The remarkable road to the 2021 Final Four for UCLA Basketball

UCLA going to their first Final Four since 2008

UCLA was once again the underdogs as they were against Michigan State, BYU, and Alabama. However, the Bruins were ready for the Wolverines as they had shown that they can play outstanding defense and score baskets when they needed to. UCLA was playing the No. 1 seeded Michigan Wolverines who had just defeated Florida State by 18 points in the Sweet Sixteen and the Bruins knew they were in for a fight.

Early in the game, the offenses for both teams were not at a premium and lead 27-23 at halftime. The Bruin’s ability to hold the high-powered Michigan offense to only 23 points at the half was a testament to the outstanding team defense concept that their players continued to buy into Cronin’s coaching and defensive philosophy.

In the second half, Michigan’s offense played a little bit better in comparison to UCLA’s but it was still a surprisingly low-scoring game. However, the Bruins suffocating defense held Michigan’s offense without a field goal during and just over the last five minutes of the game. To put it in a better perspective, the Wolverines missed their final eight shots of the game including an opportunity to win it at the end. UCLA was not much better on offense but their defense helped them win the game.

Juzang scored more than half of the entire Bruins points scoring 28 on 11 for 19 shooting from the field. The only other UCLA player to score more than four points was Campbell who had 11 points. Three other Bruins scored four points each and five other UCLA players were scoreless.

The Wolverines were lead by Hunter Dickinson who had 11 points but no other Michigan player scored in double digits. Michigan only played seven players as well in comparison to UCLA playing ten. It was not an exciting game by anyone’s standards but a win is a win and the Bruins advance to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament.