Pac-12 in NCAA Tournament: UCLA Rallies to Beat Michigan State in OT
UCLA, which has been unable to close out close games in recent weeks, overcame a five-points deficit with 1:29 left in regulation and controlled the overtime period for an 86-80 victory over Michigan State in an NCAA tournament preliminary-round game Thursday in West Lafayette, Indiana.
The concern now for the 11th-seeded Bruins (18-9) is the status of Johnny Juzang. He scored 23 points and scored the first four points of overtime, but had to be helped off the court with 46.2 seconds left in overtime with an ankle injury.
UCLA will need Juzang for its first-round game on Saturday (6:40 p.m. Pacific time) against sixth-seeded BYU at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Juzang did run out onto the court to celebrate the win, which is somewhat encouraging.
For Michigan State much of the talk will be about the arguing among Spartans players and with coach Tom Izzo, especially at the end of the first half. (The halftime exchange can be viewed in a video below.)
Jaime Jaquez led the Bruins with a career-high 27 points as UCLA rallied for the First Four win between 11th-seeded teams at Purdue's Mackey Arena.
The Bruins entered the game on four-game losing streak, and it appeared the losing streak would continue after they trailed by 14 points late in the first and by 11 at halftime.
Michigan (15-13) still held a five-point lead at 77-72 when Aaron Henry made two free throws with 1:29 left in the second half.
But two Juzang free throws with 1:10 remaining and a three-point play by Jaquez with 28.7 seconds left tied the game. Jaquez's game-tying play came after he missed a free throw but somehow got the offensive rebound on the play.
UCLA then scored the first four points of overtime, all by Juzang, that finished off a 9-0 UCLA run and put the Bruins in command.
Cody Riley's two free throws with 26 seconds left in the extra period gave the Bruins a four-point cushion.
The Spartans led by as many as 14 points with 2:42 left in the first half, but the half ended with Michigan State coach Tom Izzo arguing with his players as they left the floor. Izzo and the Spartans' Gabe Brown were going nose to nose while arguing, and Izzo grabbed Brown's jersey as they left for the locker room.
Izzo called it a "normal nothing" in his postgame comments, and was even displeased that he was questioned about it by the media.
You judge:
Tom Izzo grabs Gabe Brown's jersey at end of first half. Photo by Marc Lebryk, USA Today
Those who are familiar with Michigan State say this stuff happens all the time, but it did not look good on national TV.
Jaquez had 14 first-half points for UCLA, and he hit a long two-point shot at the first-half buzzer to get the Bruins within 11 at the break.
A lot of people were surprised the Spartans were forced to play a preliminary-round game.
In the past three weeks, Michigan State had wins over two teams with No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament -- Illinois and Michigan -- as well as a win over a No. 2 seed Ohio State.
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Cover photo of Gabe Brown and Tom Izzo by Marc Lebryk, USA TODAY Sports
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