regional semifinal.

Cincinnati's upset victory against Louisville Thursday night ultimately hurt UCLA more than the Cardinals. Blasted by Coach Denny Crum for a lack of effort against the Bearcats, the eighth-ranked Cardinals turned around Sunday and torched UCLA, 97-80, in front of 19,455 at Freedom Hall and a national television audience. It was the third time in 1 1/2 seasons under Coach Jim Harrick that the Bruins were steamrolled on network television.

The game changes when Cameron Dollar gets in and nobody is immune. Not the opposing team, not the best scorer, not even a player-of-the-year candidate. Not even if he's Ed O'Bannon. Late in UCLA's West Regional victory over Connecticut last Saturday, with UConn making a last run, Husky center Travis Knight muscled inside for a tip-in when O'Bannon had wandered outside, leaving the 6-foot-2 Dollar alone underneath. "C'mon! What are you doing, Ed? Where were you?"

It didn't take long Sunday for UCLA to drain any drama from its 85-69 rout of Louisville at the University Activity Center. The Bruins took command early and never let up, advancing to the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament for the second time in three years. "They were in total control from start to finish," Louisville Coach Denny Crum said of the top-seeded Bruins, who will play 12th-seeded New Mexico State (25-7) in a West Regional seminal Thursday night at Albuquerque, N.M.

In the past five days, top-ranked Duke, second-ranked Oklahoma State, third-ranked Kansas and fifth-ranked Arkansas all lost. So, who's No. 1? The only team among the top five that made it through the week unbeaten was fourth-ranked UCLA, which improved to 17-1 and maintained its share of the Pacific 10 Conference lead by defeating Washington State, 82-61, Saturday before a sellout crowd of 12,041 at Pauley Pavilion. But do the Bruins deserve consideration for the top spot?

Toward the end of UCLA's 15-point victory over Indiana on Nov. 15 in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic at Springfield, Mass., Bruin guard Darrick Martin lifted four fingers into the air. "We're going to the (Final) Four," he shouted. On Saturday, the Bruins were stopped 28 points short. In a stunning reversal of what transpired on that November night, Indiana beat the Bruins, 106-79, before 16,160 at the Pit in the final game of the West Regional.

For the first time in 13 years, Gene Bartow's pained expression returned to the sideline at a UCLA game Friday night. The Alabama Birmingham coach, once in charge of the Bruins and first in a line of successors to John Wooden, watched as UCLA defeated his Blazers, 68-56, in the first round of the NCAA East Regional tournament.

Melky Cabrera ended the debate over whether a suspended drug cheat should be able to win a batting title. The San Francisco outfielder asked Major League Baseball officials to disqualify him and on Friday they agreed. With less than two weeks left in the regular season and Cabrera on track to win the National League batting championship, MLB and the players' association reached a deal on a one-season-only change in the rule governing the individual batting, slugging and on-base percentage champions.

As it turned out, all those friends, teammates and relatives who urged Mitchell Butler to transfer out of UCLA last spring unknowingly acted in the Bruins' best interests. They persuaded him to stay. "They said: 'We don't think you'll develop there or get a chance to show your talents. You're going to get lost in the shuffle,' " Butler said. "I just wanted to prove them wrong. I wanted them to eat their words. I wanted them to step back and not count anybody out."