UCLA NOTEBOOK: A LONGER ROAD TO THE FINAL FOUR.

Byline: BRIAN DOHN

Staff Writer

SACRAMENTO -- The temptation is sweet enough for UCLA power forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute to dream for a moment, but still far enough away for him not to get too caught up in it.

Mbah a Moute said his parents never saw him play basketball in person, but if the Bruins play in the Final Four in two weeks, that will change. Mbah a Moute said his father, Camille Moute a Bidias, already said he would come to Atlanta, and there is a chance his mother, Agnes Goufane Ziem, would also make the trip from Yaounde, Cameroon.

"It would mean a lot, but I really don't think about it," said Mbah a Moute, who moved from Cameroon to the United States in high school. "It would mean a lot to them, probably because it would mean a lot to me."

No. 2 seed UCLA, which plays No. 7 seed Indiana in the second round of the NCAA Tournament today, needs three wins to reach the Final Four.

Mbah a Moute talks to his parents regularly -- he spoke with his mother before Thursday's first-round win against Weber State -- but teammate and countryman Alfred Aboya said he knows what it would mean for Mbah a Moute to play in front of his parents.

"We have our teammates, and you see their parents traveling to every game we play, and it's a great thing to have family supporting you," Aboya said. "For us, because our families are so far away -- I know it would mean a lot to Luc."

Collison's ankle: Bruins point guard Darren Collison iced his left ankle regularly the past 48hours and said although it was sore following Thursday's first-round win against Weber State, he was not limited. He also said he didn't expect it to be an issue against Indiana.

"It hurt a little bit, and I'm still going to feel it," Collison said. "At the same time, I'm trying not to think about it. I don't want to start focusing on it."

Mata update: UCLA center Lorenzo Mata continued to blame a pair of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as the reason he vomited during the first half against Weber State, but Bruins coach Ben Howland said the food wasn't the reason for Mata's ills.

"There was no food (problems)," Howland said. "I talked to Lorenzo. It wasn't a food-related issue, after looking into it. So that was something non-related to anything he ate. It was probably just a little bug."

Mata said he had a light dinner after the game and he was feeling better Friday.

Sampson on UCLA: Like so many other opposing coaches, Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson glowed about the Bruins.

"UCLA is as good as anybody," Sampson said. "Their physical strength -- it's just hard to cut against them, it's hard to get a good shot against them. They play tough, strong, physical defense. You don't see a lot of holes against UCLA. But I think the reason they have a shot to go back to the Final Four is because they are so good defensively."

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