a record 11 national titles. He replaced the fired Ben Howland, who was coming off a blowout loss in the first round of the 2013 NCAA tournament after UCLA had captured the Pac-12 Conference regular season title with a new up-tempo offense. Overall, Howland won four conference titles and reached the Final Four three straight times (2006–2008) with the Bruins. Alford had a 5–7 NCAA tournament record, and had only advanced his teams beyond the first weekend of the tournament once before, when he led his Cinderella squad from Southwest Missouri State to the Sweet 16 in 1999. UCLA tasked Alford with reviving their offense, connecting with a new generation of players, and rejuvenating its fan base. He accepted the UCLA position just three days after he had signed a 10-year extension at New Mexico. At UCLA's introductory news conference, Alford was questioned about his handling of Pierce in Iowa, and he stated that he did "everything that [he] was told to do." Criticism grew over his hiring, especially over his handling of Pierce. Two weeks after his hiring, Alford apologized for declaring Pierce's innocence "before the legal system had run its course. This was inappropriate, insensitive and hurtful, especially to the young female victim involved, and I apologize for that." Soon after his hiring, Alford filled his head assistant coaching staff position with good friend and former John Calipari assistant Ed Schilling. Also hired were David Grace, a rising assistant who spent 2008–2013 on the Oregon State staff, and Duane Broussard, who spent 2008–2013 as Alford's assistant at New Mexico. Tyus Edney, who starred on UCLA's 1995 national championship team, continued as director of operations. In his first season, fans accused Alford of nepotism for playing his son Bryce over fellow freshman Zach LaVine. The Bruins had rarely sought players who were not four- or five-star recruits, while Bryce was rated a consensus three-star prospect. The coach groomed his son over LaVine to be the team's backup point guard behind starter Kyle Anderson. Alford directed the Bruins to the title in the 2014 Pac-12 tournament, the school's first conference tournament title in six years. They advanced to the Sweet 16 of the 2014 NCAA tournament—their first regional semifinal appearance since 2008—before falling to Florida, who improved to 4–0 all-time against UCLA in the NCAA tournament. After Anderson and LaVine left UCLA for the National Basketball Association (NBA), Bryce became