It had Michigan State as a sudden marksman surging ahead 40-26 not long before halftime, UCLA nudging ahead 67-66 with 5:46 left in an impressive recovery from recent woes, Michigan State pulling back ahead 73-67 two minutes thereafter, and UCLA tying the game at 77 with 29 seconds left when it rebounded its own missed free throw, passed the ball around beautifully and found Jaime Jaquez Jr. on the low right post for a layup and an and-one.
What to know about the NCAA tournament
Then it had an overtime, when UCLA quickly built an 81-77 cushion when Johnny Juzang worked his way beautifully to an eight-foot swish and then wreaked more beauty with a drive through the left to score again. The Bruins (18-9) led from there. After struggling to score lately and in the first half, they had gotten fine playmaking again and again, especially from Jaime Jaquez Jr. with his 27 points and Juzang with his 23.
All of it ended the four-game losing streak with which the Bruins had sputtered into the tournament.
“We’ve been through a tough year,” UCLA Coach Mick Cronin said, “with injuries and losing guys and then recently struggled to close some games out, despite playing well at times. So the players really needed this.” He soon added, “Our confidence was definitely shaken.”
“I mean, we had the game won,” Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo said. “And we made some of the same mistakes we’ve made two or three times this year in critical situations. And I thought we played incredibly well offensively and incredibly poor defensively. And give them a lot of credit.”
Of course, there was that matter of the game ending at 12:46 a.m.
Oh, how the mighty have . . . had to do things they don’t normally do.
The NCAA tournament selection committee had seen their dour midwinter and UCLA’s sour late winter and had slid the two of them into a “play-in” collision with a Michigan State program boating 10 Final Fours (seven this century) on its résumé and a UCLA program with 18 (three this century). Yet right off the bat, the Spartans’ field goal percentage, at which the NCAA stats sneered with a national ranking of No. 251, and their dreadful midwinter showings against Minnesota (25.7 percent), Rutgers (28.6) and Ohio State (32.1), seemed bygones.
To say hello to Izzo’s 23rd NCAA tournament — one title, one runner-up finish, eight Final Fours — the Spartans made their first four shots. They made 10 of their first 17, 14 of their first 23 and 16 of their first 26. They spread the scoring around between their lone double-digit scorer this season, Aaron Henry, and a cast of others. They looked like they’d go to 16-12 rather than their ultimate 15-13. Nobody had more than eight points as they built that 40-26 lead, and only a closing three-point shot before halftime by They built a 40-26 lead, and things got to 44-33 at halftime only through a closing three-point shot by UCLA’s Jaquez.
Of course, the night differed drastically from Marches past.
A nine-percent capacity of fans, about 1,350, dotted Purdue’s storied arena on John R. Wooden Drive, about 65 miles northwest of downtown Indianapolis.
In the run-up to both games, a scoreboard video showed clips of the barrenness of March 2020, when everything got canceled, then continued with the rebirth, including the passage, “In forty-nine states, it’s just basketball, but this is Indiana!” The time gaps between games have widened considerably, and between Drake’s gnarly 53-52 win over Wichita State in the opener and the Michigan State-UCLA game, small armies of cleanup crews readied outside on the concourse, waiting to enter to give Mackey Arena a scrubbing.
About 90 minutes after the cleaning began, after 10 p.m., two programs so familiar to college basketball wackos got going together.
“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 (a small number) as we did,” Jaquez said. “You felt the energy. The energy was there. It was live. We’re playing on John Wooden’s home court (where the late UCLA coach played college basketball). That definitely meant something for us, to come in here and get the win for him.”
Their meeting came 10 years and one day after they met in a round of 64, in 2011 in Tampa. Then, No. 7 seed UCLA won 78-76 after almost fumbling a 23-point lead, and it barely overcame a sparkling set of numbers — 23 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists — from one Draymond Green.
This time, observers might have expected even less. Cronin’s second UCLA team started the Pac-12 season 8-0 before ending it 13-6, and had wrapped it up before this with a loss at Colorado, a loss at Oregon, a loss at home against Southern California on a wacky game-winning shot, and a loss against Oregon State in overtime in the Pac-12 tournament. Meanwhile, Izzo had told reporters, “You know and I know that three weeks ago nobody gave us a chance, including probably most of you and probably even me.”
