Media availability Mar 21, 2021 before 2nd Round game vs No. 14 Abilene Christian (24-4) today at 2:15 pm PT

 CTTO

No. 11 UCLA defangs No. 6 BYU Cougars in Round 1 73-62. No. 14 Abilene Christian (24-4) is next in Round 2.

Johnny Juzang goes off for 27 points on less than solid ankle. Jules Bernard adds 16 points. Jaime Jacquez Jr 13 points. 

CTTO

UCLA and BYU Q&As

UCLA Q&As

UCLA Posts Wire-to-Wire Win to Reach NCAA Second Round

uclabruins.com/INDIANAPOLIS – Behind a game-high 27 points from Johnny Juzang, the No. 11-seeded UCLA men's basketball team defeated No. 6-seeded BYU, 73-62, advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
 
Juzang, who scored 23 points in Thursday's "First Four" contest, made 10 of 16 shots from the field. He poured in 19 points in the first half.
 
UCLA (19-9) never trailed against BYU (20-7) on Saturday evening. The Bruins jumped out to a 13-point lead in the first half and entered the locker room at halftime with a 38-27 cushion.
 
Juzang was one of three UCLA players to score in double figures. Jules Bernard finished with 16 points and five rebounds, while Jaime Jaquez Jr. registered 13 points and eight rebounds.
 
"It took everything our guys had on the defensive end tonight," said Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. "That's where our focus was. We were able to take them off the 3-point line. It wasn't easy. I can't tell you how hard that was for our guys and how proud I am of how hard they played. Played with a lot of pride. I try to remind them here who they play for to get their confidence back. They practice in a gym with 11 banners hanging. So, it was a big win."
 
The Bruins secured a spot in the second round of the tournament against No. 14-seed Abilene Christian (24-4). The Wildcats knocked off No. 3-seed Texas on Saturday night, 53-52.
 
In the win over BYU, UCLA's lead never fell to any fewer than seven points in the final 12 minutes. BYU reduced the Bruins' margin to four points early in the second half (43-39, at the 14:21 mark) before UCLA scored back-to-back baskets to secure an eight-point advantage. An 11-4 scoring run by UCLA helped the Bruins to build their lead to 54-43 with under 10:45 to play.
 
Alex Barcello scored 20 points to lead the Cougars (20-7). Brandon Averette tallied 15 points and Matt Haarms registered a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
 
UCLA made 28 of 58 shot attempts (48.3 percent) and knocked down 8 of 19 attempts from 3-point range (42.1 percent).
 
Juzang became the third UCLA player to have scored at least 20 points in each of his first two NCAA Tournament contests, joining Lew Alcindor and Reggie Miller.
 
The Bruins have secured their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament's second round since March of 2017 (after having defeated Kent State, 97-80, in Sacramento in that season's tournament).
 
UCLA's matchup on Monday against Abilene Christian will take place at 2:15 p.m. PT (5:15 p.m. ET). The game will be televised on TBS. The radio broadcast will be available in the Los Angeles area on AM 570.

Postgame Quotes – UCLA vs. BYU

POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 73, BYU 62
Indianapolis, Ind. (Hinkle Fieldhouse)
March 20, 2021

Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
opening remarks
“Tremendous effort by our players tonight. It's not easy to defend BYU. It's actually extremely hard. "Not easy" is not the best way to say it. It's extremely hard to defend them. Many, many try. I think they've had over 70 in every game since some point in January. They've put a lot of 80s, 90s, had 100. The way they shoot the ball, pass the ball and space you. [It] took everything our guys had on the defensive end tonight. That's where our focus was. And we were able to take them off the 3-point line. It wasn't easy. I can't tell you how hard that was for our guys and how proud I am of how hard they played. Played with a lot of pride. I try to remind them here who they play for to get their confidence back. They practice in a gym with 11 banners hanging. So, it was a big win.
 
“Congratulations to BYU on their season. Alex Barcello had a great game. He's obviously a great kid, great player. It's always, guys like him are great for college basketball. But our guys stepped up. Obviously, Johnny had a big game coming off the ankle. But Tyger didn't make a lot of shots but his defense was big. Barcello and Averette are just really, really good guards. And they can cause you a lot of problems. Great win for us.”
 
on Jaime Jaquez Jr. grabbing away a rebound from Matt Haarms late in the second half
“Look, I will say this. We don't have any seniors. So you've got guys – Johnny sat on the bench at Kentucky last year. Jaime is a sophomore. We've got a lot of young guys. You've got, what, three sophomores in the starting lineup? Kenneth Nwuba gave us big minutes. He's such a good kid. I was so happy to see him be able to give us some minutes tonight, because his defense was much needed. For us to be able to win the first half by 11 without Cody Riley was really the key to the game. When he went out with his second [foul], immediately my mind goes to, I've got to get to halftime while we're still in this game, when Cody gets that second foul so quickly. But I thought just our effort and our toughness was there all night. It had to be because they're really, really hard to play defense against. Really hard.”
 
on where he believes the mindset of this UCLA team is after two wins
“Well, we had some tough times late in the year but playing good teams, it can either kill you or it makes you better because it's so hard to win. You're finding out that the Pac-12 not being ranked all year was an absolute joke. And some people ought to be ashamed of themselves. Now maybe people can't stay up late, and I don't blame them because I can't either. Where I live, the sun shines all day and it comes up early so I get up early. So maybe people can't stay up for our games. But I've been doing this a long time. Back in 2011, I coached in a league where 11 teams made the NCAA Tournament, and the national champion finished in a tie for ninth, 10th and 11th. I know good teams. Oregon State, Oregon, Colorado, SC, those teams winning is just not a surprise at all to me. It's just not a surprise.
 
