Tag: UCLA Basketball

UCLA suffers stunning loss to Gonzaga, Pac-12 bounced from NCAA tourney

UCLA led by 13 at halftime and was shredding Gonzaga’s D. Then the Bruins went 11 minutes without a made field goal. This is March.

The Pac-12 did it again. It failed to win the NCAA Tournament. The conference, which has not cut down the nets on the final Monday night of the season since 1997 (when Arizona celebrated its lone national championship), got knocked out of the Big Dance on Thursday night in Las Vegas. UCLA, the one Pac-12 team to reach the Sweet 16, couldn’t go beyond that point. The Bruins, who led 46-33 at halftime and were roasting Gonzaga’s defense, improbably went cold in the second half, going over 11 minutes without a made field goal. Their 13-point lead turned into a 72-63 deficit with just over a minute left.

Gonzaga did implode in the next minute, however. A bunch of missed free throws and some carless GU fouls enabled UCLA to take a late lead on an Amari Bailey 3-pointer. For a brief period of time, it seemed UCLA might improbably escape in a manner reminiscent of the Bruins’ 73-71 win over the Zags in the 2006 Sweet 16 in Oakland. The Bruins were down and out in that game but rallied late to steal one from Mark Few. History was on the verge of repeating itself, 17 years later.

It was not meant to be for the Bruins. Gonzaga’s Julian Strawther hit a 35-footer in the final 10 seconds to give the Zags a 79-76 win over UCLA, stopping the second-seeded Bruins in yet another memorable clash between these two West Coast powers.

USC and UCLA will move to the Big Ten in two years. Both schools will get one more chance in 2024 to give the Pac-12 a Final Four team and — who knows? — maybe a shot at a college basketball national championship.

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UCLA only Pac-12 team remaining after NCAA Tournament first weekend

The Pac-12 only has one team remaining in the NCAA Tournament, UCLA, after Arizona, USC, and Arizona State suffered first round losses.

The 2023 NCAA Tournament began with four schools from the conference of champions, but after the first two days of action only one Pac-12 school – the UCLA Bruins – remained.

USC tipped off Friday’s action against Michigan State, losing 72-62 after getting outscored by ten in the second half by Tom Izzo’s team.

USC was the ten seed in this matchup and had a chance to win throughout, but a poor performance from star guard Boogie Ellis (six points on 3-12 shooting) doomed the Trojans and sent USC home early.

Meanwhile, the last game of the day was a battle between six seed TCU and Arizona State, a play-in 11 seed that had every opportunity to win but squandered them all by missing key free throws down the stretch.

All this comes after the biggest disappointment on Thursday, when Arizona fell to 15 seed Princeton – much to the joy of many Oregon fans.

This means of the 32 teams remaining in the Big Dance, only the Pac-12 regular season champion in UCLA remains.

It’s another disappointing year for the conference, and the impending departure of both UCLA and USC – half the Pac-12’s Tournament teams – makes it hard to be optimistic about the future.

Conferences secure a ton of money from NCAA Tournament appearances and wins, and while football is king it is absolutely an issue that this conference has very little basketball pedigree beyond 2024.

Of course, potential addition San Diego State already punched their ticket into the Sweet 16 with wins over Charleston and Furman, showcasing one of their biggest arguments for inclusion in the conference.

Oregon has a dominant recruiting class set to come in 2023, which should help, but until some of these lower-level programs commit to winning things might not change much in the conference of champions.

Cal let Mark Fox go, which is a start, but Stanford’s commitment to Jerod Haase and Oregon State’s devotion to Wayne Tinkle will keep this conference from rising out of the bottom – which doesn’t do anyone any favors at the top.

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Late Courtney Ramey 3 lifts Arizona over UCLA for Pac-12 Tournament title

In a tough, hard-fought #Pac12 final in which UCLA battled injuries, Arizona was able to make the final, decisive play.

The UCLA Bruins were playing without Jaylen Clark and Adem Bona, two of their best defensive players, in Saturday night’s Pac-12 Tournament final in Las Vegas. It was reasonable to think that an Arizona Wildcat team with quality big man, Oumar Ballo and Azuolas Tubelis, would be able to pound the Bruins into submission and score a decisive win.

