UCLA prepares for a late start

Staff Writer

March 19, 2009 1:07 PM PT

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UCLA coach Ben Howland likes his players to take their shootaround about six hours before opening tipoff. Normally, that doesn’t involve waiting around all afternoon.

The sixth-seeded Bruins have an unusually late tipoff against 11th-seeded Virginia Commonwealth -- about 10 p.m. Eastern time -- in a first-round game of the NCAA tournament at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia.

The team was scheduled to take the court for its game day session at a local community college at 3:30 Eastern time.

Though the Bruins will still be playing as midnight approaches, they were given a slot in the last game of the day at the Wachovia Center to allow for a prime-time broadcast on the West Coast.

Responding to a question about his team being sent east to play, Howland said: ‘It is what it is.’

-- David Wharton

Sports Now

David Wharton

David Wharton has filled an array of roles – covering the courts, entertainment, sports and the second Persian Gulf War – since starting as a Los Angeles Times intern in 1982. His work has been honored by organizations such as the Society for Features Journalism and Associated Press Sports Editors and has been anthologized in “Best American Sports Writing.” He has also been nominated for an Emmy and has written two books, including “Conquest,” an inside look at USC football during the Pete Carroll era.