“I know we didn't have great early season stuff. But that's COVID and scheduling was way against us. And the West Coast, our teams, we didn't have the whole summer where the rest of the country had workouts in the summer. We didn't. So I think the Pac-12, the teams we played down the stretch has really prepared us for the NCAA Tournament. I was just concerned with getting the first win because Michigan State at Purdue where they're going to have more fans than us, you know, in a gym they're comfortable in. I thought if we could get by that game we could get some momentum. I don't know who we play in the next game. Everybody is good at this point. But it's really about us now. Our guys are extremely connected. So we've just got to continue with our focus on whatever it takes to win.”
 
on not double-teaming Matt Haarms in the post and what went into that decision, as well as UCLA’s strategy once BYU started to shadow Johnny Juzang
“Correct. First, your question would be the obvious answer, right? You’ve got to ask me, but I know you know it. We wanted to not give up a bunch of 3s. I thought a team like BYU, the 3-point shot is their fuel. They almost beat Gonzaga, whatever it was, 10 days ago because they came out raining them in. And they also count for one more point than a Haarms bucket on the interior. So that was our philosophy. If they scored a few buckets inside, we were going to live with it. We were just doing everything we could to try to disrupt their offense and take away the 3-point shot.
 
“With Johnny, when they went into denial, what you do is you use that guy as a screener because his man can't switch off. Then whoever comes off his screen is going to be wide open. And we had some guys at the basket. Obviously, Tyger had a rough night. If he makes open shots, we win 20-plus. But I want to mention David [Singleton]. David gave us some big minutes today. He's a great kid. I'm really happy for him. He's a really, really good kid.
 
on why he gave an enthusiastic fist pump after David Singleton had made a mid-range shot (which led to a timeout)
“For this team, we are from Southern California. So, at times I have to do everything I can to inject some intensity. Now Coach Palmer would tell you where he's from, Compton, a little bit tougher. So he helps with it.
Our coaching staff, we just know with our guys, again, we don't have any seniors. So we're just trying to make sure that they're dialed up and that they're an aggressive mindset. Then the other thing is just belief and having fun. I mean, look, this has been brutal on these kids. It's been brutal on everybody. Indianapolis is such a great city. I've been here a million times, being from Cincinnati. It would be so nice to go out and get something to eat. I'd like to take a walk. My whole family's here. I can't see them. So we've got to try to have some semblance of fun. And tonight was a very fun game for me as well as the guys.”
 
on what impressed him the most about Johnny Juzang
“That's what I would say, Coach Lewis and I were messing with him. He's in trouble. He's in trouble because we know what he's capable of defensively. There was a play where Jules and Jaime had the same guy because they run their offense so fast. And Johnny guarded the guy by the rim and the guy in the weak-side corner. He was watching them both. And the passer was trying to figure out who am I going to throw to. And Johnny, he was messing with him, he was locked in. Again, Johnny is young. Last year he should have been a senior in high school. He's improved immensely. Part of it with him is it's my job to teach him how to do that stuff. And it takes time to train stuff. But he obviously had a huge game for us.
 
on having many talented offensive players and if it can be difficult to get players to share the ball
“No, that's really never an issue with my teams. I think the guys understand we're going to play to win. The open man is the go-to man. But there's times [with] my guys, the more they get to play for me, they know like there's a time where we talk about mismatches and guys we feel like we can attack defensively, meaning we can get certain guys on the other team where we feel we can get them isolated, and that the guys know that it's at that point that's what we work on. We spend a lot of time on individual instruction. That's your time to score, get fouled or create a shot for somebody when you can get, when we go to you in that situation. So yes, a lot of that is by design. We are trying to pick our poison, whether it's – we got Jaime a few post-ups, got him some shots early. He was hot. The guys understand that. They know I'm trying to go to the mismatch. And they know just because we go to you, your job is to score, if you can create a bucket. But if they help, you've got to be a passer. And when you play small you've got to be good on offense. Jaime is a guard and we play four guards. If you're not good on offense, you can't play small because we don't block a lot of shots. We were pesky with our lack of size tonight. And that's how we've got to be defensively.”
 