That did not happen.

However, while Arizona did not win decisively, it did prevail. The Wildcats used a late 3-pointer from Courtney Ramey to score a 61-59 win over the Bruins and capture another Pac-12 Tournament title. This is Arizona’s ninth Pac-12 Tournament crown. UCLA last won this tournament in 2014. UCLA has won this event once in the past 15 seasons.

UCLA’s defense did not really suffer despite the absences of Clark and Bona. UCLA’s offense failed to reach 60 points. Arizona was able to turn the Bruins into a jump-shooting team. UCLA was not able to get to the rim or the foul line nearly as much as it needed to. Empty possessions mounted for the Bruins, and Arizona was able to battle UCLA on even terms despite lacking polish and precision on offense.

The result likely makes UCLA a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and lifts Arizona to a No. 2 seed. Purdue will likely get a No. 1 seed instead of UCLA.

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Haley Jones on her ‘sketchy’ experiences playing the Pac-12 tourney in Vegas and how she limits sports betting noise

Being shouted at in a casino doesn’t sound fun.

With sports betting legal in over 30 U.S. states, there aren’t many athletes who don’t periodically hear from a fan or two about how their performances impacted a bet.

Those usually one-sided interactions are typically limited to social media or during games. Especially for an athlete based in a state where betting isn’t legal, like Stanford basketball star Haley Jones. So, as you can imagine, playing a game in Las Vegas is a different experience than what she’s used to.

Vegas has hosted the Pac-12 women’s basketball tournament since 2019. Up until this year, Stanford had reached the final each time, winning the last two. This year’s team had its time shortened with a semifinal loss to UCLA, but that didn’t make the betting chatter any less noticeable.

“We’re walking through the casino to get to our games, and there’s the betting stations and this and that, and I can feel people’s eyes on me and I’m like, ‘Oh gosh, your money is in my hands. That’s sketchy,'” Jones said in a conversation with FTW about her new podcast, Sometimes I Hoop. “I feel like people just take it more intense since they have something personal on the line. After games, if I’m walking through the casino after we lose or after we win, they’re like, ‘Oh, you won me this. Oh, you lost me that.’ And I’m just like, what the heck. I was just over here trying to get back and get to post-game meal and shower. I don’t need you shouting at me right now. So I think it’s definitely created a different environment.”

That environment is likely more intense for a team like Stanford that has achieved so much in Jones’ four years on campus. The Cardinal have been to each of the last two Final Fours, winning it all Jones’ sophomore year. As this year’s tournament approaches, their +700 title odds at DraftKings are second only to undefeated South Carolina.

As legal betting has exploded during that time, conversations about lines have even penetrated Jones’ own circle. But if you plan on chatting her up about point spreads and parlays, just know she hasn’t caught up on all the lingo.

“My brother, he’ll be on ESPN like ‘Oh my gosh, you guys are up this, down that.’ And I’m like, I don’t know what any of that means, so awesome,” the 2021 Final Four Most Outstanding Player said. “But I think fans are in some cases more into it because they have money on the line. So it’s a lot more intense of a crowd.”

That noise spills over on to social media, but Jones has found a way to filter it out.

“You definitely get tagged and whatnot, but there’s different security and privacy things that I’ve been able to put on my account so I’m not just getting tagged in a million hate messages of ‘Haley, you lost me $1,000!'”

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UCLA sweeps 2023 Pac-12 basketball season honors, earns big-dog status

UCLA was a good team in previous years under Mick Cronin. This year, the Bruins are a true heavyweight. They own the #Pac12.

The voting for the coach of the year in any league or conference is often decided based on the player of the year. In other words, if Team A has the player of the year, Team B will often win the coach of the year voting. One team had the better players, the other team had the better coach who did more with less.

This year in Pac-12 men’s basketball, that did not happen. One team had the best player … and the best coach … and the best freshman … and the best defensive player.

UCLA won the Pac-12 by four games over Arizona and USC. The Bruins went 18-2 in the conference. Arizona has a very good team, but only one of its players, Azuolas Tubelis, had any real chance to win a major end-of-season award. In the final month of the season, UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez clearly outplayed Tubelis by a large margin. Tubelis was the leader in the POY race entering February, but that changed drastically over the next five weeks.

