UCLA basketball

The Bruins were trailing for most of the night, but Tyger Campbell hit big shots late and Cody Riley got a block to ice it.

That's when Riley went up and got a block at the rim with his trailing hand, setting up the clinching free throws for Juzang. A few possessions later, Campbell pulled up for a midrange jumper to put the Bruins ahead. Jaquez hit a couple more free throws, but turned it over before the buzzer as UCLA went into the break down 26-25. Eventually, the Bruins got things under control a bit when an and-1 by Campbell ended the Zips' 11-0 run. The Bruins had already coughed it up five times midway through the first half and were 1 of their last 10 from the field, putting them down 18-10. UCLA was unable to hit shots for a big chunk of the game.

The Bruins, who are playing in their second consecutive NCAA Tournament, come into this year's tournament as a No. 4 seed in the East region with a 25-7 ...

"I believe we have created a culture of success and competitive greatness at UCLA," Cronin said in a statement. In three seasons as the Bruins' head coach, Cronin has compiled a 66-29 record. They will face No. 13 seed Akron on Thursday night in the first round.

Tyger Campbell saved the day for fourth-seeded UCLA Thursday night, as the Bruins were able to avoid a strong upset big from 13th-seeded Akron, 57-53, ...

On the next possession down, he banged home a pull-up jumper in transition off a turnover to put the Bruins up 52-51. With the score 51-47 and 3:24 to go, Campbell found himself alone in the corner after a mad scramble, almost too open, but he calmly set his feet after Jaime Jaquez delivered the ball and knocked down the 3 to bring it within one. Below is everything they had to say.

SportsLine's model revealed its college basketball picks and best bets for Akron vs. UCLA in the NCAA Tournament bracket.

Now, the model has broken down the UCLA vs. And which side of the spread hits well over 50 percent of the time? It also says one side of the spread hits in well over 50 percent of simulations. Akron has a style of play that's conducive to success in March. It plays slow, grind-it-out games where every possession matters and the Zips are well-positioned to win these kinds of games as they rank second in the MAC in FG percentage. Here are the March Madness odds and betting lines for Akron vs. Akron vs. Akron failed to hit 60 percent of its free throws in six games this season and five of those resulted in losses. They can take advantage of Akron's youth and inexperience as the Zips don't have a single senior on their entire roster. Akron odds, while the over-under is 128.5. Before making any Akron vs. Akron will then face the Saint Mary's vs. The winner of UCLA vs. The first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament begins Thursday, and one of the 16 games will see No. 4 UCLA take on No. 13 Akron in the West Region. It is a true David vs.

The 13th-seeded Zips led for most of the game before No. 4 UCLA rallied and then held on for a victory.

But we just knew we didn't want to be the ones getting upset tonight, and we're looking forward to bigger things.” "I thought we had a chance to win it. Tyger and I were searching together trying to figure some things out, and I thought keeping the ball in the middle of the floor in his hands as much as I could was the answer. And John tried to start trapping him, so we tried to start slipping.” As X said after the game in the locker room, ‘We win together, we lose together.’” Perhaps the one that drew the strongest reaction from the Zips bench and staffers was a blocking foul on 7-foot freshman center Aziz Bandaogo against Jaquez with 3:55 remaining. We had to make a lot of adjustments. Just a ton of people that are involved to do something like we were able to do to have the opportunity to compete today. Groce realized early that the Zips couldn’t keep up with the Bruins in a fast-paced game, so he slowed his team down on offense, which allowed them to expend more energy on defense. As UCLA rallied from an eight-point deficit with 7:54 remaining, what likely stuck in Freeman’s mind were the eight consecutive points scored by Campbell in the final 2:51. Campbell made a corner 3-pointer with 2:51 left that cut the Zips' lead to 51-50. “I think in the locker room, when you put what you put into this like we do, all of us together, players, staff, support staff, it's a total team effort,” UA coach John Groce said. You make a heck of a commitment across the board.

Mick Cronin's new deal, which runs through the 2027-28 season, replaces a two-year extension he signed after guiding UCLA to the 2021 Final Four.

Primarily known as a strong defensive coach, Cronin’s current team is elite on both sides of the ball, ranking No. 12 nationally in defensive efficiency, according to basketball analyst Ken Pomeroy, and No. 14 in offensive efficiency. “I believe we have created a culture of success and competitive greatness at UCLA,” Cronin said in a statement. He joins Gonzaga’s Mark Few, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo and Kansas’ Bill Self as the only active coaches to have taken their teams to the last 11 NCAA tournaments. Fourth-seeded UCLA (25-7) will play 13th-seeded Akron (24-9) in the first round at the Moda Center. The previous contract was slated to pay him $3.7 million per year. “Mick is the right leader for our program because he knows what it means to represent the four letters, he won’t settle for less than being an elite program, and he wins with integrity.

With a first round matchup coming up, it's time to look ahead and see if the Bruins have a shot to make the Sweet 16, Elite Eight or Final Four.

Entering the Sweet 16 would be a success for UCLA in just their second tournament appearance under coach Mick Cronin, and in a highly competitive 2022 field on top of that. Their defensive presences open up avenues that are unable to be exploited without them being involved on the court. As well as manifesting Baylor’s demise, the Bruins will need to slow down their tempo. Either way, it seems the Bruins' road will end on the second night of action in Philadelphia. However, the likelihood of all three situations happening is very low. The Bruins, even though they play quickly on average, excel in slower games and should dispose of their first round opponent rather easily. St. Mary's boasts a top-10 defense in the KenPom, but they also run things exceedingly slow. But in this theoretical scenario, let's say Purdue wins that presumably tight contest. Of course, it has been 27 years since the last time UCLA men's basketball won an NCAA tournament. Center Zach Edey is 7-foot-4 and forward Trevion Williams is 6-foot-10, while guard Jaden Ivey averages 17.4 points per game. Tall guards Kendall Brown and Matthew Mayer and volume scorer James Akinjo will make things difficult, but I think UCLA can do it. Most notably, that made Arizona and Gonzaga tough matchups for UCLA.

Find out when and where to watch Akron take on UCLA in the NCAA tournament if you don't have cable.

In the middle of February, the Zips lost three MAC games in a row. They also had lost both games to rival Kent State in the regular season. Finally, they dominated Kent State to earn the automatic NCAA berth. I was in the locker room after some tough losses. That’s K.J. Walton, a transfer who left the team early in the season. Or how about the preseason individual players predicted to make the first or second All-MAC teams? He was talking about how the team’s key players were hardly recruited. There was a separate vote about which team would win the MAC Tournament. Five teams received votes – not one for Akron. UCLA, which went to the Final Four last season, lost to Arizona in Saturday night’s Pac-12 Championship Game, 84-76. Next, they beat Toledo, which had the MAC’s best regular-season record at 17-3. Coach (Groce) didn’t get down the players. “I have been at a lot places,” said Akron athletic director Charles Guthrie. “I’ve never seen a team this close.