#FinalFour /GVBlo2tX1l- NCAA March Madness April 4, 2021 Only outdone by Ayayi, Juzang’s 15 first-half points from mostly within the arc helped the Bruins keep up with the best offense in the country. Juzang spent most of the shot clock cooking defenders off the dribble, hitting step-back jumpers from the foul line and showing why he had the hottest hand in the tournament. UCLA not only hung with Gonzaga, but also built a lead on being unstoppable in the midrange. He went on to score 16 points in the first half and didn’t miss from the field until 11 minutes left in the second half.
While his teammates struggled to finish at the rim, the senior guard notched seven points and two rebounds before another Zag got into the scoring column. Gonzaga showed off its depth early when Joel Ayayi - the team’s fourth-leading scorer - appeared to be the only Zag ready to play. Yet neither Mick Cronin’s slower style nor Mark Few’s uptempo offense yielded to the other.Īt first, it appeared that Gonzaga would be too much for a UCLA team that trotted out a lineup with one true point guard, a bunch of wings and no one taller than 6’9. On a Venn diagram, this game existed in the space between the slow, midrange-heavy basketball of old, and the faster, transition-heavy play featured in today’s NBA. Gonzaga thrilled in transition, knocked down big threes and had a modern big man in Timme who could distribute, rebound and excel at the rim on both ends. UCLA was excellent in the midrange, mastered the pace of the game and played relentless interior defense.
The most impressive part about this game was everyone could find something to enjoy. Both teams shot better than 57% from the field with significantly different shot charts. History might favor the final few minutes of regulation and the iconic overtime, yet both teams played exceptional basketball for the first 35 minutes. While Gonzaga’s Final Four win eventually became the last great moment for one of the best college basketball teams in recent memory, the game itself was excellent. And, before Suggs’s overtime magic, there was his block on Cody Riley’s layup, which led to a pinpoint skip pass to Timme for a transition dunk. Drew Timme taking a charge with four fouls and 3.3 seconds to go in a tie game. Johnny Juzang playing out of his mind, hitting every midrange jumper to keep UCLA in the game. The Jalen Suggs shot and the ensuing celebration on the scorer’s table. 1 overall seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs and the 11 seed UCLA Bruins had it all.
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