Jaquez earned Pac-12 Player of the Year honors, which enabled UCLA to sweep the four cornerstone awards. Mick Cronin as coach of the year was always obvious, as was Jaylen Clark for defensive player of the year and Adem Bona as freshman of the year.

UCLA went 4 for 4. The Bruins are in position to get a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament next week.

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Texas basketball makes list of teams with no “bad losses”

Texas is one of seven teams without a bad loss this season.

The Texas Longhorns have had a tremendous season. That stems in part from beating most of the teams they should beat.

Fox College Hoops shared a graphic that featured seven teams without a Quad 2, Quad 3 or Quad 4 loss.

Essentially, a Quad 1 game is one that involves facing a Top 30 team at home, Top 50 team at a neutral site or a Top 75 team on the road. Only within those parameters has Texas suffered its six losses.

The Houston Cougars and Alabama Crimson Tide were not present on that list, despite ranking at No. 1 and No. 2 in the latest bracket reveal. In fairness, the two teams have had more Quad 2, Quad 3, and Quad 4 matchups than some Big 12 teams.

Here’s a look at every team that hasn’t suffered a bad loss all season.

Pac-12 bubble watch: UCLA helps USC, beats Oregon

USC lost. Saturday was a very bad day for the Trojans … but it could have been worse. Oregon could have beaten UCLA but didn’t.

The UCLA Bruins, kind and generous souls that they are, helped out the USC Trojans on Saturday.

That obviously wasn’t their goal, but it certainly brightened USC’s otherwise-dark day.

The Trojans stepped on a rake in Corvallis, losing to lowly Oregon State and significantly hurting their chances of making the NCAA Tournament. An 0-2 week in the state of Oregon was the last thing USC needed. The Trojans’ bubble position is now far more precarious, and they’re in real trouble at the moment.

Yet, as bad as this week was for USC, it could have been worse. Oregon — with a win over UCLA on Saturday night in Eugene — would have passed USC in the Pac-12 bubble pecking order. Yes, the Ducks have more losses on their slate, but they would have had wins over both UCLA and Arizona to offset those losses, plus a head-to-head win over USC and a sweep of Utah, which the Trojans don’t yet have (USC is at Utah in two weeks).

Thankfully for the Trojans, UCLA was there to help the Trojans. The Bruins dominated the second half and pulled away thanks to 25 points and 12 rebounds from Jaime Jaquez.

Yes, USC can forget about the Pac-12 title after this week, but we know that was never likely. It’s all about getting into the NCAA Tournament. UCLA beating Oregon was definitely the better outcome for USC on Saturday. We’ll have more on the Pac-12 bubble in our Sunday and Monday coverage of Pac-12 hoops.

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USC’s season just became more complicated, but in a very good way

If UCLA has a very successful February, the USC win over the Bruins will become more valuable. If UCLA crumbles, USC could win the Pac-12 title. Either outcome is good.

What follows is a first-world problem for USC basketball and its fans: On one hand, the UCLA Bruins need to win a lot in the next several weeks. UCLA winning means that USC’s victory over the Bruins on Thursday night would look a million times better on the NCAA Tournament ledger sheet. If the UCLA win ages well, USC’s odds of playing in March Madness will rise.

Let’s consider a very different scenario: If UCLA — now just one game ahead of the Trojans — loses a bunch of games in February, the Bruins will lose their hold on first place. USC, Utah and Arizona would all have a chance to overtake the Bruins.

When was the last time USC won the regular-season championship of its conference? 1985, when the Trojans claimed the Pac-10 title.

Either their win over UCLA grows in value, or they get a better chance to win a conference championship.

Either way, USC has created more interesting possibilities for its season.

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Andy Enfield moves to 6-3 vs Mick Cronin in 9 games against UCLA

In 2020 (the Jonah Mathews game) and now 2023 (the Boogie Ellis game), Enfield has beaten Cronin and UCLA in must-win situations. He keeps coming through.

