The national semifinals of the 2021 men’s college basketball championships are officially set, as No. 1 seed Gonzaga and No. 11 seed UCLA advanced to the final weekend of the tournament with victories on Tuesday night.
No. 1 – Gonzaga vs. No. 6 – Southern California (USC)
FINAL: 85-66 – Gonzaga
It’s been over 400 days since No. 1 seed Gonzaga last lost a game. Tuesday night, the nation’s top-ranked team continued its undefeated season (30-0), blowing the doors off No. 6 seed Southern California, 85-66, in the West Regional final.
Gonzaga controlled the game for the entire 40 minutes, never trailing at any point throughout the night. Gonzaga jumped out to a 17-point lead in the first nine minutes and held a 49-30 advantage at halftime, committing an impressive zero turnovers in the opening period.
Gonzaga’s lead grew to as much as 24 points in the second half, as it’s high-powered offense was too much for USC to slow down, making it nearly impossible to make a comeback. In the final minute, head coach Mark Few, in his 22nd season with Gonzaga, was able to empty the team’s bench, giving the walk-on players some court time on a big stage.
Drew Timme led Gonzaga with 23 points and a team-high three steals, while also logging five rebounds and four assists. Jalen Suggs and Corey Kispert were the only other Gonzaga players to finish in double figures, scoring 18 points apiece. Suggs also finished with 10 rebounds and eight assists, both team-highs. Kispert grabbed eight boards and dished-out a pair of assists as well.
As a team, Gonzaga shot 50 percent on the nose, going 33-for-66 from the floor, and 33.3 percent from three (7-for-21). Gonzaga held USC to 38.7 percent from the floor (24-for-62), and 26.7 from behind the arc (4-for-15). Gonzaga out-rebounded USC 41-29, and recorded 21 assists as a team, while USC finished with just nine.
Gonzaga will face No. 11 seed UCLA, the winner of the East Region, in the national semifinals on Saturday, April 3, with opening tipoff scheduled for 8:34 p.m. ET. Gonzaga will be making its second national semifinal appearance in school history (2017), and is just the third team to enter the final weekend of the tournament undefeated since 1985, the first year with a 64-team field.
No. 1 – Michigan vs. No. 11 – UCLA
FINAL: 51-49 – UCLA
No. 11 seed UCLA shocked No. 1 seed Michigan in the East Regional final, winning a defensive battle, 51-49.
Michigan had three great looks from three-point range to either take the lead or win the game in the final 12 seconds. Down 50-49, Franz Wagner air-balled a long three, leading to Michigan having to foul and put UCLA’s Johnny Juzang at the free-throw line. Juzang made his first shot, but missed the second, giving Michigan life with just a few ticks left on the clock.
Mike Smith got another three-point look off with about two seconds to go, but the shot rimmed out. However, a UCLA player touched the ball last, and there was still 0.5 seconds remaining, Wagner got a better shot off than his last on a catch-and-shoot of the inbound pass, but the attempt was off the mark, and time had run out for the East Region’s top-seeded team.
Despite scoring just four points over the first 10:33, UCLA took a 27-23 lead into halftime, thanks to a 13-6 run to end the period and 18 first half points (on 8-of-10 shooting) from Juzang. UCLA’s defense forced nine of Michigan’s 14 turnovers in the first half, and held its opposition to just one three-pointer.
The defensive stalemate continued in the second half. UCLA quickly went up nine early in the frame, but an 8-0 run by Michigan made it 34-33, UCLA, with 12:30 left. Michigan took its first lead since late in the first half on a three-pointer from Smith, going ahead 43-42 with a little more than seven minutes to play. Jules Bernard hit a jumper to give UCLA a 48-47 lead with four minutes to go, and from that point, the underdog never gave back the lead. UCLA’s defense turned up the heat down the stretch to close out the win. Michigan missed its last eight shots.
Juzang led UCLA with a game-high 28 points, finishing 11-for-19 and 2-for-5 from three. Tyger Campbell was the only other starter in double figures, finishing with 11 points. Bernard grabbed nine rebounds, a team-high, to go with his four points.
UCLA will be making its 18th national semifinal appearance in school history on Saturday against No. 1 seed Gonzaga (not including the vacated trip in 1980), and first since 2008. UCLA is also just the second team in tournament history to reach the national semifinals after participating in the play-in round the same year, joining Virginia Commonwealth University’s team from 2010-11.
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The first national semifinal matchup, No. 1 seed Baylor vs. No. 2 seed Houston, is scheduled to start at 5:14 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 3. Coverage on Saturday of the men’s college basketball championships will be available on ESPN 1520, starting at 4:30 p.m. ET.
