Men’s basketball secures Sweet 16 spot with 20-point win over Abilene Christian

This post was updated March 22 at 6:10 p.m.

In the First Four, it was Jaime Jaquez Jr.

In the Round of 64, it was Johnny Juzang.

In the Round of 32, it wasn’t one player who poured in the points and led the Bruins to victory.

It was a teamwide defensive effort that clinched them a blowout win and sent them rolling into the Sweet 16.

“Defense is why we’re alive, and defense is why we’ll survive in this tournament,” said coach Mick Cronin.

No. 11 seed UCLA men’s basketball (20-9, 13-6 Pac-12) ended No. 14 seed Abilene Christian’s (24-5, 13-2 Southland) Cinderella run with a 67-47 win Monday afternoon in Indiana. Part of out-defending the Wildcats was holding onto the ball on the other end – the Bruins coughed it up just eight times to an opponent that forced over 20 per game entering the matchup, well below Cronin’s goal of fewer than 15 he set Sunday.

Abilene Christian owned the nation’s best forced turnover percentage in the country at 27% this season, but UCLA only coughed it up on 13.8% of its possessions Monday. Just 11 of the Wildcats’ points came off turnovers after they scored 23 in that fashion in the first round.

“We knew that they were going to be scrambling, playing chaotic and trying to get us to speed up,” said redshirt junior forward Cody Riley. “Going into the game, we just knew that we couldn’t let them do that. We couldn’t let them speed us up and let the game get going up and down and let their defense create offense for them. We knew that was their best way of scoring points.”

The 47 points UCLA allowed were the fewest it’s given up in an NCAA tournament game since the opening round of its 2008 Final Four run when it gave up just 29 points to then-No. 16 seed Mississippi Valley State. Abilene Christian won its previous game over No. 3 seed Texas despite scoring just 53 points on 29.9% shooting – nearly identical to its 29.8% mark it shot against UCLA on Monday.

The Bruins scored more points in the paint, second-chance points and fast break points, all while securing 11 more rebounds than the Wildcats in the win.

After trailing 12-8 five minutes in, UCLA stormed out on an 18-0 run to take control of the game. They never loosened their grasp on that double-digit lead, holding the Wildcats to 3-of-20 shooting to close the first half as they took a 31-21 lead into the locker room.

The Bruins started the second half with a 14-1 run to go up by 23 and they never trailed by fewer than 17 points from there on out.

Since halftime of the Michigan State game, UCLA’s opponents have shot 38.8% from the field and 17.8% from deep. Riley said there hasn’t been anything specific the Bruins have improved on defensively, just a commitment to a full game of effort tailored to each opponent.

“It’s going to be different every game, but the biggest jump for us that we made is just being locked into the scouting report and being aware for the whole game,” Riley said. “And not doing it one half, but doing it for 40 minutes. That’s where we’re going to take this to a new level.”

Riley put up a double-double, and four Bruins finished with seven or more boards.

Juzang scored 12 of his team-high 17 points in the second half, helping the Bruins hold on to the lead with a plus-19 plus-minus in the second period. Jaquez and Riley finished with 10 and 12 points, respectively, while sophomore guard/forward Jake Kyman led the way off the bench with eight points and two 3s.

Outside of the players who came in for the last minute of garbage time, the only UCLA player who posted a negative plus-minus in the game was freshman guard Jaylen Clark. But even then, Riley praised the lone Bruin freshman to play meaningful minutes Monday and credited him for the energy he brings to the defense and boards.

“When he comes out, we’re looking for him to bring the defensive intensity to pick us up,” Riley said. “He’s young, but he’s very adamant on defense and aggressive and that’s what we need. That’s what we’re looking for.”

UCLA, which is on its way to its first Sweet 16 since 2017 and 35th in program history, will play the winner of No. 2 seed Alabama and No. 10 seed Maryland on Sunday.

Cronin said he isn’t satisfied with a spot in the Regional Semifinals, and the main goal is still what it’s always been – to bring championship No. 12 home to Pauley Pavilion.

“I didn’t come to Westwood to win a game or two,” Cronin said. “You play in a tournament, there’s only one winner. So you better not say we’re happy because we won a few games and we survived this weekend.”