UCLA's Kevin Love won't be the first freshman phenom Xavier has played.

They played Kansas State's Michael Beasley, too.

"Somebody mentioned to me they held him to five or six points," Kevin Love said. "Hey, I think Beasley's the most talented player in the country. For him to get five or six points shows how good they can be on defense."

It was five points, to be precise — 21 below Michael Beasley's average — and it was the only time he failed to reach double figures all season.

Love has been beastly lately — 29 points and 14 rebounds against Western Kentucky — but what Xavier did against Beasley ought to give the Bruins pause as they prepare for tonight's NCAA West Regional final.

The Musketeers play man-to-man defense, but they don't have to try to defend Love (6 feet 10, 271 pounds) with only one player.

They have 6-9, 238-pound Josh Duncan, 6-8, 225-pound Derrick Brown, and 6-9, 255-pound Jason Love, no relation UCLA's Love.

They play tag-team man-to-man, and that means they'll have some fouls to give.

"Duncan, Love and Brown are very good interior defenders," UCLA assistant coach Donny Daniels said.

Don't expect any gimmicks from the Musketeers. Just expect them to make Love work for everything he gets.

"He is a great player, obviously," Duncan said. "Very big guy, physical down low. I've just got to be ready to accept the challenge and just know I've got to bring my A game on defense."

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