The Bruins are heading to the Elite Eight after a 88–78 upset win over the SEC champion Crimson Tide in overtime on Sunday.
The No. 11 seeded Bruins were able to hang around the entire game thanks to a balanced scoring effort from nearly their entire rotation. Six UCLA players ended the game with double digits in the scoring column but were led by sophomore Jaime Jaquez Jr. with 17 points.
The No. 2 seeded Tide’s Jahvon Quinerly lead all scorers with 20 points but only shot 8-for-22 from the field. The entire Alabama team struggled to find its shot, though.
Alabama shot 25% (7-for-28) from behind the arc and a putrid 44% (11-for-25) from behind the charity stripe while the Bruins cashed in on 80% of their free throws.
Their poor shooting nearly cost them the game at the end of regulation.
The game seemed to be over after senior Herbert Jones missed two free throws with just six seconds to go in regulation when Alabama was down 63–62. But after UCLA made its two free throws, senior Alex Reese came to the rescue and sank a three-pointer to send it to overtime tied at 65.
But the Tide still fell short after an avalanche of offense from the Bruins—who were without regular season scoring leader Johnny Juzang. Even though Juzang fouled out before overtime, Alabama was outscored 22–12 in the final five minutes of play.
The Bruins will face the Wolverines on Tuesday at 9:57 p.m. ET in the men’s team’s first Elite Eight appearance since 2008 when it made the Final Four. The time of the matchup has yet to be announced.
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