The remarkable road to the 2021 Final Four for UCLA Basketball

The path to the Round of 32 for UCLA

The Bruins had a difficult first-round matchup as they played Michigan State in one of the first four games of the NCAA tournament. It was a tough first-round opponent for UCLA but Michigan State was not an overwhelming favorite to win the game by any stretch of the imagination. In the game against the Spartans, the Bruins were down by as many as 14 points late in the first half.

However, as it seemed that the Bruins were going to be defeated by a team from the Big Ten which was considered the best conference in all of the college basketball prior to the beginning of the NCAA tournament, UCLA was not about to have their season end that night.

The Bruins played much better in the second half of the game and outscored Michigan State 44 to 33 and the 2nd half surge was fuel by the dynamic play and production from Jaime Jaquez Jr. but he had some help as well from his teammates. Another Bruin sophomore and team-leading scorer Johnny Juzang played a well-rounded game in helping UCLA force overtime against the Spartans.

In overtime, the Bruins Cody Riley made some very important free throws and Jules Bernard was able to grab multiple rebounds as well to help UCLA in OT. The Bruins outscored Michigan State 9-3 in overtime to advance to the next round to play No. 6 seed BYU.

UCLA entering their matchup against the Cougars, the Bruins did not know for certain if Juzang would be able to play Saturday against BYU, as it seemed that he sprained his right ankle in the overtime contest against the Spartans.  However, he did end up playing against the Cougars and playing well.

Juzang ended up playing 39 minutes which was almost the entire game and he led all scorers in the game with 27 points. Not only was he the leading scorer against BYU, but he also had five rebounds and a blocked shot as well. He was not the only player to have a good game against the Cougars. His teammates played well as they did against Michigan State as for example, Jaquez was five for seven from the field and had eight rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Bernard also had another strong performance as well scoring 16 points to go along with his five rebounds and one assist.

The Bruins were down by double digits to the Spartans at halftime but UCLA played a much better first half against BYU  and led the Cougars by 11 at the half.  The Bruins ended up maintaining their led and went on to defeat the higher ranked seed BYU in a mild upset and advance to the Round of 32.