Yet his latest grit-rich team wriggled to 15-12 and a tournament berth by becoming the only team since Jan. 16 to defeat Illinois (by 81-72 on Feb. 23 at Michigan State), then adding home wins over Ohio State and Michigan. In a Big Ten regarded as the country’s best conference, they still landed at 13th of 14 teams in scoring at 69 points per game, and an uncharacteristic ninth in scoring defense, allowing 70.6 per game.
From the get-go Thursday night, though, things looked different. Henry launched a lid-lifting three-point shot from out front on the first possession, and it swished. Joshua Langford, Joey Hauser and then Henry made difficult shots. The ball often skipped rapidly from teammate to teammate, just as coaches always hope it will. As the basket’s kindness mounted, Rocket Watts shot from outside the arc to the right of the top, and it caromed around the rim and backboard some until it, too, dropped.
Soon, Henry splashed a three from the corner and Gabe Brown followed with another, causing Cronin to call timeout at 4:23 with the score 35-23. It didn’t help much. By the 2:36 mark, Hauser had hit another from the corner, and by the half, the Spartans would sit on 56.7 percent shooting (17-for-30), and 55.6 percent from distance (5-for-9).
Then they hit some ruts early in the second half and in late-game possessions, such as the closing one in regulation, when Henry shot an air ball from the left with Jules Bernard defending well, and Izzo would say of Henry, who played 41 minutes, “I think we played Aaron so much that he was just run down.”
Well before that, though, the Bruins had stopped looking lost and started riding Jaquez and Juzang’s drives to the basket and three-point shots (three each, all told), until they found themselves, impressively, around midnight.
Review the rest of Thursday’s action below.
UCLA prevails against Michigan State in overtime
Thursday’s “First Four” saved the best for last, not just in terms of the historical quality of the programs involved in the final game of the evening but, as it turned out, in the high quality of the game itself.
It took an overtime session to manage it, but UCLA finally knocked off fellow 11 seed Michigan State, 86-80. The Spartans held leads for most of the evening but the Bruins kept coming back, helped by 50 percent shooting from three-point range.
Michigan State shot very well, too, but it is UCLA that moves on to the main field to face BYU, the No. 6 seed in the West, on Saturday. The Bruins suffered a setback, however, when a key player, sophomore guard Johnny Juzang, needed help getting off the court in overtime with a right ankle injury.
The first three games weren’t nearly as aesthetically pleasing, with no team scoring more than 60 points amid poor shooting almost across the board, but they did establish a theme for the evening: No lead is safe.
Texas Southern came back from 10 points down at halftime to beat Mount St. Mary’s in the first game; Drake twice overcame 12-point deficits to beat Wichita State in the second; and Norfolk State squandered a 16-point halftime lead before nipping Appalachian State by one.
All that set the stage for UCLA to overcome an 11-point deficit at halftime of its game against Michigan State. In other words, the madness has begun.
Michigan State trying to stave off hard-charging UCLA late in game
Despite being down by six to eight points at various stages of the second half, not to mention by 11 at halftime, UCLA has kept coming at Michigan State. In fact, the Bruins took a one-point lead with just under six minutes to play, but the Spartans staged their own rally and have a 73-67 edge with four minutes left.
Forward Aaron Henry leads the Spartans with 14 points, while UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. has a game-high 24. The Bruins are now nine of 16 from three-point range, but MSU is shooting better from the field overall and is 13 of 14 on free throws, while UCLA is six of seven from the stripe.
Michigan State holding on to second half lead over UCLA
Michigan State was continuing to hold off a feisty UCLA squad, 62-55, with just over nine minutes remaining. The Bruins were down 11 at halftime before getting to within three, then fell back again as the Spartans executed well on offense.
Michigan State was shooting 54.5 percent from the field at that point, including 6 of 12 from three-point range. UCLA was even better from long range, hitting 7 of 13, but had hit just 14 of 35 shots from within the arc. Some of those struggles had to do with the disruptive defensive presence of 6-11 Michigan State junior Marcus Bingham Jr.
Michigan State leads UCLA by 11 at halftime
In the marquee matchup of Thursday’s “First Four,” Michigan State leads UCLA at halftime by a 44-33 score.
