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Final Four played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis

By Arnie Leshin
In what had been the highest seed total to ever reach the Sweet 16 of the men’s NCAA Division I basketball tournament, only 11th-seeded UCLA remains for the Final Four to be played Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Making a bid but falling short were No. 15  Oral Roberts, No. 12 Oregon State, and No. 11 Syracuse, but the Bruins have hung around and been a bracket-buster as the program with 11 national championships, in its first semifinals since 2008, now meets up with the overall top-seeded, undefeated Gonzaga (30-0) in the second game of the doubleheader. Now 22-9, this is by far the biggest test for surprising UCLA, which will take the court as a 15-point underdog.
In the opening game scheduled for a 3:15 p.m. tip-off on CBS, it’s more even when No. 1-seeded Baylor (28-2) clashes with No. 2-seeded Houston (29-3), and with the Bears favored by three points. These are two quality teams who have gone through impressive campaigns.
In the closer slated for 6:14 p.m. also on CBS, there’s no doubt that the Zags are the one to beat as they go after their initial national title. They also got to the Final Four in 2018 before being eliminated.
In Gonzaga’s tournament opener, 16th-seeded Norfolk State kept things close for a few minutes before Gonzaga got serious and won in a 98-55 rout. Then it made its way handily past Oklahoma, Creighton and Southern California in quest of being the first team since the 1975 Indiana team coached by Bob Knight went unbeaten. And no team has secured a perfect record since the NCAA switched to a 64-team format in 1985.
The Zags have balance, size, experience and talent. Mark Few’s teams usually do, but this one is eager to hoist the championship trophy after racing through the field. they bank on All-America Corey Kisnert, and other leaders in Jalen Suggs and Drew Timme, entered the tournament averaging 91.6 points a game, and are now at 83.7.
Can UCLA slow down this express? It has done wonders to get this far, knocking out also 11th-seeded Michigan State in the assembled first round, the run-in eight teams. The Bruins ousted a Spartans team that, good regular season or not, usually makes a good stand in the post-season, but this one went to UCLA in overtime, and then it turned back Brigham Young, Abilene Christian, Creighton, and stunned 2nd-seeded Alabama, and in another overtime, No.1-seed Michigan.
Said Hall of Famer Bill Walton, the former UCLA All-America: “The Pac12 is the conference of champions and let’s see if the Bruins can bring another. They like the position they are in, it will be hard to get past Gonzaga, but go Bruins.”
Johnny Juzang, a transfer from Kentucky, has been the leading man for UCLA. He has made the big shots, big plays, and playing on an injured ankle, was stellar versus the Wolverines. Then there’s been the impressive play of Cody Riley and Jamie Jarquez. Before they turned it on in the tourney the Bruins had lost four-straight.
Baylor-Houston seems like a dandy. Both are athletic, both can control the boards, both can run the floor, play aggressive defense, and equally adept at tossing in shots from the perimeter and beyond the 3-point arch.
The Bears returned from a three-week coronavirus pandemic pause to remain an offensive threat that can still overwhelm opponents. In four of their last seven games entering the NCAA tournament, they scored at least 77 points after cruising to big leads and then calling on the reserves. They have depth, quickness and ability to take care of the ball.
Baylor has gotten past Hartford before disposing of three good teams in 4th-seeded Wisconsin,  5th-seeded Villanova and 3rd-seeded Arkansas, the win over the Razorbacks a thrilling 72-70. Its defense is solid and it’s a sign that the team’s swagger has returned, and that Jared Butler is still the team’s leading scorer.
Houston has been playing good ball, despite a thrilling single digit win over Memphis, it clobbered Cleveland State, 87-56, dominated Syracuse and then squeezed out a 65-58 victory over an Oregon State team that was playing its best ball. Quentin Grimes has been its leading scorer and tossed in 23 points against the Beavers, plus Fabian White has returned from a torn ACL prior to the season, and tallied a dozen versus Oregon State.
The Cougars are similar to the Bears. Their defense is tough to solve, they can race the floor, can battle under the boards and have balance throughout the lineup.

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