UCLA
31-5,18-2Pac-12
Northwestern
22-12,12-8Big Ten
No. 2-Seed UCLA Defeats No. 7-Seed Northwestern, 68-63
March 18, 2023 | Men's Basketball
SACRAMENTO, Calif. โย The No. 2-seed UCLA men's basketball team defeated No. 7-seed Northwestern 68-63 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at Golden 1 Center.
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The Bruins (31-5) have secured their third consecutive Sweet 16 berth.
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UCLA will face either No. 3-seed Gonzaga (29-5) or No. 6-seed TCU (22-12) on Thursday, March 23, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Gonzaga will take on TCU in a second-round matchup on Sunday in Denver at 6:40 p.m. (PT).
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Three Bruins scored in double figures on Saturday, with Jaime Jaquez Jr. totaling a team-best 24 points. Jaquez Jr. made 11 of 19 shots and was 2-for-4 from 3-point range. Amari Bailey finished with 14 points and six assists, while Tyger Campbell totaled 12 points โ all at the free throw stripe (12-for-12).
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Northwestern (22-12) was led by Boo Buie's 18 points, while Matthew Nicholson (17 points) and Chase Audige (17 points) also scored in double figures. Northwestern outrebounded the Bruins by a 34-28 margin.
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"Boo Buie, Chase Audige, their other guys, Nicholson is a guy that didn't get in the game as a freshman," said Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach. "They're everything that's right about college basketball. Great game โ two great teams. We're fortunate to grind it out even though Tyger didn't make a basket. If you would have told me Tyger wouldn't make a basket, I wouldn't have liked our chances. He's 12 of 12 at the foul line, so he's money."
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UCLA raced ahead by as many as 14 points with under two minutes to play in the first half. Bailey's 3-point basket at the 1:34 mark before halftime gave the Bruins a 33-19 cushion. Northwestern reduced its deficit to 10 points (at 35-25) by the intermission.
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Bailey scored 11 of his 14 points in the first half, connecting on 4 of 4 shot attempts prior to halftime.
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UCLA led by 13 points with 17:57 left in the second half before Northwestern mounted its comeback. The Wildcats tied the contest, 45-45, with 11:26 to play in regulation on a layup in the paint by Buie.
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Northwestern never led in the second half, despite tying the contest. Jaquez Jr. scored a basket with 11 minutes remaining before Bailey hit one of two free throws, helping UCLA secure a three-point cushion.
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The game's final 10 minutes saw UCLA maintain either a one or two-possession lead. Bruins' freshman Dylan Andrews nailed a critical 3-point shot with 9:01 remaining to hand UCLA a 51-45 cushion.
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Minutes later, Bruins' fifth-year senior David Singleton provided a spark with a 3-pointer at the 1:52 mark. Singleton's triple put UCLA ahead of Northwestern, 62-56. The Wildcats never closed the gap to any fewer than four points.
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The Bruins made their late free throws, finishing the game 18-for-21 at the free throw line. Andrews was 2-for-2 down the stretch and Campbell was 4-for-4 in the final moments.
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UCLA has become the third program, joining Arkansas and Houston, to have advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Gonzaga could join that category with a win over TCU on Sunday evening.
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The Bruins' game time next Thursday at T-Mobile Arena, along with the television and radio broadcast information, will be made available on Sunday night.
Game Notes: UCLA's Jaime Jaquez Jr. finished with 24 points, pushing his career total to 1,773 points ... Jaquez Jr. moved ahead of Bill Walton and into the No. 12 spot on UCLA's career scoring list (Walton scored 1,767 points in three seasons at UCLA) ... Jaquez Jr. averaged 20.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in UCLA's two NCAA Tournament wins last week in Sacramento ... Bruins' freshman Amari Bailey averaged 15.5 points and 6.0 assists in the Bruins' two wins in Sacramento ... UCLA has now advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 (regional semifinals) in six of the past 10 seasons (2014, 2015, 2017, 2021, 2022 and 2023) ... the Bruins are seeking their first apperance in the Elite Eight since advancing to the Final Four in 2021 ... Tyger Campbell's perfect 12-for-12 effort at the free throw line was UCLA's best individual free throw performance since Jordan Adams was a perfect 16-for-16 in his second collegiate game (versus UC Irvine on Nov. 13, 2012) ... UCLA improved to 31-1 all-time in NCAA Tournament games played in the state of California.
