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INDIANAPOLIS – Johnny Juzang racked up 28 points while playing most of the second half on an injured ankle, and UCLA survived a string of rodent misfires by seeded Michigan in the dying seconds for a win 51-49 Tuesday night that made the Bruins is the fifth No.11 seed to reach the Final Four.
The Wolverines have missed their last eight shots, including a 3-point one from Mike Smith seconds to go and another from Franz Wagner to the buzzer that sent the Bruins (22-9) off the bench in a crazy celebration. .
The team that fell into the tournament with four straight losses, needed extra time to beat Michigan State in the top four, and another overtime to beat Alabama was due to face No.1 seed Gonzaga on Saturday night.
“These guys have all the credit,” said UCLA coach Mick Cronin, who had never been to the Elite Eight let alone the Final Four in 18 years as a head coach. university. “Incredible heart, hardness. No one chose us. No one believed in us. This is how we like it. Obviously, we know our next assignment is tough, but their resilience is amazing.
After dictating the pace of the entire game, eschewing Michigan’s slick style in favor of a rock fight, it seemed fitting for the underdog Bruins to lead him to the buzzer.
They were hanging on to a 50-49 lead when Michigan called a timeout 19 seconds from the end, intending to prepare for one final shot. Juwan Howard set up an open 3-point look for Wagner’s cold shot, which missed most of everything, and Eli Brooks also missed a pullback before UCLA was able to correct the rebound.
It was only the beginning of a chaotic end.
“We’ve worked extremely hard this year, coming back to a possession – that’s the way it is sometimes in basketball,” Howard said. “There are one or two possessions that can either help you or hurt you and for us we missed it.
The Wolverines quickly fouled and sent Juzang to the line, where he missed the second of his two free throws with 6.3 seconds left. Michigan grabbed the rebound and called another time out, and Howard had Smith come up the court and unload a good glance from the wing that was halfway down before it rebounded.
The buzzer sounded but officials interrupted the Bruins’ celebration, putting back half a second.
That was enough time for Michigan to get one last time to Wagner, who once again let an iron-clad 3-point fly – and finally gave the Bruins the freedom to jump off their benches on their maiden trip of the Final Four since 2008.
“I tried to teach these guys how to win. Winners know why they win, ”Cronin said. “They don’t worry about offensive struggles. They believe. They just keep defending, keep playing with heart, keep playing with endurance.
Hunter Dickinson led the Wolverines (23-5) with 11 points, but nothing has been easy for the Big Ten freshman of the year – or anyone in Corn and Blue. They were 3 of 11 from beyond the arc, shot 39% overall and couldn’t make the shot at the end.
The East Region No.1 seed had moved confidently around the field about 30 minutes before officials even threw balls for the pre-game warm-ups. The Wolverines almost looked bored as they moved around, some listening to their music, others catching a glimpse of the Southern California-Gonzaga game on the screens hanging above the court.
The Bulldogs won so easily they had to put them to sleep.
Instead of the crisp passing, altruism and pleasant positionless basketball that took Michigan to three easy wins in the tournament, there was sloppy ball handling, lopsided jumpers and defensive breakdowns.
Then there was Juzang, who scored 14 of the Bruins’ first 16 points. Whether it was a 3-point pullback, a float in the lane, or a car to the bucket, one of the stars of March simply gave UCLA a 27-23 lead in half-time.
The Bruins quickly stretched him to 34-25 before Juzang twisted his right ankle in a rebounding scrum, sending him off the bench to get him saved. He was only absent for a few minutes, but Michigan took advantage. Dickinson and Brooks each had back-to-back baskets, wiping out most of UCLA’s hard-earned lead.
Two fairly familiar programs with the biggest scene in college basketball continued to trade punches for the rest of the time.
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Gonzaga won two of the three games against the Bruins, although they shared their two games in the NCAA tournament. UCLA won a regional semi-final in 2006 and the Bulldogs returned the favor in the 2015 regional semi-final.
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