NOTES

With the Bruins, Duke, Kentucky and USC in the regional, UCLA point guard Earl Watson believes it to be the toughest of the four, and guaranteed the eventual national champion will be one of those teams.

“I think whoever wins the East will win the whole tournament,” he said. “Easily.”

And if UCLA prevails Thursday and if USC upsets Kentucky . . .

“It’d be great,” Watson said. “It would show how good West Coast basketball really is.”