UCLA's Steve Alford focused on team, not Indiana job opening

UCLA coach Steve Alford says he's focused on the NCAA Tournament, not the job opening at his alma mater Indiana.

Alford played four seasons in Bloomington and led the Hoosiers to the 1987 NCAA title under coach Bobby Knight. His name was among the first to come up when Indiana coach Tom Crean was fired on Thursday.

''That was 30 years ago,'' Alford said at a news conference before his third-seeded Bruins face No. 14 seed Kent State on Friday night. ''I was part of that. I stood on stage with a great group of guys and won a national championship. It's my home state. I played there. So obviously, all that comes up.''

He's coached at Southwest Missouri State, Iowa and New Mexico before joining UCLA in 2013.

''I love UCLA. I love Los Angeles,'' he said. ''You're talking about arguably the greatest `brand' anywhere on the planet, and we got things going at a very high level now and we're very excited about it.''