on how proud he was of this team to step up in the rebounding department
“We were plus-6 in second-chance points, so that's what really matters. They got a few on us. Caleb Lohner hurt us in the first half. He had four but he had none in the second half. You have to switch so much because they're so hard to defend with their pace-and-space offense, that you've got – first half we got Johnny and different guys trying to block out Caleb Lohner. And then we had our big man really semi trap in pick and rolls, so it's hard for him to get back sometimes to some of their bigger guys, whether it was Harward or Haarms. When you play defense aggressively, it exposes your defensive backboard. As you can see, we're much better the last second half of the Michigan State game and this game when we're aggressive on defense. But it's going to affect you because you get spread out more, so it's harder to hold down the defensive backboard. And somebody asked it earlier, but Jaime's rebound late was big time, big time.
 
on Abilene Christian having defeated Texas (game went final during the press conference)
“They're showing me the score. Well, I owe Darren Savino lunch because he's scouting Abilene Christian and he told me they were going to win. And I saw their record is tremendous. I don't know what it is. You guys probably know it. So, Darren said that. And then I turned to T.J. Wolf on my staff and he said, ‘Coach, he's right. They force 20 turnovers a game. They're really, really good.’ That was just in passing. Obviously they have a great coach. Somebody forces 20 turnovers a game, that's unbelievable. I mean somebody just told me Texas had 23 turnovers. And they got senior – they got Jones, Ramey. They've got serious guards now, Matt Coleman. And they turn the ball over that many times? That means Abilene Christian is really, really good. That's all I can say.”
 
UCLA sophomore guard Johnny Juzang
on Jaime Jaquez Jr. corralling a rebound late in the second half from 7-foot-3 Matt Haarms
“I guess the rebound with Jaime, man, we got guys on this team, everybody on this team wants to win. And we wanted to lay it out there every night to get that done. We’ve got some warriors on this team, and we're going to try to keep that going, playing with heart and leaving it out there, because any game could be your last one. So we know that. And we want to win. So just leaving it out there.”
 
on coming back from the right ankle injury and making a bunch of shots, particularly in the first half
“Yeah, I mean, we've done a great job with the treatment and just taking care of it around the clock. So, you know, grateful to have such a good staff and trainer. So luckily we came out tonight feeling great.”
 
on what it meant to have this kind of March moment, with fans yelling as you left the court and after a postgame TV interview
“It's a great feeling. This is what we live for. This is the height of college basketball, March Madness and playing for the Bruins, I'm from Los Angeles, playing with a lot of guys I've known and a lot of – everybody, we're all brothers. Putting on this jersey with my brothers and coming out playing for the home team. And able to make everybody on the team proud and everybody in the stands, it's a great feeling to bring home wins for the UCLA Bruins. We have a great team. I just love going out there with my brothers.”
 
on how much more confident this team is with wins over Michigan State and BYU, after having lost four straight
“It's tough losing consecutive games. But again we've got great coaches and a tough group of guys who everybody really wants to win. So I think the Michigan State was a nice reminder of that and what we're capable of. So definitely great for morale. Definitely great for morale. But a reminder, coming into that game we had some great practices, really, really great practices, and really shaped up to get news the right mindset going into that game and that game was great for the confidence, like Coach said.”
 
on if he starts to think that the Bruins may have something special going on here
“You know, a win like this, it's great for morale but we know we're not finished. Nobody's satisfied. So we know what we're capable of but nobody's satisfied. We want to keep this going and we don't plan on going home.”
 
on Johnny, Jules and Jaime pulling through offensively and keeping the pressure on BYU
“Oh man, everybody on this team, especially, I think you could see it now more than ever, really trusts each other. We have guys who can go, guys who can play so it makes it easy for everybody. We knew coming into the second half I was going to be a focal point for BYU's defense. So, just doing whatever I can, whether that's just spacing the floor and keeping my guy so we can play four-on-four and spacing the floor, or whether I'm setting screens to get guys open, due to the lack of help off of me. It's great. It's great having guys you can trust and lean on and they got it done. All credit to them.”
 
on if the team felt a bit slighted for having to play in the “First Four” of this tournament
“The way that we saw it, it was an extra game to go out and compete. We just want to win. We just saw it as an extra game and to do our thing. So, I would say we had a competitive mindset about it. Michigan State, great program. So just another great opportunity. But we definitely just want to keep this thing rolling.”
 
on how his performance on Thursday in the second half could have carried over into this game
“I wouldn't say really anything with the individual performance had anything to do with it. So I'm just, I mean, literally I'm just trying to come out and fight and compete and leave my heart on the floor. And that's what everybody in that locker room is trying to do. As a team we're just trying to leave it on the floor. So whatever that takes, whether it's scoring or defense, rebounding, communication, leadership, anything is what we're trying to do. So I wouldn't really say the scoring performance had much to do.”
 
on if there ever was any doubt that he was going to play, after having sprained his ankle on Thursday
“No, there was no doubt. You know, it's March Madness. So it's do or die. I mean, I knew I was playing. Went down pretty good. But, again, we did some nice stuff. It was icing around the clock and treatment and strengthening and balance and keeping mobility in the ankle, but also keeping the swelling down from the jump and getting that better and better while simultaneously keeping the motion and strength. We were very diligent and we'll continue to do so. It felt great.”
 
