March Madness: No. 11 UCLA's miracle run continues to Final 4 with win over No. 1 Michigan

Johnny Juzang poured in 28 points while playing most of the second half on a hurt ankle, and UCLA survived a series of nail-biting misses by top-seeded Michigan in the closing seconds for a 51-49 victory Tuesday night that made the Bruins the fifth No. 11 seed ever to reach the Final Four.

The Wolverines missed their final eight shots, including a 3-pointer by Mike Smith with a couple seconds left and another by Franz Wagner at the buzzer that sent the Bruins (22-9) flying off the bench in a wild celebration.

The team that backed into the tournament with four consecutive losses, needed overtime to beat Michigan State in the First Four and another overtime to beat Alabama was off to face overall No. 1 seed Gonzaga on Saturday night.

After dictating the pace all game, eschewing the slick style of Michigan in favour of a rock fight, it only seemed fitting that the underdog Bruins would take it to the buzzer.

They were clinging to a 50-49 lead when Michigan called a timeout with 19 seconds to go, intending to set up a final shot. Juwan Howard set up an open 3-point look for cold-shooting Wagner, who missed most of everything, and Eli Brooks also missed a put-back before UCLA was able to corral the rebound.

It was merely the start of a chaotic finish.

"We worked extremely hard this year, coming down to one possession — that's how it goes sometimes in the game of basketball," Howard said. "There's one or two possessions that can either help you or hurt you and for us, we came up short."

NORTH COURTS | Canadians to keep an eye on in March Madness:

North Courts | Canadians to watch in March Madness

4 years ago

Duration 17:17

It's March Madness time and with a record number of Canadians in the NCAA tournament, we're dedicating this episode to the stars from north of the border, including Jevohn catching up with Gonzaga's own sixth man of the year Andrew Nembhard.

The Wolverines quickly fouled and sent Juzang to the line, where he missed the second of his two free throws with 6.3 seconds left. Michigan grabbed the rebound and called another timeout, and Howard had Smith race up court and unload a good look from the wing that was halfway down before bouncing back out.

The buzzer sounded but the officials halted the Bruins' celebration, putting a half-second back on the clock.

That was enough time for Michigan to inbound one last time to Wagner, who again let fly a 3-pointer that clanked off the iron — and finally gave the Bruins freedom to spring from their benches for their first Final Four trip since 2008.

"I've been trying to teach these guys how to win. Winners know why they win," Cronin said. "They don't worry about offensive struggles. They believe. They just keep defending, keep playing with heart, keep playing with toughness."

Hunter Dickinson led the Wolverines (23-5) with 11 points, but nothing came easy for the Big Ten freshman of the year — or anyone else in maize and blue. They were 3 of 11 beyond the arc, shot 39 per cent overall and couldn't make the shot at the end.

The No. 1 seed in the East Region had confidently strolled onto the court about 30 minutes before officials even rolled out balls for pregame warmups. The Wolverines almost looked bored as they milled about, some listening to their music, others catching glimpses of the Southern California-Gonzaga game on the screens hanging over the court.

The Bulldogs won so easily it must have lulled them to sleep.

Zags keep rolling

Can anybody stop these guys?

For the 30th straight time this season, Gonzaga answered that question with a resounding "No."

The Bulldogs got on a roll and put on a show, cruising into the Final Four with an 85-66 beatdown of a Southern California team that was nowhere near ready for what it ran into Tuesday night.

Drew Timme had 23 points and five rebounds and, after one dunk, pretended to slick down his handlebar moustache for the few thousand fans in the stands.

"This is a really, really big deal," coach Mark Few said of the program's return to the Final Four after a four-year hiatus. "And Zags know how to celebrate, OK?"

The top-seeded and top-ranked Bulldogs will be the third team to bring an undefeated record into the Final Four since the bracket expanded to 64 teams in 1985. The last team to go undefeated was Indiana in 1976.

Timme did whatever he wanted against the nation's fourth-ranked defence — a team that won its first three tournament games by an average of 21 points — as did pretty much everyone else in a white uniform.

Jalen Suggs finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. All-American Corey Kispert had 18 points and eight boards on an "off" night — only 6 for 19 from the floor. Gonzaga shot 44 per cent in the second half and "only" 50 per cent for the game. That was five under its nation-leading average, but it didn't matter much.

"We just tried to stay moving," Suggs said about attacking the USC zone, which had been shutting down teams all month in Indy. "We didn't let the ball get too sticky. We kept moving, flashing into the high post. It was a lot for them to deal with — good cuts off the baseline, vertical cuts off the wings."

Canada's Andrew Nembhard added seven points and four rebounds in the victory.

Blowouts are supposed to be boring, but this had the feel of a Globetrotters game at times, filled with fancy bounce passes through traffic, reverse layups, a swooping power dunk from Joel Ayayi (nine points) and the occasional post-basket flex from the 6-foot-10 Timme.

The Zags walked into the locker room at halftime ahead by 19 and with a big fat zero in the turnover column — a gold-standard stat for a team that thrives on offensive efficiency.

The last 20 minutes were extended garbage time — plenty of time for Timme to wax his handlebar moustache and for the Bulldogs to pad the stats.

They are a statistician's dream — a team that came in No. 1 scoring (91.8), that has won 29 of its 30 games by double digits, and that wasn't going to be slowed by the Brothers Mobley — Isaiah and Evan — who roam the middle for one of the country's tallest teams (average height, 6-7).

They both got theirs — Isaiah with 19 points and seven rebounds, and Evan with 17 and five — but the evening belonged to the Bulldogs.

The game was interrupted by a frightening moment early, when official Bert Smith collapsed on the floor and had to be taken off in a wheelchair. In the second half, CBS passed along word that Smith was feeling OK and resting in the arena.

He was replaced by Tony Henderson, but there was no heavy lifting for the backup.