UCLA vs Saint Mary’s: 2022 NCAA Tournament game preview, TV schedule

Saint Mary’s won in convincing fashion Thursday. UCLA did not. The two sides will meet on Saturday for a Sweet Sixteen berth.

TV Schedule: Saturday, March 19 at 7:10pm ET, TBS

Location: Moda Center in Portland, Oregon

Compared to expectations entering the season, the results from Thursday night might’ve surprised. The Saint Mary’s Gaels dominated the Indiana Hoosiers, while the UCLA Bruins struggled to put away the Akron Zips. Nevertheless, they’ll be featured in one of Saturday’s two games involving the best-possible seeding pairings.

Saint Mary’s was a popular 12-5 upset pick, but it didn’t come close to happening. Saint Mary’s routed Indiana behind 20 points from Logan Johnson. Tommy Kuhse had 19 points while the team limited Indiana star Trayce Jackson-Davis to only 12 points. That defense will be a key factor to beating UCLA.

UCLA, meanwhile, seemed a more popular pick to make a Final Four run than lost in the Round of 64, but the Bruins didn’t make it easy for themselves on Thursday. UCLA only managed to beat Akron by four points, 57-53. Tyger Campbell led the way with 16 points, while Johnny Juzang was held to only nine and the bench was virtually obsolete.

UCLA head coach Mick Cronin will need to rally his players on the off-day. While Thursday wasn’t pretty, this is still a team talented enough to make a Final Four run.

Odds are, Saint Mary’s isn’t’ going to shoot the lights out of the gym again. The Gaels were unreal from three on Thursday, hitting 10-of-21 attempts. If they pull that off again, the Bruins may as well not show up – it’s just not going to happen.

This game could be decided as soon as the first half. UCLA is one of the best first-half teams in the country, averaging 37.2 points per game. But the Gaels’ stout defense is even better in the first half, limiting opponents to only 28.4 points per game – that jumps by more than four points on average in the second half, while UCLA’s scoring holds steady all game long.

UCLA is also great at limiting turnovers. Saint Mary’s forces a little over 11 a game, but the Bruins only cough the ball 9.1 times per game, one of the lowest marks in the game. The turnover battle will be a major one to determine a winner on Saturday.

What UCLA will need to win is a better game from Juzang. The guard is averaging 15.8 points per game this season, so his nine points was likely an aberration. It was in line with recent struggles, though – Juzang has scored 10 points or less in six of his last seven games.

This is arguably the game of the day on Saturday. The two teams are as close as it gets in terms of seeds and that’s true of their talent level as well. Either team could win this game and it’ll likely be a tight battle.

Most of UCLA’s team has the experience of making a Final Four run a year ago, though. That feels like it could be the biggest factor in deciding who advances to the Sweet Sixteen.

Prediction: UCLA 68, Saint Mary’s 64