Gonzaga survives thrilling UCLA battle; title game vs. Baylor looms

You stored ready for the dam to interrupt and it by no means did. Not within the first half. Not deep into the second half. Not even in extra time. UCLA stored buying and selling punches with No. 1 Gonzaga and never backing down.

Surely, the unbeaten Bulldogs had been going to make considered one of its patented runs and draw back. That run by no means got here.

Gonzaga would take the the lead. UCLA would reply with a 3. The Bulldogs hit two baskets in a row. The Bruins knock down a troublesome, fade-away jumper within the lane.

Even when Gonzaga pushed its result in seven within the second half — its largest of the game — UCLA responded with six factors in a row. The Bruins would finally lead by two with lower than three minutes.

It was crunch time for the Bulldogs. They had been going through a strain that hadn’t all yr. Not solely would possibly they miss out on successful the college’s first nationwide title, they might lose their probability at historical past by turning into the primary group since Indiana in 1976 to complete the season with no loss.

They battled again to tie the game. It would go to extra time and an inconceivable three-pointer by Jalen Suggs would win the game for Gonzaga 93-90 at the buzzer.

Now comes the massive query. Was this an indication of cracks in Gonzaga or was this precisely what the Bulldogs wanted earlier than Monday’s national championship showdown with Baylor?

You could not blame the Bulldogs for being a bit overconfident when the game tipped. UCLA was the very best seed to achieve the Final Four, matching 4 others that began the match as a No. 11. None of the earlier 4 had received their semifinal game.

Gonzaga, a 14-point favourite, had received 27 consecutive video games by double figures. The solely considered one of its 30 earlier victories that was by single digits got here Dec. 2 towards West Virginia.

They rapidly discovered that this was not going to be a straightforward evening.

There shall be no overconfidence Monday evening towards Baylor. The Bears’ dismantling of Houston within the different nationwide semifinal would have been sufficient to get Gonzaga’s consideration.

With UCLA pushing all of it the best way, the Bulldogs might really feel their match within the stability, however Gonzaga can draw energy from the way it performed down the stretch.

Drew Timme stepped up on an enormous defensive play on the finish of regulation by drawing a cost then opened extra time together with his group’s first six factors. Andrew Nembhard hit a clutch three. And then Suggs closed the present.

They did reply the query about whether or not they might deal with the strain of the second. They did not again down.

However, there have been authentic considerations raised. UCLA constantly minimize by way of its perimeter protection with Johnny Juzang and Jaime Jaquez Jr. driving the ball to the basket. Cody Riley was typically open on pick-and-rolls and constantly hit open jumpers.

Baylor is much more in a position to exploit these weaknesses. Davion Mitchell’s capacity to get into the lane is pretty much as good as anybody within the nation. The duty of stopping him will fall to Suggs. The Bears have greater than Mitchell, nevertheless. They have a cadre of shooters than can hit threes to create area. It’s doable we see a repeat of this superb semifinal with each groups going shot for shot.

We must be so fortunate. This was a traditional on par with Duke’s wins towards UNLV in 1991 and Kentucky 1992 and the title game between Villanova and North Carolina in 2016. What distinguishes these video games from different memorable ones is that each groups performed at such a excessive degree.

Simply put, UCLA introduced out one of the best in Gonzaga. The Bulldogs are nonetheless right here. But their hardest take a look at would possibly nonetheless await.

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