UCLA did the unthinkable and knocked off Michigan 51-49 in a thriller to reach the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament.
The Bruins struggled to score early in the East Region final on Tuesday. They only had four points through the first 10 minutes. But their top player Johnny Juzang started to come on late in the first half and didn’t stop. He finished with 28 points — more than half of the Bruins’ total — and helped carry the team to victory.
UCLA was a No. 11 seed and had to come through the play-in game to reach the Final Four. Conversely, Michigan was the No. 1 seed in the region and expected to make the Final Four. That led to UCLA coach Mick Cronin’s great quote after the game about his Bruins being the underdogs.
#UCLA coach Mick Cronin: "Nobody picked us. Nobody believed in us. That's how we like it."
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) March 31, 2021
Sometimes it’s helpful to have that underdog mentality as the Bruins did. Cronin certainly bought into it.
It’s hard to believe that this UCLA team that is now in the Final Four was once down by 14 points to Michigan State in the play-in game.
Who saw this coming? Nobody, which is how Cronin likes it.
