updated 1:33 a.m. ET April 2, 2006

INDIANAPOLIS - The UCLA defense had blocked his final shot and he had committed his final foul. Wearily, Glen Davis plopped down on the bench and shook his head.

Oh, Baby, can the Bruins play defense.

Throw some offense in there on the same night and not even LSU and its 6-foot-9, 310-pound star, the guy known as “Big Baby,” had a chance. The Bruins shut Davis down Saturday en route to a 59-45 victory over the Tigers that put them one win away from their 12th national title.

“They came out and punched us and we didn’t recover from it,” Davis said.

The last step in the quest to hang another banner at Pauley Pavilion comes Monday in the final against Florida, a 73-58 winner over George Mason in the first semifinal.

The Bruins (32-6) go in feeling good, and not really caring that their wins aren’t always the most beautiful.

“We’re capable of scoring,” forward Cedrick Bozeman said. “People get so caught up into the ugliness of the games because other teams are not scoring.”

Luc Richard Mbah A Moute led UCLA with 17 points on 5-for-9 shooting. He also had nine rebounds, two steals and plenty of help.

Lorenzo Mata was strong in the middle, capping Davis at least twice, sending him to the floor a few other times and generally driving him nuts. Big Baby huffed and puffed and sweated his way up and down the court, ending his night and his season several pounds and one championship dream lighter.

He shot 5-for-17, finished with 14 points and seven rebounds and was serenaded with chants of “Ba-by, Ba-by” by the UCLA fans after he took a frustration foul on Bruins guard Darren Collison early in the second half, trailing by 23.

“My back hurts right now, you can tell,” Mbah A Moute said when asked what it feels like to lean on Davis for an entire game. “He’s big. I mean, he’s going to be in the NBA. He’s a great player.”

But not good enough in this one.

March Madness slide shows AP   Title time Best images from Florida-UCLA in men’s championship game. AP   Turtle wax Top images from Maryland’s overtime win over Duke for its first NCAA title. Reuters   The Final Four See images of Saturday's games where four teams become two. Getty Images   Eight is great Click to see images from the Elite Eight round of the 2006 NCAA tournament. Getty Images   Super Sweet 16 The best images from NCAA Tournament's second weekend. AP   Round 1 & 2 Best images from opening weekend of Big Dance.

LSU shot 16-for-50, 32 percent, and didn’t make a 3-pointer. The 45 points for LSU were the second-lowest total in the Final Four since the NCAA adopted the shot clock in 1986. That matched UCLA’s defensive effort against Memphis in the regional championship game.

Bruins forward Alfred Aboya set the tone early in the first half when he swatted Darrel Mitchell’s shot into the stands, then glowered at Mitchell as he fell to the floor. A few minutes later, Mbah A Moute stepped into an LSU passing lane for a steal that led to a bucket for Collison.

On offense, the Bruins were just as good, especially early. They made three of their first four 3-pointers and shot 58 percent in the first half to push their lead to as many as 16, 3½ minutes before the break.

The start of the second half put it out of reach.

Mbah A Moute dunked twice, Ryan Hollins took an alley-oop from Jordan Farmar for another slam, then Farmar threw one up from 28 feet with the shot clock going off and swished it for a 48-27 lead. He celebrated by pounding his chest, taunting the LSU fans as he ran to the other end. Most of the purple-and-gold crowd simply sat there stoically — they knew a mismatch when they saw one.

LSU (27-9) remained winless in its four appearances at the Final Four, spanning a half-century, and a special season that provided a needed distraction from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina down in Louisiana ended on a low note.

MEN’S NCAA TOURNAMENT RESULTS Championship game Florida 73, UCLA 57 Final Four games Florida 73, George Mason 58 UCLA 59, LSU 45

Led by Davis and tall, lanky forward Tyrus Thomas, the Tigers, too, prided themselves on monster D this season. They made UCLA look less-than-perfect — forcing 17 turnovers and a fair amount of ugly offense — but few will remember the Bruins’ flaws from this one.

More will remember how hard Davis had to work to get so little. He put up most of his points after the game was a blowout. He looked nothing like the juggernaut who helped John Brady’s team to upsets over Duke and Texas in the Atlanta Regional last week.

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