UCLA made a 14-4 run to take a 35-31 lead when Josh Shipp hit a 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer, and the Bruins took over with an 11-4 run after halftime. Every time Kansas attempted a comeback, Afflalo and Collison met them with a clutch basket or a big defensive play — and the Jayhawks ran out of time.

“We had our best defenders on (Afflalo), but he’s a good player,” said Kansas coach Bill Self, who failed to win a regional final for the fourth time at three different schools. “I don’t want to appear frustrated. We missed our free throws, and they didn’t defend us on those. They just had some guys step up and make some plays. After they got the lead, they played poised.”

Though Kansas is loaded with star talent, the Bruins returned with several major contributors to last Final Four squad. That experience showed in every pressure-packed possession between two teams that began the season with the Final Four as their only acceptable destination.

Afflalo likely felt more pressure than anyone: The Pac-10 player of the year had a dismaying habit of disappearing in big games.

Afflalo struggled in both of the Bruins’ Final Four contests last season, scoring a combined 19 points against LSU and Florida. He managed just three points in this season’s conference tournament loss to California, and he was ineffective for long stretches of the Bruins’ last two victories in the NCAA tournament.

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He had no such trouble this time, hitting a series of clutch baskets with a dwindling shot clock in the second half as UCLA nursed a lead: A 3-pointer as the shot clock expired with 10 minutes to play, or an acrobatic driving layup with 7½ minutes left. Collison chipped in with another 3-pointer to beat the shot clock with 4:43 left.

“We made (three) incredibly tough shots,” said UCLA coach Ben Howland, the first coach to lead the Bruins to back-to-back Final Fours since John Wooden’s nine straight. “Those are backbreakers. (Kansas was) playing great defense, and then a guy hits an unbelievable shot from 25 feet. That is tough.”

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