PHOENIX -- Xavier coach Sean Miller is the son of legendary Blackhawk High School coach John Miller, and it wouldn't be much of a stretch to say he was groomed to and destined to become a coach.

Miller fell in love with the game when he was in elementary school and became a student of the game as he worked on improving his skills.

But there was an added benefit to being the son of a high-profile AAU and high school coach, and it had considerable influence on his career. He had plenty of opportunities to meet college coaches and often got a chance to discuss the game with them.

That's why, although his dad is his primary influence, he said many other coaches have influenced him.

The list is long, but it would include his dad and three coaches he worked for, Arizona State's Herb Sendek, Ohio State's Thad Matta and then-Wisconsin coach Stu Jackson, now executive vice president of basketball operations for the NBA.

"I think that is a very fair assessment. A lot of coaches have taught me and helped me get to this point," said Miller, whose Musketeers advanced to the Elite Eight for the second time in school history.

Although Miller said a lot of coaches influenced him, the system he runs is his own.

"You can pick up a lot of things but ultimately, you have to be yourself," he said.

By beating Miller's Musketeers, 76-57, yesterday, UCLA became the fifth team in the past 30 years to make three consecutive trips to the Final Four.

Michigan State (1999-2001), Houston (1982-94), Duke (five in a row from 1988-1992) and Kentucky (1996-98) are the others. Only Houston failed to win a championship, although it took Duke four tries. UCLA did not win the title despite reaching the Final Four the past two seasons. In fact, since the first NCAA tournament in 1939, one other team besides Houston -- Ohio State (1944-46) -- made at least three in a row and failed to win a title.

By reaching the Final Four, UCLA became the fifth Pac-10 team to make the Final Four the past 10 seasons. The Big Ten has the most participants (nine). Of the six power conferences, the Pac-10 is the only one that has failed to win a title in that span. ... Xavier continued two trends for the Atlantic 10 this weekend. Since Massachusetts went to the Final Four in 1996, Atlantic 10 teams are 6-0 in Sweet 16 games. Xavier's loss to UCLA, however, dropped the conference's record to 0-6 in regional finals.