on if there are some things now taking place that had not been there before for this team
“I mean, I don't know, you see behind me, it's March Madness. It's March Madness. So these are the moments as players we live for and I just love to compete. I love to compete.”
 
on developing trust with teammates and how that has developed
“Well, I think before we came to Indiana, we did a great job of preparation. I think we really came in after some great practices and just really came in with the right mentality and cohesion coming into Indiana. And I think we came together more than ever with those practices. And I think that's where it started. And also just the way this is laid out, it's win or go home. And I think that we've taken that the right way and we have to continue to do so. But we've taken it the right way, realizing that all we've got is each other. All we've got is each other, who is within this program. So we just gotta roll the dice and trust each other, which I think we've done. Everybody likes each other. Everybody on this team, we've got great chemistry. All we've got is each other. So we just go out and do it together.”
 
on having scored 50 points, between two NCAA Tournament games (second to only Lew Alcindor and Reggie Miller at UCLA in their first two tournament games) and what that means to him
“That's an honor. Those are some legendary names. It's an honor to be mentioned with them, no doubt. And, again, we're not done. We're not finished. So I'm happy I've been able to contribute in that category. But we're not satisfied. So we're going to keep – lock in and keep going and leave it out there as a team.”

The Box

 Team Stats 

post-BYU

Media availability Mar 19, 2021

Thanks to UCLA Athletics for the videos

UCLA 2020-21 won't be denied! These Bruins beat MSU in OT 86-80 to crash into the dancefloor! Will tango with BYU on Sat!

 CTTO

Tom Izzo (thanks to UCLA78 for the link!)

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | March 18, 2021

UCLA Storms Back, Tops Michigan St. in NCAA First Four

uclabruins.com/WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored a career-high 27 points and Johnny Juzang added 23 points as the No. 11-seeded UCLA men's basketball team recorded a come-from-behind 86-80 overtime victory over No. 11-seeded Michigan State on Thursday night in a "First Four" contest of the NCAA Tournament at Mackey Arena.
 
The Bruins (18-9) trailed by 11 points at halftime, but stormed back late to force overtime before dominating the extra session to take the win.
 
UCLA closed the game on a 14-3 run, notching the program's first overtime win in the NCAA Tournament since taking down top-seeded Cincinnati in double-OT by a score of 105-101 on Mar. 17, 2002. It was the Bruins' first win in any NCAA Tournament game since Mar. 19, 2017, also against Cincinnati.
 
Four separate Bruins finished in double figures on Thursday, led by Jaquez Jr.'s career-best night. Junior guard Jules Bernard (11 points, eight rebounds) and redshirt junior forward Cody Riley (11 points, six rebounds) also had solid two-way performances.
 
Michigan State (15-13) was paced by forward Aaron Henry's 18 points.

"We huddled up at halftime as a coaching staff and tried to turn up the heat defensively in the second half and tried to make them uncomfortable as much as we could," said Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. "The kids responded and I thought our intensity level obviously went way up in the second half defensively."
 
Juzang scored the first four points of overtime, putting UCLA up for good after opening the extra session with a post-up lay-up. He drove in from the left wing on the following possession and hit a running jumper to make it a four-point game for the Bruins. The Spartans would never get closer than three points the rest of way.
 
Trailing by double-digits heading into the locker room at halftime, the Bruins wasted no time getting back in the game once the second half started, going on a 9-2 run out of the gate to cut the deficit to four at 46-42. UCLA would stay within double digits from there on out.
 
The Bruins took their first lead since early in the first half after Jules Bernard absorbed contact and connected on a left-handed layup to make it 67-66 with 5:48 remaining in the second half, setting up a back-and-forth battle down the stretch.
 
UCLA found itself trailing, 77-72, with 1:29 remaining after a pair of Henry free throw makes, but the Bruins would score the final five points of the half to send it to overtime.
 
A spectacular individual effort from Jaquez Jr. produced the game-tying play. After missing the front end of a one-and-one, Jaquez pounced on his own rebound to create a second chance possession for the Bruins. A few moments later, sophomore guard Tyger Campbell found Jaquez Jr. down low, and he sunk a layup while absorbing contact to get sent to the line with a chance to tie the game. Jaquez Jr. converted on the ensuing free throw, and UCLA got a stop on the other end to end regulation in a 77-77 deadlock.

Michigan State used a balanced offensive attack – four different players scored seven points or more, and the team shot 56.7% from the field – to control the first half. Jaquez Jr. kept the Bruins afloat with a team-high 14 points in the opening half. 
 
The Bruins advance to face No. 6-seeded BYU in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, Mar. 20. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. PT. The game will be televised nationally on CBS.

