March Madness: UCLA-Alabama heading to overtime

TUCLA’s defense has seen a resurgence during the NCAA tournament. In only three games, its adjusted defensive efficiency has risen from No. 86 nationally to No. 63 in the metrics of basketball analyst Ken Pomeroy.

But the Bruins defense will have its work cut out for it Sunday with Alabama, seeded No. 2 in the East regional, standing between the No. 11 Bruins and their first trip to the Elite 8 since 2008.

The Crimson Tide lead the nation in three-pointers attempted (961) and three-pointers made (341). And they generated many of them off offensive rebounds, a rarity for teams that live beyond the arc. During a 96-77 win over Maryland in the second round, Alabama had 15 offensive rebounds and 23 second-chance points.

Alabama, which last made the Elite 8 in 2004, also likes to play in a hurry, its average possession length of 14.2 seconds ranking No. 3 nationally. UCLA’s possession length of 18.8 seconds ranks No. 309 nationally.

The Bruins got to this regional semifinal game by beating Michigan State 86-80 in the First Four, No. 6 Brigham Young 73-62 in the first round and No. 14 Abilene Christian 67-47 in the second round. Alabama beat No. 15 Iona 68-55 in the first round and No. 10 Maryland 96-77 in the second round.

Follow today’s game here. Tipoff is at 4:15 PDT.

UCLA 65, Alabama 65 (end of regulation)

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UCLA 65, Alabama 62 (0:04 remaining in second half)

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UCLA 63, Alabama 62 (0:15 left in second half)

Tyger Cambell drove inside, dished to Cody Riley for the layup and a 63-62 UCLA lead with 15 seconds remaining. On the same subject : Elgin Baylor, Lakers legend and former Clippers executive, dies at 86. Alabama timeout.

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Alabama 62, UCLA 61 (0:29 left in second half)

Jaime Jaquez Jr. draws a foul on Juwan Gary (fouled out) with 46.5 seconds left. Jaquez made the first free throw to tie the game 61-61 and missed the second. Herbert Jones drives quickly to the hoop and is fouled by Jaquez with 36.8 remaining. Jones missed the first free throw and made the second for a one-point Tide lead. UCLA called its final timeout.

Alabama 61, UCLA 60 (1:00 left in second half)

Jaime Jaquez Jr. missed a jump shot for UCLA at 1:23. Cody Riley blocked a shot and got the steal for UCLA possession with one minute remaining.

Alabama 61, UCLA 60 (1:54 left in second half)

Herbert Jones made one of two free throws for a one-point Tide lead. Tyger Campbell missed a free throw at 2:08. Timeout to determine possession — the ball hit UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. but may have touched John Petty Jr.’s shorts on the way out. UCLA ball.

UCLA 60, Alabama 60 (2:27 remaining in second half)

Johnny Juzang is on the bench after picking up his fourth foul. Jahvon Quinerly made one of two free throws, but UCLA reclaimed the lead on a Tyger Campbell jumper. Keon Ellis missed a free throw, but teammate Juan Gary got the rebound and layup for a 54-53 Alabama lead. Tyger Campbell misses a long shot for UCLA. Tide’s Ellis shot an airball. Campbell tied the game, making one of two free throws. Alabama’s John Petty Jr. made two free throws for a 56-54 lead with 5:37 remaining. Cody Riley gets a jam on an inbound pass from Campbell, but Alabama’s Jaden Shackleford answers with a layup. Riley tied the game with a layup. Petty missed a long shot with 4 minutes remaining. Bernard missed a three, but Riley got the putback, 60-58 UCLA.

Quinerly missed from long, but Riley also missed at the other end. Petty tied the game with a layup at 2:46. Juzang missed a layup, then picked up his fifth foul while fighting for the rebound.

UCLA 51, Alabama 51 (7:07 left in second half)

Jaime Jaquez Jr. made a free throw out of the timeout. Alabama now has gone cold from long. Jahvon Quinerly breaks a scoring drought for both teams with a layup at 9:47. John Petty Jr. made a three-pointer for Alabama and Juwan Gary got a layup to tie the game at 49-49. Keon Ellis drives for a layup to give the Tide a 51-49 lead. Jaquez drives for a layup to tie the game again with 7:21 remaining.

