The top two programs in the West meet up for the sixth straight season when No. 25 UCLA and No. 8 Gonzaga convene in Seattle on Saturday night.
The Bulldogs are 4-1 against the Bruins over the past five seasons and have a 7-3 edge in the all-time series.
UCLA (7-2) emerged as a national power in the 1960s and won 10 national titles under legendary coach John Wooden from 1964-75. The Bruins added another crown in 1995 under Jim Harrick.
Gonzaga (9-1) reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 1999 and has made 26 consecutive appearances (the tourney wasn’t played in 2020 due to COVID-19). The Bulldogs lost in the title game in 2017 and 2021.
It’s the type of matchup UCLA coach Mick Cronin believes should be played at an hour when people can watch it nationally. But this contest is slated for 11:30 p.m. ET, barring any delays for television.
“It’s ridiculous,” Cronin told reporters. “Why don’t we just play at midnight?
“… But on a Saturday, I mean what are we doing? It’s so disappointing, it’s so crazy. … No words, I’ve got no words. It just makes no sense. How is that good for anybody?”
Four of the previous 10 matchups have come in the NCAA Tournament, with two of them rating as all-time classics.
Gonzaga appeared en route to the Elite Eight of the 2006 NCAA Tournament (which would have been the program’s first run that deep) before UCLA ran off 11 unanswered points to end the game with a stunning 73-71 victory. Zags star Adam Morrison fell to the floor flailing in emotions after the buzzer in footage still aired during March Madness.
Gonzaga delivered some pain to the Bruins in the 2021 Final Four when Jalen Suggs placed his name in March Madness lore by banking in a 40-foot shot as time expired in overtime to give the Bulldogs a memorable 93-90 triumph.
This season’s Zags were trounced 101-61 by then-No. 7 Michigan on Nov. 26 in the Players Era tournament title game in Las Vegas. They have rebounded with two wins by a combined 86 points — 94-59 over then-No. 18 Kentucky in Nashville on Dec. 5 and 109-58 over visiting North Florida on Sunday night.
The victory over North Florida marked Mark Few’s 750th coaching win. The Gonzaga leader is the second-fastest (903 games) to reach the milestone behind Kentucky legend Adolph Rupp (902 games).
“It means I’ve been doing it a lot longer than I remember doing it, or feel like I’ve been doing it,” Few said of the landmark. “Hey, it’s just been an awesome, awesome run with just awesome guys. Incredible players and incredible people around me and great support, so just maybe take a moment to reflect on that a little bit and then just kind of move on.
“We’ve got a big one coming up Saturday so that kind of gets full attention.”
Bulldogs big man Graham Ike (ankle) will be back after sitting out against the Ospreys. He’s averaging 16.4 points and a team-best 8.1 rebounds per game.
Braden Huff is scoring a team-high 17.0 points per game while shooting a scorching 65.6% from the field.
UCLA is coming off back-to-back Big Ten wins over Washington (82-80 on the road) and Oregon (74-63 at home).
Eric Dailey Jr. scored 18 points in Saturday’s win when the Bruins held the Ducks to 33.3% shooting.
Tyler Bilodeau averaged 17.5 points in the two victories and paces UCLA with a 15.6 scoring average.
Dailey scored 18 points last season when the Bruins registered a 65-62 win over Gonzaga at Inglewood, Calif.
–Field Level Media
