MIDWEST

MINNEAPOLIS – UCLA coach Steve Lavin watched Maryland dismantle Iona in Thursday night’s Midwest Regional first-round game and he liked what he saw … except for the fact that his Bruins have to play the Terrapins tonight in the second round.

“We’re going to have to bring our ‘A’ game against Maryland,” Lavin said yesterday. “They’re a very dangerous team, so in our preparation we’ve talked about transition defense, containing dribble penetration and holding them to one shot.

“Those are the three things that make Maryland so dangerous. They have quickness in transition and break you down on the dribble, and then they’ve got a strong inside presence with Terence Morris and Lonny Baxter.

“When a shot does go up on the glass they get themselves second- and third-shot opportunities.”

From the start Thursday, Iona was in for a long night. But No. 6 seed UCLA (20-11) is more athletic and has more scoring weapons and should provide better competition for No. 3 seed Maryland (25-9).

In its scrap-fest first-round win over Ball State Thursday, UCLA was saved by a second-half scoring explosion from Jason Kapono, who lit up the scoreboard for 17 points after halftime.

One primary thing to watch tonight will be if UCLA can run with Maryland.

“It is a fine line,” Lavin said. “You want your team to be aggressive, but to understand if you don’t have an advantage on the break to value the ball and make sure you get a good shot.”