Postgame Quotes – UCLA 86, Michigan State 80 (OT)

POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 86, Michigan State 80 (OT)
West Lafayette, Ind.
March 18, 2021

Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
opening statement
“Well, obviously happy with our guys. We've been through a tough year with injuries and losing guys and then recently struggled to close some games out and – despite playing well at times. So the players really needed this. So I'm really, really happy for the guys. They've been battling hard and really concerned with their confidence being shook after what we've gone through in the last few weeks. Pac-12 obviously didn't help us, making us go to Oregon in our last week, put us on a three-game road trip. Lost Johnny for the USC game. And then Oregon State got on a roll, and we missed free throws and lost that one. So our confidence was definitely shaken.
 
“We were trying, as a coaching staff, make sure we pumped them up as much as we could getting ready for tonight. But Michigan State came out playing well. Their offensive execution in the first half was as good as I've seen them. Their shooting, their passing. They pretty much got whatever they wanted against us. We huddled up at halftime as a coaching staff and tried to turn up the heat defensively in the second half and tried to make them uncomfortable as much as we could. The kids responded and I thought our intensity level obviously went way up in the second half defensively. Got a lot of contributions. Obviously, Jaime and Johnny put the ball in the basket for us. But Jaylen Clark, I thought, gave us some big minutes as well. But obviously a great win. And a great game, two storied programs. I've got as much respect for Tom Izzo as anybody in the business. So big win for us.”
 
on what it tells him about his team the way they came back from 14 down to win in overtime
 “Well, you know that's Bruin basketball now. For me, it used to be Bearcat basketball. I just told the team we won the game on offensive rebound. We tied the game on an offensive rebound, got the loose ball, tipped it, got it, got an and-one to tie the game. That's the type of stuff that are hallmarks of winning programs. Tom Izzo's team's been doing those things for a long time. So in our quest to build our culture and our toughness, for me it was really fitting that we won that way and we had to come back. But it just shows you, these games are never over. Anybody can win these games. They're neutral sites. Everybody is in quarantine. The kids playing in this tournament, I mean all these teams are playing out of their minds. And I can promise you it's not the same for the kids.”
 
on what it meant to see his dad after the game
“It's good to see him. He's getting old. I'm teasing – I talk to him every day. I wake up and as I'm heading down Sepulveda I call him, ask him how the weather is in Cincinnati. I explain to him the sun is coming over the Santa Monica Mountains. I put my sunglasses on. I mess with him every day. I have not seen my dad since our Arizona State win last year at the end of February. COVID hit, he canceled his flight to Vegas. Trying to stay safe, not traveling on airplanes. So talking to somebody every day. It's weird to see him. You've got to remember, this guy, last year – I know he lives in Cincinnati, but he's flying out every month spending a week with me. So it was great. Now I get to see him again.”
 
on what it means to see his team have confidence to come back and win
 “You know, obviously I coach at a place where the best coach ever used to sit in the chair. Coach Wooden said greatness is giving your best effort. He never talked about winning or losing. I was concerned with our effort in the first half. I didn't talk about – I really don't talk about winning or losing a lot with these guys. I try to talk to them about their effort. And trying to build our program and trying to get them to understand there's a difference between effort and winning effort, championship effort. So we talked about our effort. That was really our concern at halftime. You're on this stage against Michigan State, down the street from not far from Lansing. They haven't had to travel. We're coming across the country, all the above. It's not an excuse. There's 40 minutes and you've got to give your best effort. That really was our concern.”

on playing this game in John Wooden’s home gym
“I couldn't find the statue the other night when we got up here to practice. It was so late. Didn't start practice until 9:30. Only allowed down certain hallways. There's people with signs, can't go here, can't go there. I understand it all. But I think we're done playing here, so I've got to try to see that statue before I leave. But maybe Coach's luck was with us.
I have to text his son, text Jim down in Orange County. Hopefully he was watching tonight. Hopefully Coach gave us some luck, give us some made 3s, made free throws, but I think we were due for some luck as well. It's been a rough couple of weeks for us. The ball's not bounced our way at all. But for me it's cool to be the UCLA coach. It's extremely cool for me. But to have this win here, with his jersey up there, now that you talk about it, maybe he was looking down on us.”
 
on if there was a concern about not being too familiar with the arena
 “Very much a concern. Also the proximity to Lansing, to travel, everything. But, like I said earlier, there's a game, there's a clock and a score. 40 minutes and it's all at 0. So try to build my program to where those things don't matter. Excuses are – they may be valid, but it didn't give them any extra points.”
 
on Jaime Jaquez’s performance
 “Well, obviously, first of all, the game plan, I thought we had a big advantage with him. I thought that Hall and Hauser would struggle to guard him. So going in he knew I was coming his way with a lot of stuff. But one thing about Jaime that I knew was important, when I took the job, I knew Jaime had already signed. And I had seen him and made a veiled attempt at recruiting him. He's way too smart. He wasn't going to turn down UCLA. But I know what the competitor that he is. So none of it – Jaime is almost better when we're down. He's got tremendous heart. But I thought he had some favorable matchups and late they put Henry – what we did – Coach Izzo went smaller and put Aaron Henry on him to try to stop him. So Johnny got it going as well. But we were going to have to score some points, guys, because the way they played offensively, to catch them, we were going to have to get the ball in the basket.”
 
