Even though the UCLA/Texas A&M game didn't come down to a final shot, it very easily could have. This was a game where every basket seemed critical, because every one came so infrequently. In the end though, UCLA gutted out a game that for all intents and purposes they should have lost. Texas A&M had them on the ropes all game, but couldn't knock them out.

Some people might see this 53-49 win (I guess it's now officially 51-49 as the final dunk was called off) as a sign of weakness in a team that many have picked to win it all. But that would be a mistake.

As someone who's long followed the Bruins, there are some eerie similarities starting to emerge between this team and the one that won the 1995 Championship.

In 1995, UCLA was also picked by almost everyone - including myself - to win it all. They found themselves down 74-73 against Missouri in the second round with 4.8 seconds on the clock. It took a miracle coast-to-coast layup by point guard Ty Edney for UCLA to get the win. The Bruins never looked back, and proceeded to dominate their remaining opponents until they were national champions.

You can even get into weirder similarities, like that it was point guard Darren Collison's layup that was the difference in yesterday's game, and the fact that UCLA is relying heavily on a talented freshman. This year it's Kevin Love, in 1995 it was Toby Bailey. Let's just hope for Love's sake he has a better NBA career.

While many of you may think what I've written is total hogwash, that's OK. The larger point here is that almost every team that wins the NCAA Tournament, or goes far in it, has at least one ridiculously close call. After all, it's not easy winning six games in a row against some of the best teams in the country. Sometimes you're just having a bad night, but the great teams find a way to survive. And UCLA did that.

While nearly losing in the first round is actually horrible for high seeds (see: Duke) that rule seemingly doesn't apply for any later round. In fact, this is the third year in a row that UCLA has almost lost their second round game. They barely survived against Alabama and Indiana in the previous two tournaments. Of course, after both escapes, the Bruins subsequently surged to the Final Four. So be careful not to write off any team that has an incredibly close shave either today or in the Sweet 16. Sometimes that's just what a team needs to propel them to a championship. Plus, if you watched the end of the Pac-10 season, then you know UCLA seemingly can't lose right now, even if they're winning on illegal shots.

Now all the Bruins have to do is find a way to get Bill Simmons to rescind his pick of them to win the championship. Then they'd be guaranteed to win it all.