UCLA 47, Alabama 42 (11:10 left in second half)

John Petty Jr. got the jam to tie the game. UCLA shooting has gone absolutely cold as Alabama went on an 11-0 run. Johnny Juzang hit a layup for UCLA’s first points of the half at 14:08. Tyger Campbell got a fast break basket on a goaltending call for a 44-40 Bruins lead. Jahvon Quinerly set up a Joshua Primo layup with a behind-the-back pass.

UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. hit a three-pointer.

UCLA 40, Alabama 38 (15:39 left in second half)

Keon Ellis got a steal and a layup for Alabama, which has started the second half on a 9-0 run.

UCLA 40, Alabama 36 (16:34 left in second half)

Alabama’s John Petty Jr. makes two free throws for the first points of the second half. UCLA has missed four three-point shots in first three possessions of the half. Jaden Shackleford gets a layup to pull the Tide to within 40-33. UCLA’s Johnny Juzang got his third foul before Petty made a three-pointer to close the gap to 40-36.

UCLA 40, Alabama 29 (halftime)

UCLA’s David Singleton hit a three following a pair of missed free throws by Alabama’s Juwan George. UCLA made four of its last six three-point attempts. Jules Bernard got a three-pointer and is fouled by Jahvon Quinerly. Bernard completed the four-point play for a 15-2 UCLA run. Quinerly hit a layup on the other end. Bernard drains another three-pointer.

Bernard scored seven of his 13 points during a 40-second stretch late in the half. Johnny Juzang has 11 points for the Bruins, who ended the half on a 20-6 run. Juzang, Tyger Campbell and Cody Riley have two fouls each.

Alabama has six points from Keon Ellis. He and SEC player of the year Herbert Jones spent significant time on the bench with two fouls each.

UCLA 30, Alabama 27 (3:33 left in first half)

Juwan Gary got a steal on the UCLA end and the jam on the other end, 25-22 Tide. David Singleton hit a three-pointer to tie the game for the Bruins. Jaime Jaquez gets a bank shot for a 27-25 UCLA lead. Jules Bernard hit a three for a 30-25 lead. John Petty Jr. gets a layup for Alabama.

Alabama 23, UCLA 22 (6:50 left in first half)

Johnny Juzang hit a pair of free throws off the timeout, then after a UCLA steal gets a layup. Tyger Campbell gets a steal on Alabama’s end, then takes it all the way to pull the Bruins to within 19-17 at 9:10. Jones returns to the floor for the first time after picking up his second foul less than a minute into the game. Jahvon Quinerly hits a layup. Campbell goes to the bench after two fouls in less than a minute. Juzang hit a three, 21-20 Tide, but Juwan Gary answers with a layup. Jaime Jaquez Jr. gets a layup for the Bruins to pull to within 23-22.

Alabama 19, UCLA 11 (10:34 left in first half)

Johnny Juzang drained a jumper off the timeout but Jahvon Quinerly answered with a quick layup.

Alabama 17, UCLA 9 (11:17 left in first half)

Joshua Primo drove to the rim to give Alabama a 9-7 lead. Jahvon Quinerly hit a three-pointer for a 12-7 lead. Primo is fouled by Cody Riley going to the rim and made both free throws for a 14-7 Alabama lead. Jahvon Quinerly made one of two free throws to give Alabama a 15-7 lead. Johnny Juzang drives to the basket to end a 14-0 Alabama run. It was the Bruins’ first made shot in their last 10 attempts. Keon Ellis hit a layup on the other end.

UCLA 7, Alabama 7 (15:12 left in first half)

Alabama’s Herbert Jones is on the bench after picking up his second foul just 41 seconds into the game. UCLA’s Cody Riley made a layup for the first points of the game at the 18:29 mark. Alabama’s Keon Ellis made a free throw for Alabama, but Tyger Campbell answered with a layup and Jules Bernard hit a three for a 7-1 UCLA lead. Jordan Bruner and Ellis hit back-to-back threes to tie it up.

Starting lineups