No. 11 UCLA beats ’Bama in OT to reach Elite Eight
INDIANAPOLIS — Jaime Jaquez Jr. remembers the moment Mick Cronin introduced himself at UCLA, the new coach promising to restore the shine to the storied program by instilling a mental and physical toughness the team had never experienced.
It came in handy Sunday night.
After watching second-seeded Alabama’s Alex Reese take advantage of the Bruins’ soft defense to drain a buzzer-beating 3-pointer and force overtime, Jaquez and the rest of his boys in blue were completely nonplussed by the moment.
Instead, they scored the first five points of the extra session, then cruised from there to an 88-78 victory that gave the No. 11 seed Bruins their first trip to the Elite Eight since 2008 — and Cronin the first of his 18-year coaching career.
“When he came to UCLA,” Jaquez said, “he basically preached the entire time, no matter what was going to happen, we were going to be a tough team, and we were going to be a defensive team. That was his whole attitude. No matter what happens, we’re going to be the toughest team to go out and play.”
Now, after beating Michigan State in overtime just to escape the First Four, the unheralded Bruins are marching forward in the NCAA Tournament. Next up is top-seeded Michigan tonight 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 Alabama — missed both of his attempts with 6 seconds left.
Singleton was fouled and made two free throws for UCLA, pushing the lead to 65-62 with 4 seconds to go. But that still gave the Crimson Tide enough time to find Reese, whose tying 3-pointer splashed just before the buzzer.
“I’m a foul guy,” Cronin said of such situations, “but my concern was they knew, and when we went to foul he was going to shoot a 3-pointer and get fouled. The kids bailed me out and played great in overtime.”
Jules Bernard also scored 17 points, Singleton had 15 and Juzang and Tyger Campbell added 13 apiece for the
Bruins, while Jahvon Quinerly scored 20 points and John Petty Jr. had 16 for the Crimson Tide.
Alabama (26-7) was just 11 of 25 from the foul line, missing both of its attempts in overtime, while losing for the eighth time in nine Sweet 16 games.
USC 82, Oregon 68
Isaiah White scored 22 points and USC shut down Oregon’s potent offense to reach the Elite Eight for the first time in 20 years.
The Trojans (25-7) clipped the high-flying Ducks with their length on the perimeter and 7-footer Evan Mobley in the middle. Offensively, the region’s No. 6 seed bobbed and weaved through the holes in Oregon’s defense, shooting 57% and 10 of 17 from 3.
The all-around domination put USC in the Elite Eight for the second time in 60 years and three Pac-12 teams in the regional final for the first time since 2001.
Next up is a shot at undefeated Gonzaga in the regional final today.
Eugene Omoruyi had 28 points 10 rebounds, and Chris Duarte scored 21 for the Ducks.