Pac-12 in Final Four: What UCLA Must Do to Have a Chance Vs. Gonzaga

UCLA’s strategy against Gonzaga: Muck it up.

Yes, that’s generally a hockey phrase, but that is what the Bruins should do Saturday – make it a hockey game. Get physical in corners. Control the puck, I mean ball. Clear Gonzaga players out of the crease, er, lane. The UCLA Bruins should play like the Boston Bruins.

Let’s face it, if Gonzaga and UCLA played each other 10 times, Gonzaga would win nine of the games, and six would probably be blowouts.

That’s why the 14-point spread in the UCLA-Gonzaga game is the largest in a national semifinal game in at least 25 years. And most of the money this week has been bet on Gonzaga to cover, suggesting the point spread might increase before the game starts at 5:34 p.m. Pacific time.

The folks at Sports Illustrated, speaking in the video atop this story, see no way UCLA can win. Afterall, the 30-0 Zags have not shot under 49 percent from the field in a single game this season. They just don’t have bad games. They shot 60.3 percent against Virginia, for crying out loud.

But the 11th-seeded Bruins have been hanging around because they are great at slowing the pace, limiting their turnovers, and playing physical to disrupt the rhythm of the game. In short, they make the game ugly, then pull it out at the end. That is what they did against Michigan State, Alabama and Michigan. The opponent walks off the court feeling like it played its worst game of the season. But it’s no coincidence that teams are at their worst when they face the Bruins.

UCLA is 14-3 this season in games decided by five points or fewer or in overtime, and one of those losses came on that desperation, off-balance three-pointer by USC’s Tahj Eaddy at the buzzer.

And the Bruins seldom beat themselves, leading the Pac-12 in fewest turnovers per game (10.6).

Against Gonzaga the Bruins may revert to their style of last season, when they were even more physical on defense and even slower on offense. They ranked 11th in the Pac-12 in scoring last year but finished second in the standings by grinding and grinding and winning it at end.

If Saturday’s game is a free-flowing affair, if few fouls are called, if the game is “pretty,” UCLA has no chance.

UCLA has to slow the game, take high-percentage shots, limit its turnovers, push the Zags around, have a parade to the foul line to create a choppy game of starts and stops, get the Zags angry and frustrated so they start to rush. Gonzaga must also do its part by playing its worst game of the season.

Then maybe, just maybe, the Bruins can stay close enough to make a lucky shot in the closing moments to pull out a win.

It’s how Villanova beat heavily favored Georgetown in the 1985 championship game. OK, Georgetown was a mere 8-point favorite in that game and there was no shot clock then, but you get the idea.

A better example may be the 2002 Sweet 16 game when Indiana, seeded fifth, upset No. 1 seed Duke, which was a 13-point favorite.

And don’t forget, Norfolk State was a 21.5-point underdog when it beat Missouri in the 2012 NCAA tournament.

Cal coach Mark Fox suggests in a video presentation that UCLA has a chance because of its style.

It’s likely Gonzaga will win by 20 points, but presumably they'll play the game anyway. . .

UCLA's Johnny Juzang talks to the media Friday:

"We're excited to be here, from a basketball standpoint. So to be able to keep competing and to get to play another game and another game, nobody wants the season to end. Everybody wants to keep playing and competing."

Johnny Juzang, speaking to the media on Friday pic.twitter.com/wqpU6H1GwZ
— UCLA Men’s Basketball (@UCLAMBB) April 2, 2021

Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

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