on winning this game
 “Whenever you're trying to build a program, right, it builds belief in your locker room. When we play with – we play with championship effort that we can win games. And this is what it's going to take. This is what it's going to take. Our reward is we get to play BYU, which is going to be no small task. They play well. They're up 12 on Gonzaga. I was home watching that game. I thought they might have had them. So that's our reward. But from, obviously from a program standpoint, when you take over a program, there's no tournament last year – we were going to make it and it was taken away from the kids. So I speak for all coaches: It's so nice to be able to have the kids get a chance to do this. But when you're building a program it's obviously a big win for us, a step forward in the right direction. But we've got more work to do, guys.”
 
on Jaylen Clark’s contribution
 “I thought there's no way we win without Jaylen Clark. We have to play some small ball. Mac should be in high school. So he's doing his best. But the toughness and intensity that Jaylen Clark, that's why I signed him. I should have listened to his AAU coach when I got the job. He told me that Jaylen Clark needs to play for you, [that] you guys were made for each other. You've just got to have competitors on your team. With that said, he made a couple really good plays to be able to jump in a game he doesn't ever practice at the 5 spot. He had a couple of nice offensive reads of their defense where he made some really good plays. He scored a bucket. He assisted on another bucket. And then his defense and rebounding is always on point. So he was huge for us.”
 
sophomore guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr.
on what it says about this team coming back to win in overtime
“I think it says a lot about our team and our resilience that we have. We knew coming out of the first half that’s not the half of basketball that we are used to playing. We knew we had to come out in the second half with a different energy, defensive mindset and try to get steals in transition.”
 
on what was going through his mind down five with 90 seconds left
“Win the game. It’s a lot of time left on the clock. You can do a lot in those 90 seconds. I wasn’t thinking about losing this game. I didn’t think there was any chance that we couldn’t come back to win. Winning was on my mind the entire time.”
 
on having an advantage over Michigan State due to playing in more overtime games this season
“I think that was an advantage towards us because that’s a position we’ve been used to playing in. Like you said, we’ve been in a lot of overtime games, and when we get into overtime we know that’s when we have to turn up the heat and really win this game.”
 
on having a career night on the biggest stage of the NCAA Tournament
“It’s just a big stage. As a kid, everyone dreams about playing in this tournament. This is March Madness. I know it might be corny, but you can feel the madness when you’re in the gym even when we had as many fans as we did. You felt the energy. The energy was there. It was live. We’re playing in John Wooden’s home court. That definitely meant something to us, to come in here and get the win for him. But this is the greatest time of year for a college basketball player.”
 
if there was a mission for him to get going early
“I don’t think it was a mission for me trying to score the ball. I think it was more of a mission doing whatever I can to help the team win. Tonight, that was scoring. I try to play as best the defense I could tonight. Get deflections, try to get steals, blocked shots, rebounds, everything. So my determination coming into this game was to do whatever it takes to win.”
 
on the history of John Wooden at this place
“When we practiced here it was pretty late at night. So we kind of just went in and got out. But as UCLA basketball players, we know the history of John Wooden and what he meant to this school and to UCLA. Coming in here was something really special.”
 
on Coach Cronin
“I think tonight we showed the resiliency that we have. He’s a really tough coach. He’s hard on us, but he brings out the best in us as you saw tonight. We were down 14 in the first half and then we come back and win the game in overtime. I think that game really showed what type of coach he is and how he’s never going to give up on us.”
 
sophomore guard Jules Bernard
on how good it felt to get the win and snap a four-game losing streak
“It was a big win for us. Obviously, it picked up our spirits. We had a rough few weeks with four losses in a row, but to come out and play a team who has beat three top-five teams, I believe, we knew that they were a good team, despite their record. They’re going to play physical. So it was a great win. You know, it’s definitely some momentum to take into the next game.”
 
on the team’s mindset headed to overtime
“To be honest, you know, this is our game – that was our mindset. And that was the only way that we were going to win, if we believed we were going to win. We did the small things on defense – you know, getting to loose balls, getting rebounds, making big plays on the offensive end. You know, Cody and J-Rock [Jaylen Clark] came up with two big offensive rebounds. It was just a mindset that we had coming into overtime.”
 
on the performance of Jaime Jaquez Jr.
“He balled out. He had a great game. He had a mismatch that we knew he could take on, and he got buckets tonight. He was hitting shots. He was doing the small things. He was getting deflections, so I’m super proud of him.”
 
on getting his first career NCAA Tournament win
“It feels good, you know, first game – first win. But, we knew that we’re not done here. We have a lot to look forward to. And we are coming into the next game trying to be prepared and looking to win another one.”