The pair of 11 seeds were tied at 15-15 with 12:30 left to play in the first half before the Spartans went on a 29-18 run. The half ended with UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez Jr., who leads his team with 14 points, hitting a long two that was upheld on review after officials determined his toe was barely on the three-point line.
Meanwhile, MSU Coach Tom Izzo went to the locker room embroiled in what appeared to be a heated discussion with junior forward Gabe Brown.
Another junior forward, Aaron Henry, and sophomore forward Julius Marble II led MSU with eight points each.
In a change from the first three games of the evening, both teams shot the ball well, with the Spartans connecting on 55.2 percent of their shots while the Bruins made 50 percent of theirs. They combined to go eight of 15 from three-point range.
Michigan State had sizable edges in rebounds (15-10) and assists (10-4). The winner will face East No. 6 BYU on Saturday.
Norfolk State blows huge lead but hangs on to beat App State
Norfolk State could have made life much, much easier for itself with better second-half execution, but instead the Spartans had to sweat out a pair of would-be game-winners after blowing a huge lead against Appalachian State.
The Spartans came away with a 54-53 victory in a play-in round victory that more or less defined the NCAA tournament’s “survive and advance” mantra. Up 16 after the first half, Norfolk State saw App State go on a 16-0 run in the second and take a six-point lead. The Spartans were forced to stage their own mini-comeback and did, then had to rally from one down with a minute to play.
Ultimately, Devante Carter’s two free throws with 10 seconds left made the difference in the matchup of 16 seeds. That more than salvaged an outing in which he went one of 10 from the field, while teammate Joe Bryant Jr. was four of 13. The hero for most of the evening for the Spartans was Jalen Hawkins, who came off the bench to score 20 in the first half and finished with 24.
For the Mountaineers, Justin Forrest led the way with 18 points on seven-of-19 shooting. App State made six of 18 three-pointers in the second half after starting the game on a zero-for-19 skid from long range.
Norfolk State will play the West Region’s No. 1 seed, Gonzaga, on Saturday.
Michigan State with early edge over UCLA
Midway through the first half, Michigan State holds a 19-17 lead on UCLA in a matchup of storied programs trying to battle their way into the main field of the NCAA tournament.
Three Spartans players have four points, and three others have also scored for the balanced squad, while UCLA was led by eight points from Jaime Jaquez Jr. The winner of the matchup of 11 seeds moves on to play East No. 6 BYU on Saturday.
App State takes lead after 16-point halftime deficit
Madness! Appalachian State has come all the way back to take a one-point lead on Norfolk State after the Mountaineers were down by 16 at halftime.
App State is five of 12 from three in the second half, which doesn’t sound mind-blowing until you consider that it was zero for 18 in the first half. That improvement has keyed a massive comeback, along with Norfolk State looking more tentative and disjointed.
It’s a 46-45 game with under eight minutes left and suddenly a boring blowout has become something of a nail-biter.
Huge Norfolk State lead cut to six by App State
Appalachian State finally started hitting a few shots and just like that considerably cut into a massive halftime deficit. After Norfolk State’s 16-point halftime lead dwindled to eight, go-to scorer Jalen Hawkins hit a tough shot from in close that gave the Spartans a 10-point edge with under 12 minutes to play. But two more App State baskets left it down by just 45-39 with under 10 minutes left.
The Mountaineers went zero of 18 from three-point range in the first half and did not make their first until over three minutes into the second. They then missed three more before making three of four from long range.
Hawkins, who had 20 points in the first half, has 22 points for the game thus far.
How they got here: Michigan State vs. UCLA
No. 11 seeds Michigan State and UCLA square off in a very blue-blooded First Four game Thursday night at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind. The winner will advance to face sixth-seeded BYU on Saturday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Here’s what you need to know.
After a 4-9 start to Big Ten conference play, the Spartans squeaked into the NCAA tournament as one of the final at-large berths thanks to late-season victories over Ohio State, Illinois and Michigan, the latter two of which earned No. 1 seeds. Tom Izzo led the Spartans to the 2000 national championship and has seven other Final Four appearances in East Lansing. Michigan State played one game at Mackey Arena this season, a 75-65 loss to Purdue on Feb. 16.
The Bruins are back in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2018, when they also played in the First Four (they lost to St. Bonaventure). UCLA started the season 12-2 but lost seven of its final 12 games, including its final four.
