At some point, they will have to play somebody

PHOENIX -- It’s all about teamwork, on some nights the referees doing their part for UCLA, on others -- the NCAA Selection Committee coming through with a patsy.

It was so easy the Bruins went to sleep for a while Thursday night, losing focus after running out to a 21-point halftime lead before winning by 10.

At some point it’s going to come down to UCLA and just how good the Bruins rate against the top competition in the land, but that means fast forwarding to San Antonio.

The NCAA selection committee has already given the Bruins a bye into the Final Four.

UCLA towered in so many ways over Western Kentucky, and Xavier is even smaller. The Bruins won’t even need a ladder to cut down the nets on Saturday. Just hand the scissors, like they do everything else, to Kevin Love.

If this was supposed to be championship basketball, then why were the Hillboppers here?

The school has a pregnant Elmo for a mascot, and while I realize there’s probably not much to do in Western Kentucky, must they advertise it?

Their fans dress in red, call themselves the “Big Red,” and right from the start I worry about people who come off like Nebraska wannabes. Maybe that’s where they hope to move one day.

The two most famous celebrities to attend Western Kentucky are Michael Rosenbaum and Nappy Roots. I had to look them up too, Rosenbaum big in Smallville and the Nappy Roots a sextet of southern rappers. From a TV standpoint, at least six different faces give the camera a chance to find a celebrity in the crowd at Western Kentucky games.

As for basketball, Western Kentucky’s claim to greatness so far is one Final Four appearance back when folks were using typewriters to write game stories. Thanks for the memory.

But at this time of the year, there should be something more challenging matched against UCLA than a No. 12-seeded team, which goes to show you how the NCAA Selection Committee stacked this bracket in the Bruins’ favor.

The No. 2-seeded team was Duke, which struggled to beat Belmont. And Connecticut sure offered a challenge. Case closed.

It’s tough enough watching UCLA basketball, as boring as it is with Coach Ben Howland’s emphasis on control and defense, but how about making the Bruins work from start to finish?

No question, though, it’s been more exciting recently -- what with everyone holding their breath every time Josh Shipp takes aim from long range, but these are not your Harlem Globetrotters.

Shipp made a three-pointer in the first half, and immediately a timeout was called, I presume to send the basketball to Ripley’s.

A little later he made a driving layup, sending a rattled Ty Rogers to the other end of court to throw up an air ball. And Rogers was the guy who got Western Kentucky here with an overtime bomb against Drake.

“I thought Shipp did great for us,” Howland said, Operation Keep Shipp Afloat continuing -- because this tournament might come down to one of his long-range launches.

This was a mismatch, though, from the start with Love and James Keefe looking down on Western Kentucky. The game evened up only when the Bruins began to play down to the level of the opposition.

Western Kentucky had no one to control Love or Keefe, and unless Xavier opts to stack players on top of each other, it shouldn’t fare much better inside.

Darren Collison struggled, fouled out early, and so what when you’re playing a team that puts such great stock on its website of being “runner-up in the prestigious National Invitation Tournament in 1942.”

Collison and Russell Westbrook were a combined four of 21 shooting, and the Bruins won by double digits.

On another bright note, it wasn’t only Love and Collision doing all the damage for the Bruins, Keefe assuming Collison’s role as Love’s running mate and taking a little sting out of UCLA’s second-half collapse.

“The natural tendency is to relax when things are going so well,” Howland said. “We obviously let our guard down emotionally. It probably hurt us being up by 21 points at the half.”

Western Kentucky, playing desperate because it may never get this far again, dropped in a barrage of threes to climb within four points of UCLA, and made the second half at least worth watching.

“We’re here to please,” Howland said.

KEEFE WILL probably get most of the attention for his comeback this season and his solid play against Western Kentucky, but Love controlled the game.

He not only made 10 of 14 shots, went nine for 12 from the free-throw line and added 14 rebounds, but he also had five assists. And understandably played more minutes than any player on either team.

IN REGARDS to the Dodgers moving the fences out from the Coliseum to accommodate more fans Saturday -- fans counting toward the game’s attendance so the team has a chance of setting the all-time record for baseball attendance, e-mailer Dan Bates had a question.

“Can the McCourts count the statues at the Coliseum as part of the paid attendance?”

THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC quotes Shaquille O’Neal about this year’s MVP race, “I’m probably going to have to go with Kobester. He’s an assassin, with LeBron [James] coming right after.”

Who is this Kobester that he’s talking about?

HE BEGAN the summer a big baby, and 15 technical fouls later it will be interesting to see if Kobe Bryant can contain himself for the good of the team. Can he finish the season without absorbing one more technical and the one-game suspension that comes with it?

It doesn’t seem to be asking for much.

TODAY’S LAST word comes in e-mail from John Hendry: “Just wondering if you saw a J.D. Drew Dodgers’ game-worn jersey on EBay, which people have bid up to $449.00? It even says, ‘game wear.’ “‘

Never gonna get a “game wear” in better condition.

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T.J. Simers can be reached at t.j.simers@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Simers, go to latimes.com/simers.