The Box

 

Media Availability March 17, 2021 prior to MSU game tomorrow

 CTTO

Men's Basketball March 15, 2021

Bruins Set to Face Michigan State on Thursday

uclabruins.com/INDIANAPOLIS – UCLA will make its 50th all-time appearance at the NCAA Tournament this week. The No. 11-seed Bruins (17-9) will take on No. 11-seed Michigan State (15-12) on Thursday night at Purdue's Mackey Arena (West Lafayette, Ind.). UCLA's matchup on Thursday is one of four "First Four" contests in this season's NCAA Tournament. The winner of this Thursday's showdown will face No. 6-seed BYU on Saturday evening.

 
Through the program's previous 49 NCAA Tournament appearances, UCLA has gone 106-42 with a nation-leading 11 NCAA Championships. UCLA won 10 of those 11 NCAA titles from 1964-75, including a streak of seven consecutive national championships from 1967 through 1973 (under the late Coach John Wooden). UCLA most recently advanced to the NCAA Tournament (First Four) in 2018. The Bruins have not reached the Final Four since three consecutive trips in 2006, 2007 and 2008 under former head coach Ben Howland. Head coach Mick Cronin, in his second season at UCLA, has now led Murray State, Cincinnati and UCLA to NCAA Tournaments in 18 seasons as a collegiate head coach.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Mackey Arena (West Lafayette, Indiana)
Game Time: 6:57 p.m. PT (9:57 p.m. ET)
Television: TBS
TV Talent: Brian Anderson (play-by-play), Jim Jackson (analyst), Allie LaForce (sideline)
Radio (UCLA Sports Network): AM 570
Radio Talent: Josh Lewin (play-by-play), Tracy Murray (analyst)
SIRIUS and XM Radio Channels: Ch. 206 / Ch. 206
SIRIUSXM Internet Channel: Ch. 206
 
ACCESSING GAME NOTES
All men's basketball game notes are available online (link: https://ucla.in/3m8vfrm). In an effort to reduce wasted paper, UCLA Athletics encourages individuals to view game notes online (via laptop, tablet or a mobile device). The link above also provides access to PDF versions of game notes from opposing teams, as well as PDF versions from the previous three men's basketball seasons.
 
ABOUT THE BRUINS
- UCLA went 13-6 in Pac-12 play this season, winning their first eight conference contests.
- The Bruins are making their 50th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, their first since 2018.
- Mick Cronin is currently midway through his second season as the Bruins' head coach (36-21 record in two years).
- None of UCLA's players who will be suiting up on Thursday have ever played in the NCAA Tournament.
- Dating back to last season, UCLA has won 20 of its past 27 Pac-12 contests (and 28 of 40 overall games).
- Not including Chris Smith (injured), UCLA has five active players who have averaged at least 10.0 points per game.
- UCLA ranked No. 3 in the Pac-12 in fewest turnovers per game (11.1) and fewest fouls committed per game (16.0).
- The Bruins ranked No. 3 among all Pac-12 programs in 3-point percentage (36.7%), trailing Oregon and Arizona.
- The Bruins have committed fewer fouls than their opponent in 21 of 26 games this season.
 
INDIVIDUAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- Tyger Campbell (first team), Jaime Jaquez Jr. (second team) and Johnny Juzang (second team) earned All-Pac-12 honors.
- Tyger Campbell (10.5 ppg, 5.6 apg) ranks No. 2 in the Pac-12 in assists per game and No. 4 in assist-turnover ratio (2.8).
- Tyger Campbell (34.0) and Jaime Jaquez Jr. (33.8) have ranked No. 4 and 7, respectively, in the Pac-12 in minutes/game.
- Tyger Campbell has secured first-team NABC All-District honors (one of five players to earn first team acclaim).
- Johnny Juzang leads all Pac-12 players in free throw percentage (93.3%, 42 of 45), headed into the NCAA Tournament.
- David Singleton ranks No. 3 in the Pac-12 in 3-point percentage (45.9%, 34-for-74), through Monday, March 15.
 
10 CONSECUTIVE
Mick Cronin is one of just five coaches to have led his teams to the past 10 NCAA Tournaments. That includes nine consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances as the head coach at Cincinnati (2011-19). Joining Cronin on that list are Mark Few (Gonzaga), Tom Izzo (Michigan State), Bill Self (Kansas) and Roy Williams (North Carolina).
 
NOT OUR FIRST FOUR
UCLA advanced to the NCAA Tournament's "First Four" in March of 2018, marking the program's most recent NCAA Tournament appearance. The Bruins lost to St. Bonaventure, 65-58, on March 13, 2018 at the University of Dayton (UD Arena). Chris Smith is UCLA's only player on this year's roster to have been on that team.This marks the Bruins' second apperance at the "First Four" since the NCAA adopted the current 68-team format in 2011.
 
UCLA vs. MICHIGAN STATE
The Bruins have gone 6-4 against Michigan State in an all-time series that began in 1952. Most recently, Michigan State defeated UCLA (75-62) in the 2019 Maui Invitational and at the 2018 Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational (Michigan State won, 87-67, in Nov. 2018 at Orleans Arena). Last season's matchup in Maui was the first time one of Mick Cronin's teams faced Michigan State and head coach Tom Izzo. Prior to those two matchups (2018, 2019), UCLA edged Michigan State (78-76) in the first round of the 2011 NCAA Tournament in Tampa, Fla. (only previous NCAA Tournament meeting).
 
