Tide’s time over
No. 11 seed UCLA takes down Bama
INDIANAPOLIS — Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 17 points, hitting two big jumpers early in overtime, and No. 11 seed UCLA held on after Alabama’s Alex Reese drained a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of regulation to beat the second-seeded Crimson Tide 88-78 in a Sweet 16 showdown Sunday night in the East Region of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
With star guard Johnny Juzang fouled out, Jaquez and David Singleton took control in the extra period. Jaquez curled in a jumper to make it 74-68, then drilled a 3-pointer to make it 77-70 moments later. Singleton’s free throws made it 79-70 with less than a minute to go, and all UCLA (21-9) had to do was put the game away from the foul line.
After beating Michigan State in overtime just to escape the First Four, the unheralded Bruins are headed to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2008. They’ll face top-seeded Michigan on Tuesday night for a spot in the Final Four.
UCLA thought it had the game won in regulation when Cody Riley’s lay-in made it 63-62 with 14 seconds left, and Herbert Jones — a 75% foul shooter for Southeastern Conference champion Alabama — missed both of his free throws with six seconds left.
Singleton was fouled and made two free throws for UCLA, pushing the lead to 65-62 with
four seconds to go. But that still gave the Tide enough time to find Reese, whose tying 3-pointer splashed in just before the buzzer.
Jules Bernard also scored 17 points, Singleton had 15 and Juzang and Tyger Campbell added 13 apiece.
Jahvon Quinerly scored 20 points and John Petty Jr. had 16 for the Tide (26-7), who have lost eight of their nine games in the Sweet 16 in program history. Their only Elite Eight appearance was in 2004 — six national titles ago for their football program.
With the sun setting through the upper windows of Hinkle Fieldhouse, casting a warm glow on the few thousand fans inside, the school known for its championship pedigree on the gridiron struck the first blow on the hardwood. The Tide jumped out to an early lead, even after Jones picked up two offensive fouls in the first 41 seconds, as their brilliant backcourt set the tempo. Quinerly kept breaking down the Bruins’ perimeter defense, and Ellis did his best imitation of Petty, the school’s career 3-point leader, by hitting step-back shots outside the arc.
For a while, Juzang singlehandedly kept the Bruins in the game. The transfer from Kentucky made enough baskets to slow down Alabama’s up-and-down approach, and that allowed UCLA to turn the game into a half-court affair — or as Cronin calls it, a “judicious” style of play. Then the rest of the Bruins got involved.
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Michigan 76, Florida State 58
What was touted as the marquee matchup of this Sweet 16 turned into a dud. For everyone but Michigan, that is.
Hunter Dickinson, a 7-foot-1 freshman, had 14 points and eight rebounds as the top-seeded Wolverines took the inside route to the Elite Eight, pounding away in the paint for a surprisingly easy takedown of surprisingly helpless Florida State.
Franz Wagner had 13 points and 10 rebounds for Michigan. The Wolverines scored their first 30 points of the second half from close range to turn this game into a blowout and lead coach Juwan Howard to a victory in the only “chalk” meeting between a No. 1 and a No. 4 seed in the tournament’s second weekend.
Michigan (23-4) moved to a regional final for the first time since 2018 under John Beilein, whose departure a year later led to Howard’s hiring.
“Michigan’s had a lot of success its basketball program,” said Howard, who went to three Elite Eights as a player in the Fab Five days. “It’s beautiful to see all the hard work is paying off this year.”
The evening’s most telling stat was points in the paint: Michigan 50, Florida State 28. There were plenty of other lowlights for the Seminoles (18-7), though, including 14 turnovers (10 in the first half that led to 16 Michigan points), no 3-pointers in the first 24 minutes and 5-of-20 shooting outside the arc for the game, with four of the makes from Malik Osborne, who led Florida State with 12 points.
WEST REGION
› Gonzaga 83, Creighton 65
Drew Timme scored 22 points and top-seeded Gonzaga did against Creighton what it has done throughout this unblemished season, rolling past the fifth-seeded Bluejays with versatile offense and efficient defense.
Andrew Nembhard added 17 points for the Bulldogs (29-0), who have won a school-record 33 consecutive games and extended their Division I record to 26 straight double-digit wins.
Gonzaga did it this time on a quiet day for star Jalen Suggs, who finished with nine points. The Bulldogs methodically built a 10-point halftime lead and pushed ahead by 20 on Suggs’ layup with 11:22 left.
Marcus Zegarowski scored 19 points to lead the Bluejays (22-9), who were trying to reach their first Elite Eight since 1941, when only eight teams played in the NCAA bracket.
As they have many times this season, the Bulldogs led wire to wire. Gonzaga’s fast start forced Creighton to call its first timeout a little more than two minutes into the game, and within seven minutes the Bluejays’ deficit was 22-12. They settled down and fought back within 27-25, but Gonzaga answered with five straight points, took a 43-33 halftime lead and spent most of the second half pulling away.