Norfolk State takes 16-point lead at halftime over App State
After 20 minutes, it was Jalen Hawkins 20, Appalachian State 20. The Norfolk State guard didn’t even start the game, but he managed to keep pace with the Mountaineers as his squad took a 16-point lead at halftime.
App State went a grisly zero for 18 from three-point range while Hawkins hit all four of his attempts from long range. Add in the fact that the Mountaineers committed 10 turnovers to just three for the Spartans, and perhaps the Mountaineers might even have reason to feel fortunate only being down by a 36-20 count.
App State’s leading scorer is also a reserve, James Lewis Jr., but he has just six as his team hit six of 31 shots overall. The winner of the 16-seed showdown will play top-seeded Gonzaga on Saturday.
Norfolk State gets out to early lead over App State
In the third of Thursday’s four play-in games, Norfolk State jumped out to 19-11 lead over Appalachian State with just over 11 minutes left in the first half. Spartans reserve Jalen Hawkins was perfect on three shots from long range and leads all scorers with 10 points.
The winner of the battle of 16 seeds moves on to face West No. 1 seed Gonzaga on Saturday. Norfolk State is making just its second appearance ever in the Division I NCAA tournament, but in the Spartans’ previous trip they sprung a huge upset over Missouri as a 15 seed in 2012.
Drake survives last-second shot attempt, beats Wichita State
We don’t have a buzzer-beater yet, or even a team that has managed to score over 60 points. However, we did get some legitimate excitement at the end of a game that ultimately went to Drake over Wichita State.
The 11th-seeded Bulldogs survived a last-second shot that bounced off the rim and held on for a 53-52 victory that propels them to the main field and a date Saturday with USC, the No. 6 seed in the West Region.
At one point in the second half, Drake was down 37-25. But the Bulldogs took a four-point lead with 22 seconds left before things got really wild. The Bulldogs managed a steal but the ball was stolen back, and the Shockers’ Dexter Dennis hit a three-pointer to cut his team’s deficit to one with 10 seconds left.
On the ensuing Drake possession its leading scorer in the game, Joseph Yesufu (21 points), went to the line after a foul, but missed the front end of a one-and-one. Wichita State grabbed the rebound and Alterique Gilbert got a good look at a game-winning three, but it bounced harmlessly away, setting off jubilation among the Bulldogs.
In the first of Thursday’s four play-in games, Texas Southern came away with a 60-52 win over Mount St. Mary’s that was beautiful only to the Tigers and their fans. The Drake-Wichita State battle wasn’t much more aesthetically pleasing, but it did provide its share of the madness that has come to define this time of year.
Morris Udeze led the Shockers with 22 points, but teammate Tyson Etienne, the AAC’s co-Player of the Year, had just one point on 0-of-6 shooting. Wichita State hit only three of its 18 three-point attempts and 11 of its 22 free throws.
The win was Drake’s first NCAA tournament win since 1971.
Drake storms back, takes lead
Again, Wichita State worked its way to a 12-point lead, just as it had in the first half. And again, Drake stormed back.
This time, the Bulldogs’ rally got them the lead.
Drake took a 46-45 advantage with under four minutes left to play after going on a 21-8 run starting with just over 11 minutes left in the second half. It has very much been a game of runs, but the Bulldogs had not led since they were up 5-2 in the very early going.
Drake’s Joseph Yesufu led the way with 19 points, while Morris Udeze had 20 for the Shockers.
How they got here: Norfolk State vs. Appalachian State
Norfolk State and Appalachian State, two No. 16 seeds, square off Thursday night in a First Four game at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind., with the winner moving on to face top-seeded Gonzaga in the West Region on Saturday. Here’s a brief primer on both teams.
The Spartans are in the tournament for just the second time ever and the first since 2012, when they became one of only eight No. 15 seeds to win an NCAA tournament game by upsetting second-seeded Missouri in the first round. Norfolk State got to the tournament by defeating Morgan State, 71-63, in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title game on Saturday.
Appalachian State (17-11)
The Mountaineers closed the regular season on a 1-4 skid but won four Sun Belt tournament games in four days to clinch their first NCAA tournament berth in 21 years. Michael Almonacy scored a career-high 32 points in the championship-game victory over two-time defending Sun Belt champion Georgia State.