Pac-12 in NCAA: UCLA, Colorado, USC Win; Oregon Advances Without Playing
Saturday was a big day for the Pac-12 as all four teams from the conference won first-round NCAA Tournament games.
UCLA defeated BYU by 11 points, Colorado beat Georgetown by 23 points, USC knocked off Drake by 16 points, and Oregon advanced when its scheduled game against VCU was declared a no contest as a result of COVID-19 protocols.
Oregon State won on Friday and plays its second-round game Sunday against Oklahoma State.
So the Pac-12 in 6-0 in the NCAA tournament, and all five of its teams are on to the second round.
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UCLA 73, BYU 62
When Johnny Juzang had to be helped off the court with an ankle injury in the closing moments of UCLA's win over Michigan State on Thursday, it was unclear whether he would play against BYU on Saturday. Apparently there was no need to worry as Juzang made 10 of 16 shots and scored 27 points, including 19 in the first half, against sixth-seeded BYU. He has scored 50 points in UCLA two tournament games.
Juzang's scoring and UCLA's poise after the Cougars made a push early in the second half helped earn the 11th-seeded Bruins a second-round game on Monday against 14th-seeded Abilene Christian, which stunned third-seeded Texas 53-52 when Joe Pleasant, a 58.8 percent foul shooter, made two free throws with 1.2 seconds left.
The Cougars reduced an 11-point halftime deficit to four points with 14:22 left in the game, but that was as close as they would get as the Bruins refused to fold. UCLA committed just four turnovers for the game and none in the final 14 minutes.
BYU led the West Coast Conference in three-point shooting percentage (37.8 percent), and it had been particularly effective from long range in recent games. But the Cougars made just 3-of-17 three-pointers (17.6 percent) against the Bruins.
UCLA has been a good halfcourt team offensively this season, and the folks that are paid to know about these things say halfcourt offenses work well in the NCAA tournament when the pace tends to slow. It has worked well so far for the Bruins, who have posted two upsets in this year's March Madness.
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Colorado 96, Georgetown 73
Fifth-seeded Colorado rained three-pointers down on 12th-seeded Georgetown, as the Buffaloes rolled. The Buffaloes (23-8) made a season-high 16 three-pointers in 25 attempts as they led by 30 points early in the second half over Georgetown (13-13), which was 4-for-16 from three-point range.
Colorado's second-round opponent on Monday will be fourth-seeded Florida State, which defeated UNC-Greensboro 64-54.
Colorado freshman Jabari Walker scored 24 points on 9-for-10 shooting, including 5-for-5 from long range. D'Shawn Schwartz was 5-for-7 from beyond the arc and finished with 18 points for the Buffaloes, and 7-foot Dallas Walton even made a three-pointer for Colorado. Surprisingly, Jeriah Horne, who leads Colorado in three-pointers made this season, was 0-for-4 from long distance.
All-conference guard McKinley Wright IV had only 12 points but added 13 assists with zero turnovers. The Buffaloes had 16 assists on 17 made field goals in the first half when the game was won, and their 27 assists for the game were their most since 2009. The 96 points were also a season high for the Buffaloes.
Colorado took a 24-point lead at halftime (47-23) by connecting from long range. Colorado made more three-pointers (11) in the first half than Georgetown had field goals of any kind (eight). The Buffaloes were 11-for-17 from behind the arc in the first half while Georgetown was 1-for-9 from long range.
USC 72, Drake 56
Pac-12 player of the year Evan Mobley collected 17 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks to lead the sixth-seeded Trojans into a second-round game against third-seeded Kansas on Monday.
USC won Saturday's game on the defensive end. The Trojans led the Pac-12 in field-goal percentage defense, and they limited 11th-seeded Drake (26-5) to 29.4 percent shooting. Joseph Yesufu scored 26 points for Drake, but he was only 8-for-22 from the field (36.4 percent).
Yesufu scored 18 of his points in the first half to help the Bulldogs stay in the game. But USC clamped down on Drake and Yesufu in the second half, allowing the Bulldogs just 19 points after halftime.
The Bulldogs missed 21 of their first 24 shot attempts in the second half and shot 18.9 percent after halftime. They seemed to wear down against the Trojans, who are the tallest team in the nation. Drake had defeated Wichita State in a preliminary-round game less than 48 hours earlier.
"We got tired and their length really caught up to us out of their zone," Yesufu said. "We just couldn't figure it out."
Isaiah Mobley added 14 points for USC (23-7) and Drew Peterson scored 13 points, but the defensive star was Evan Mobley.
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Oregon Advances
Oregon advanced to the second round because of multiple positive COVID-19 tests within the VCU program. The NCAA declared the game between No. 7 seeded Ducks and No. 10 seeded Rams a no-contest, allowing Oregon to advance.
“The NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee has declared the VCU-Oregon game scheduled for Saturday night at Indiana Farmers Coliseum a no-contest because of COVID-19 protocols,” the NCAA announced. “This decision was made in consultation with the Marion County Public Health Department. As a result, Oregon will advance to the next round of the tournament. The NCAA and the committee regret that VCU’s student-athletes and coaching staff will not be able to play in a tournament in which they earned the right to participate. Because of privacy issues we cannot provide further details.”
Oregon (20-6) advances to face No. 2 seed Iowa (22-8) in the second round on Monday.
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Cover photo of UCLA celebration by Marc Lebryk, USA TODAY Sports
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