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UCLA men’s basketball earns Elite Eight spot with 10-point victory over Alabama

No. 11 seed UCLA men’s basketball outscored No. 2 seed Alabama 23-13 in overtime to advance to its first Elite Eight since 2008. Six Bruins scored in double figures in the upset victory.
(Photo by Trevor Brown Jr/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

Men’s Basketball


No. 11 seed UCLA88
No. 2 seed Alabama78

By Sam Connon

March 28, 2021 7:19 p.m.

This post was updated March 28 at 8:34 p.m.

INDIANAPOLIS — The Bruins got in an extra five minutes of dancing before punching their ticket to the Elite Eight.

They could have closed things out in regulation, as they held a three-point lead with less than five seconds to play.

A buzzer-beater 3 by the Crimson Tide didn’t change the end result, however – it’s the Bruins who will stay alive this March.

“We’re not finished yet, we’re not finished,” said sophomore guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. “We’ve got a lot more work to do.”

No. 11 seed UCLA men’s basketball (21-9, 13-6 Pac-12) toppled No. 2 seed Alabama (26-7, 16-2 SEC) in the Sweet 16 on Sunday night, using a 14-5 run early in overtime to close out the 88-78 victory. The Bruins will play in their first Elite Eight since 2008, matching up with No. 1 seed Michigan on Tuesday.

UCLA held a double-digit lead at the half but saw it disappear almost immediately. As a result, it trailed by one in the final minute and had to make a comeback to keep its season alive.

Redshirt junior forward Cody Riley took a feed from redshirt sophomore guard Tyger Campbell and rose above the rim for the soft finish, giving the Bruins a 63-62 lead with 14 seconds remaining. After forward Herbert Jones missed both free throws on the other end, junior guard David Singleton got intentionally fouled and hit both of his attempts to make it a three-point UCLA lead.

Coach Mick Cronin elected not to intentionally foul when Alabama inbounded the ball with 4 seconds left on the clock. It was forward Alex Reese who made him pay by draining the catch-and-shoot 3 right before the buzzer, sending the game to overtime.

Cronin said he wanted his guys to foul at half court but was concerned Alabama coach Nate Oats told his players to shoot the half-court shot if they got fouled, causing confusion as time expired. Five more minutes were added to the clock, and Cronin had to huddle up with the game on the line.

“I just tried to stay calm with the guys, just tell them we’ve got to continue to execute,” Cronin said. “There’s many times we could have packed it in, but I told them they’ve been putting up with me for two years now trying to beat into them competitive spirit and toughness because when you combine that with talent, you have a chance to do great things.”

But after a Singleton 3, Campbell steal-and-score and another Singleton jumper, UCLA took control in the extra period and put the game away.

Jaquez hit the dagger with 1:37 left, taking on two defenders and draining a step-back 3 before the shot clock expired.

“Those are definitely shots I practiced at the park just imagining being in March Madness,” Jaquez said. “I saw the shot clock winding down and I knew we needed a big shot so I just took the shot.”

The Bruins ended the first half on a 3-point hot streak, attempting nine of their final 13 shots from behind the arc and hitting six of them. UCLA shot 7-of-15 from deep in the opening half compared to Alabama’s 3-of-10 clip, despite the fact the Crimson Tide entered the game with more 3-pointers attempted and made than anyone else in the country this season.

After sophomore guard Johnny Juzang scored 11 points in a four-minute span to make it a one-point game, Singleton and junior guard Jules Bernard took over from 3. Behind their combined 6-of-7 3-point shooting to close out the half, the Bruins took a 40-29 lead and 18-4 run into the locker room.

Bernard’s step-back, four-point play got the crowd on its feet, giving his team a 10-point lead in the process.

That shooting stroke was missing when UCLA came back out for the second half, however – it opened the period 0-of-11 from the field and let Alabama back into the game with an 11-0 run.

Bernard, especially, saw his numbers slip, not scoring a single point in the second half despite being out there for the entire period and putting up seven shots. The guard helped close things out with four free throws in the extra period, however, bookending his co-team leading 17-point performance.

Jaquez was the other Bruin who dropped 17 points Sunday night, and he said Bernard made winning plays from start to finish.

“When he hit (the four-point play), everyone (was) going over there to pick him up and give him a pat on the back and tell him that was a great shot,” Jaquez said. “Then his ability to hit the free throws at the end of the game is huge, so shout out to Jules. He had a hell of a game today.”

With the win, Cronin will advance to his first ever Elite Eight after losing in the Sweet 16 the only other time he made it that far. While the coach said he won’t be happy until the Bruins are national champions, Jaquez and his teammates still ambushed Cronin with a celebratory water bottle attack on his way into the locker room after the game.

UCLA is back in action Tuesday, with only No. 1 seed Michigan standing in the way of the program’s first Final Four appearance in 13 years.

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Sam Connon | Alumnus
Connon joined the Bruin as a freshman in 2017 and contributed until he graduated in 2021. He was the Sports editor for the 2019-2020 academic year, an assistant Sports editor for the 2018-2019 academic year and spent time on the football, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, men's soccer, cross country, men's golf and women's golf beats, while also contributing movie reviews for Arts & Entertainment.
Connon joined the Bruin as a freshman in 2017 and contributed until he graduated in 2021. He was the Sports editor for the 2019-2020 academic year, an assistant Sports editor for the 2018-2019 academic year and spent time on the football, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, men's soccer, cross country, men's golf and women's golf beats, while also contributing movie reviews for Arts & Entertainment.
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