When Mick Cronin came to UCLA before the 2019-2020 college basketball season, he hadn’t reached a Final Four, but he had made Cincinnati a nationally relevant program. The Bearcats had been a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They had reached the Sweet 16. Cronin had established himself as a quality coach over several years.

Andy Enfield showed signs of becoming a quality coach. Yet, let’s be honest: When Pat Haden hired him to USC, it was on the basis of that one amazing season at Florida Gulf Coast, the 2013 campaign in which Enfield reached the Sweet 16 as a No. 15 seed with his FGCU “Dunk City” Eagles, the team which shocked No. 2 seed Georgetown and then beat No. 7 San Diego State to become the first 15 seed in NCAA Tournament history to reach the regional semifinals.

Cronin had a much fuller — and longer — body of work when UCLA hired him. Enfield was hired based on potential, not longevity, by Haden and USC.

If you had been told four years ago — when Cronin was hired in Westwood — that Enfield would win six of nine games against Cronin, you probably would have been laughed out of the building.

Yet, that’s the record for Enfield after his 77-64 win against UCLA on Thursday. Enfield had lost three straight to Cronin — twice last March, then on January 5 of this year — but he took back the upper hand when he absolutely had to.

Establishing superiority against Cronin is important because it enables recruits to legitimately consider the idea that USC, not UCLA, is the program of the future in Los Angeles. Enfield has won some high-profile recruiting battles. Each win over UCLA increases the odds he can continue to succeed on the trail and raise USC’s ceiling. Meanwhile, these wins over UCLA carry enormous significance for each Trojan team.

The 2020 Enfield win over Cronin — the Jonah Mathews game — got USC into the 2020 NCAA Tournament before the event was wiped out by the pandemic. This win in 2023 could make the difference between making the NCAAs and going to the NIT. If USC does make the 2023 NCAA Tournament, that will be three straight tournaments on an official level, four straight if we include 2020. Only once before has USC made the NCAA Tournament in three consecutive years: 2007-2009 under Tim Floyd.

USC has not historically been a place where the NCAA Tournament is an annual, regular expectation. That has clearly changed under Andy Enfield, who continues to prove that he can stand up to UCLA and Mick Cronin.

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Boogie Ellis scores 27 second-half points, puts USC on his back in season-defining game

The 2nd-half score on Thursday: Boogie Ellis 27, UCLA 27. That’s how great Boogie was. He was there for his team in a moment of supreme importance. #ONIONS

Go back to the 2022 NCAA Tournament loss against Miami. Boogie Ellis was injured and ineffective for USC with the nation watching. Ethan Anderson played most of the important second-half minutes. The one-and-done nature of March Madness is cruel; if things don’t go well in one 40-minute chunk of time, a young basketball player has to live all offseason with the weight of knowing that his moment in the spotlight did not bring the fulfillment and joy it promised.

At least Boogie Ellis’s college career wasn’t done, however. When a senior absorbs that kind of performance in March Madness, it’s the last memory he takes with him from a collegiate career. Ellis had another go-round, and he wanted to make memories at USC instead of transferring elsewhere. He stuck with the program. He endured the ups and downs.

He was waiting for a moment just like this.

He was waiting for a moment like the one he faced in the second half.

USC, down 12 at halftime, used a 27-6 run powered by Ellis to take a 52-43 lead with over 11 minutes left. UCLA chopped that lead down to 56-54 with 3:33 to go.

Who would answer the call for the Trojans and stop the UCLA run in a game USC absolutely had to win?

Boogie Ellis was ready for this moment.

He hit a tough turnaround jumper with 3:33 left to give USC a 58-54 lead. After teammate Drew Peterson hit a tough jump shot of his own to restore a four-point advantage with 2:35 left, Boogie hit a dagger 3-pointer with 1:25 to go push the Trojans’ lead to nine at 65-56.

A career-high 31 points? That’s special on any night. Against UCLA with an NCAA Tournament berth on the table? That’s an epic achievement.

Boogie Ellis gave USC fans, Andy Enfield, and himself a huge reward for his perseverance. If he can stay the course, Boogie Ellis should get another chance to put his stamp on March Madness and write a different ending to his USC story.

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