A CLOSER LOOK
Chris Smith scored a team-high 13 points off the bench in last season's 75-62 loss to Michigan State on the final day of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational. Cody Riley had 11 points, while Tyger Campbell and Prince Ali each totaled 10 points. The Bruins out-rebounded the Spartans by a 33-22 margin and trailed at halftime, 26-23.
 
THE LAST TIME OUT
UCLA absorbed an 83-79 loss in overtime to Oregon State in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament on Thursday, March 11 (at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas). Jules Bernard finished with team-highs in scoring (19 points) and rebounding (10 rebounds). UCLA led 32-16 with two minutes to play in the first half and was ahead at the intermission, 34-24. Oregon State overcame a 69-65 deficit in the game's final 45 seconds and the two teams were deadlocked (70-70) at the conclusion of the second half. Oregon State shot 57.7 percent in the second half against UCLA last Thursday.
 
SINCE 1985, SWEET 16
In March of 2017, the Bruins advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 (regional semifinals) for the 14th time since the tournament field expanded to at least 64 teams, starting in 1985. Previous Sweet 16 trips (since 1985) have occurred in 1990, 1992, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2014, 2015 and 2017. Through those 14 appearances, the Bruins have posted a 6-8 record with four trips to the Final Four (1995, 2006, 2007 and 2008). In the four most recent trips to the Final Four, UCLA has compiled a 3-3 record (including the 1995 NCAA title). Overall, UCLA has advanced to 49 NCAA Tournaments and 18 NCAA Final Fours and won a nation-leading 11 NCAA Championships.
 
MOST RECENT "SWEET 16"
UCLA advanced to the Sweet 16 in March 2017 for the third time in four seasons. Through that four-year span (2014-2017), the Bruins were just the sixth team in the country to have earned at least three Sweet 16 trips. Joining UCLA on that six-team list included Arizona, Gonzaga, Kentucky, North Carolina and Wisconsin. As the No. 3 seed in the 2017 tournament's South Region (Sacramento, Calif.), UCLA downed Kent State in a first round contest (97-80) before taking down Cincinnati two days later (79-67). The Bruins' season ended in the Sweet 16, as No. 2-seed Kentucky outlasted UCLA, 86-75, at FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn. That marked UCLA's fourth game against Kentucky in four seasons.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
The winner of Thursday night's nationally-televised contest between UCLA and Michigan State will face BYU on Saturday night in Indianapolis. Similar to Michigan State, the Bruins faced BYU in last season's Maui Jim Maui Invitational. UCLA lost to BYU (78-63) in the first contest for both teams on the island of Maui (Nov. 25, 2019). UCLA trailed BYU at halftime, 36-32, and took a 52-51 lead with just over 11 minutes to play in the second half. BYU closed the game on a 27-11 scoring run to record the first-round victory. Jules Bernard scored a team-high 16 points for the Bruins.
 
THE ALL-TIME SERIES
UCLA has registered a 12-12 all-time record against BYU. Prior to last season's non-conference tilt at the Maui Jim Maui Invitational, the Bruins had secured an 86-79 win over BYU at the Honda Center (as part of the John Wooden Classic) on Dec. 18, 2010. The two schools first faced off during the 1929-30 season.
 
STREAK SNAPPED
UCLA's 18-game home winning streak ended in the regular-season finale (lost to USC, 64-63). USC's Tahj Eaddy hit a 3-pointer from the corner with 1.4 seconds left on the clock. The Bruins had won 18 consecutive home games prior to that contest. That 18-game streak began with a 50-40 win against California on Jan. 19, 2020. The Bruins' 18-game home winning streak marked the program's best such streak (at home) since logging 25 consecutive home victories from Feb. 2006 through Nov. 2007. Most recently, UCLA had a perfect home record in 2006-07, going 16-0 in Pauley Pavilion.
 
UCLA IN INDIANA
The Bruins are playing their first NCAA Tournament games in the state of Indiana since the 2006 Final Four, hosted that season at the RCA Dome (home of the NFL's Indianapolis Colts from 1984-2007). In 2006, UCLA downed LSU in the national semifinal (59-45) and lost to Florida (73-57) in the championship contest. Thursday's game against Michigan State will mark UCLA's first game at Purdue's Mackey Arena since Dec. 30, 2001, when the Bruins outlasted Purdue, 87-82. Last season, the Bruins played at Notre Dame in a non-conference showdown (Notre Dame won, 75-61).
 
COACH WOODEN'S ALMA MATER
John Wooden served as UCLA's head coach for 27 season (1948-49 through 1974-75), winning 10 NCAA titles in Westwood. Coach Wooden graduated from Purdue in 1932, securing All-America honors on the basketball team from 1930-32. He served as Purdue's team captain in 1931 and 1932.